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Markets 8th October 2014

ECB will push for DTA to be replaced by core capital

MADRID | The Corner | The ECB doesn’t like the idea of allowing banks to use Deferred Tax Assets (DTA) to boost their capital buffers, a practice that was meant to be phased out under new European Union rules. The central lender fears that losses would be imposed on taxpayers should entities run into trouble in the coming years, as the WSJ reported. Even if the ECB doesn’t have the power to change that, and is not likely to make any move before the upcoming stress tests, it might push for DTA to be replaced by core capital. 

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Markets 8th October 2014

FSB: tougher loss-absorbency homework for too-big-to-fail banks

MADRID | The Corner | The Financial stability board (FSB) is advocating an increase in regulatory demands of systemic banks: the so-called “too big to fail”. The details will be presented at tomorrow’s G20 meeting, but will effectively mean that more capital and liabilities can automatically be written off in a crisis. The basic requirement will be set at 15-20% of risk-weighted assets by 2019, although the final number will be higher (even more than 25% in certain cases) since lenders have to meet “other regulatory capital buffers,” according to the document, dated Sept. 21, quoted by Bloomberg.

china growth

World economy 25th September 2014

China: It’s either pure growth or rebalancing

MADRID | The Corner | As markets continue to worry about China’s slowing growth, an increasing number of observers believe that Beijing is at a crossroads. Chinese authorities have a decision to make: should they choose  to simply focus on the numbers or to increase quality? According to a Morgan Stanley analyst on Thursday, it is a case of “either-or” for the Asian giant’s. With the country highly leveraged and its economic imbalances also coming into focus, the time appears to have arrived for the Chinese to plot a definitive roadmap for the way ahead.

draghi

In Europe 22nd September 2014

Why ABS drive will fail, Barclays reckons

MADRID | By Alberto Vigil at Barclays | The ABS purchases by the European Central Bank will not work basically because it is necessary for a regulatory change that does not penalise (in capital terms) either banks or insurance companies who have those securities. That is, if the ECB’s intention is to increase the amount of credit in the real economy, then it should have two specific goals: first, spreading the risk that banks assume when they provide credit; second, reducing banks’ costs of financing.

TLTRO

Markets 20th September 2014

TLTRO alone might not be a game changer for Eurozone credit recovery

MADRID | The Corner | Supply and demand conditions for Eurozone credit generation are improving – this is clearly reflected in the ECB’s latest Bank Lending Survey – but the way towards a full normalisation is still long. We believe that reduced bank funding costs might support, but will not aggressively accelerate, the recovery in credit growth. 

greek politicians

In Europe 20th September 2014

Run this way: The recurring pattern of Greek leaders

ATHENS | By Nick Malkoutzis via MacroPolis | As the Greek general elections of May (and then June) 2012 approached, every poor unfortunate European politician attempted to grab a moment in the spotlight by pontificating on whether Greece should or should not be in the single currency. While the euro vultures picked at Greece’s carcass, thousands of fear-stricken Greeks withdrew their money from local banks. Who knows, maybe in our strange world of acute fiscal adjustment and extreme political polarisation it is a sign of progress that Greece no longer needs foreigners to encourage a bank run. Local politicians can do the jobs themselves.

 

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Markets 18th September 2014

EBC’s first TLTRO misses expectations

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | As expected, ECB’s September TLTRO will not make big headlines. 255 European banks borrowed €82.6bn of liquidity below consensus estimate of €100-150bn. Although the Frankfurt-based institution doesn’t provide a geographical breakdown, banks in Italy and Spain were among the leading borrowers (40% of the total) to trim funding costs. Spanish entities are thought to have asked half of those €30bn at their disposal, although some entities “are not willing to disclose how much they asked for,” an ECB source confirmed to The Corner.

big banks mergers

In Europe 30th August 2014

GLAC, a term you’ll need to become familiar with after the summer

MADRID | By Raimundo Poveda | Those who are interested in banking policy are doomed to learn some new term day in, day out. GLAC (i.e. “gone-concern loss-absorbing capacity”) is the capacity to absorb the losses of an unfeasible bank. Let us recall that the banking regulation declares a bank “unfeasible” not when it collapses but when it fails to comply with the minimum capital requirements –even if its financial assets are positive.

draghi yellen

In Europe 26th August 2014

Draghi steals the limelight in Jackson Hole

MADRID | By  J.P. Marín Arrese | Draghi’s performance in Jackson Hole has largely overshadowed other central bankers. Undoubtedly he surpasses himself in summertime. Just remember his landmark defence of the Euro back in August, 2012.