Major Banks face further capital constraints over exposures to crypto currencies The Basel committee on Banking supervision is apparently casting its eyes on bank’s exposures to crypto currencies. At the same time it acknowledges that the size of these exposures are small by comparison to the overall size of the banking system. It seems that…
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Tapering of Eurozone bank’s stimulus package is “ unavoidable” Speculation is mounting that the Eurozone’s Euro 1.85 billion stimulus package allowing the ECB to purchase Eurozone member banks bonds in the order of Euro 95 billion per month will soon face demands for tapering and winding down the programme in the face of rising inflation…
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Archegos faces probe by department of justice. Family office or hedge fund ,take your pick. What is sure is that Bill Hwang’s leveraged bets are now going to be closely looked at by the US department of justice. Prima Facie the story doesn’t look that complex. Archegos got margin calls from lenders that it could…
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Nobody benefits from open banking reforms The 2018 reforms introduced in order to make it easier for customers to switch bank account providers don’t seem to have pleased anybody. As if to highlight yet another initiative which does not do what it says on the tin the major banks say it has massively increased their…
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Clearing Banks close 500 Branches during pandemic As if further evidence was in fact needed the major high street banks are reducing their attachment to real estate. Since 2015 over 400 branches have been closed. This is attracting the attention of the powers that be as there is no substitute for those who are not…
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Companies to borrow £ 7 billion less this year as UK economy rebounds New figures out from Leading accountants Ernst and Young suggest that companies will be borrowing less this year as the UK economy bounces back strongly. While this is not too surprising, the Bank of England says that the UK has not seen…
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Eurozone facing mass bankruptcies A leaked report from the The European Sytemic Risk Board(ESRB) which is chaired by Christine Lagarde and is the key risk watchdog within the EU is forecasting a huge increase in bankruptcies once COVID support facilities are unwound. While this is not totally unexpected many European banks were already carrying large…
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Horta-Osorio awaits Greensill legal battle in Credit Suisse in tray Quite a problem for the incoming Credit Suisse chairman. A group of investors who bought paper through Credit Suisse issued by Greensill capital is now considering a class action against CS for amongst other things mis-selling and misleading disclosure. So far CS has fired the…
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Bankrolling football’s breakaway rebels is an own goal for JP Morgan Practically all serious newspapers run this story but I liked Ben Marlow’s take on it. The new European super league has created a backlash of extraordinary ferocity across Europe particularly, of course, it’s supporters but also many establishment features. I particularly noticed the slogan…
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Uncertain future for the Euro Interesting piece in the right wing flagship magazine Spectator. Ross Clark makes the valid point that the glacially slow roll out of COVID vaccinations in mainland Europe are forcing some major European economies to shutdown again when this is exactly what they had hoped to avoid. This is exacerbating a…
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