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BANKS

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World economy 2nd July 2014

China: Banks start using new loan-to-deposit ratio

BEIJING | By Huo Kan and Wu Hongyuran via Caixin | Starting July 1 banks in China are using a new method of calculating the loan-to-deposit ratio, a change that the regulator and analysts say will allow for more loans to be extended.  The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) announced on June 30 the new set of rules for figuring the ratio, which is capped by law at 75 percent, meaning that banks cannot lend out more than three-quarters of the deposits they accept.

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Markets 26th June 2014

Biggest EU banks show poorest Q1 results in 5 years

MADRID | The Corner | The first quarter of the year is usually the best for lenders, and yet major European entities are showing the weakest results since Q1 2009:  net profit fell once more (-9% yoy) to a pale EUR 12, according to a report by Deutsche Bank Research. Potentially high litigation costs and the upcoming ARQ and ECB’s stress tests make them eager to strengthen their capital buffers.

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World economy 8th June 2014

China: Investing in the future

BEIJING | By Andy Xie via Caixin | Stimulus proposals won’t transform the economy in China, but spending on industrial research, building megacities and globalizing the white collar labor force will.

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Markets 6th June 2014

After ECB’s bazooka, will we see negative bund yields again?

MADRID | By Ana Fuentes | Now that the ECB will charge banks for keeping them their money, don’t be surprised if some short-dated core sovereign bonds start yielding negative, Bond Vigilantes remark. Actually we’ve seen that before in the EZ: in August 2012, German authorities received with open arms 750 billion euros in deposits of its eurozone neighbors, mainly Spaniards and Italians. That intense demand drove the prices of short dated bunds to levels which produced negative yields.

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Markets 5th June 2014

ECB takes the reins in a historic move- but where’s the QE?

MADRID | By Julia Pastor | In a historic move, the ECB cut the benchmark rate to 0.15 percent from 0.25 percent, and reduced the deposit rate to minus 0.10 percent from zero, becoming the world’s first major central bank to use a negative rate and pushing entities to increase credit lending. Spanish Ibex35 reacted to the news with a 0,8% increase. 

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World economy 4th June 2014

Do China’s big banks enjoy a monopoly?

BEIJING | By Yang Kaisheng via Caixin | A monopoly on either the buyer’s or seller’s side often means one or several enterprises relying on their strengths keep squeezing out or forcing the merger of small and medium-sized enterprises to gain unfair pricing power. It is often caused by a monopoly over resources or entry barriers that result from government intervention. In light of this, is it reasonable to say that China’s banking industry is monopolized?

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Markets 2nd June 2014

How Greek banks moved into a new era

ATHENS | By Manos Giakoumis via MacroPolis | The core Greek banks reported first quarter (Q1) results in the last three days of May. The release of the results was the last act in a series of important developments for the Greek banking market over the past two months. These developments constitute the third phase of the new era for Greek banks, which started two years ago. 

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World economy 23rd May 2014

Banks likely to outperform as Capex drives loan growth

LONDON | By Barclays analysts | We believe that one of the reasons why loan growth has been so anaemic thus far in the recovery is because the recovery in capital spending has been very poor. However, an improving outlook for Capex could see loan demand pick-up and be supportive of future earnings growth for the domestic banking sector.

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Markets 14th May 2014

Market chatter: An agreement to soften stress tests conditions for Spanish banks

MADRID | By Jaime Santisteban | European Banking Association and the Bank of Spain agreed to take into account borrowers’ non-property guarantees to assess the situation of Spanish entities in the upcoming stress tests. Bankinter analysts believe that “such guarantees, which are usually pledging of assets like deposits, shares and/or by consignatures, mean a certainty of collection for banks.” Also,  Amadeus has been one of the most attractive values in the Spanish Ibex 35.