Singular Bank | HSBC has bought the UK subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) for £1 following the collapse of the regional bank. The purchase has been made through a private rescue provided by the UK government and the Bank of England. HSBC, Europe’s largest bank operating mainly in the Asian market, estimates the tangible equity of SVB’s UK subsidiary at around £1.4 billion. The money of all SVBUK depositors…
LONDON | May 20, 2015 | BNP PARIBAS | HSBC is going to hold an Investor update on 9 June. We believe the bank is likely to announce the start of a review on whether or not to change its UK domicile. Here are some thoughts on this important matter (by our Bank analyst and ourselves).
LONDON | By Sigrún Davídsdóttir | One of the things that the HSBC whistleblower Hervé Falciani has pointed out is the mess the HSBC computer system was with all the inherent safety risks involved, not to mention that it made it difficult for the bank to have any meaningful overview.
MADRDD | Sean Duffy | Markets are likely to remain volatile in the week ahead as investors await indication on Greek standoff.
MADRID | The Corner | After the biggest banking leak in history, British bank HSBC admitted on Sunday that its Swiss subsidiary systematically helped big fortunes dodge taxes and hide millions of dollars of assets. Switzerland and the whole industry are under the spotlight: long known for its banking secrecy, the country signed a fiscal transparency agreement with Brussels in 2004 which has proved insufficient. A new, enlarged version of the accord is being debated now and expected to be ready in 2018. But will it be enough? And what until then?
By Peter Wong via Caixin | It is unlikely that the RMB or yuan, China’s “people’s currency,” will replace the dollar outright as the world’s only investment and reserve currency any time in the foreseeable future. But there is every indication that the dollar will have to make room for a second global reserve currency within the next 15 years. A revolution allowing investors to diversify risk – and creating a system with more choice and better ability to resist shocks – should be welcomed.
LONDON | Morgan Stanley recently estimated that liabilities in fines and damages could amount to as much as $22 billion against the dozen banks allegedly involved in Libor-rigging. No one knows. The dimension of the case could scale up once brought to the courts of justice and the spillover on the markets would be extremely difficult to contain. The risk is all too evident. For instance, when Barclays was sentenced…
