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GC Asia
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Asia green loans: don’t blur the lines
Asian loans bankers are calling for relaxed restrictions on green and sustainability-linked loans, hoping for more business opportunities from the sector. But this approach could harm the development of the market in the long-term.
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Argentina’s economic struggles are a danger for provincial restructurings
Eye-watering bond yields on Argentina’s recently restructured sovereign bonds indicate that investors have little faith in its economic plans. That will make it hard for issuers and investors to see eye-to-eye in the wave of provincial debt restructuring talks that has followed the sovereign's deal with bondholders.
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ECB can't pick and choose, even for the environment
An ESG think tank believes that the European Central Bank should drop Alberta’s euro bonds from its list of eligible marketable assets as a punishment for its support for polluting industries. But while it is a laudable aim, it is not practicable.
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Cov-lite has gone pretty well so far
The coronavirus pandemic has subjected the European leveraged loan market, where ‘cov-lite’ documents reign supreme, to a brutal test. The early results are positive.
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P&M Notebook: scorecards out for Barclays and UBS
UBS enjoyed a successful third quarter for debt capital markets, its results last week showed, as it racked up 63% more in revenue than in the third quarter of 2019, according to GlobalCapital's estimate.
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Green CSPP, digital banks and negative rates, UK finance after Brexit
This week in Keeping Tabs: how the European Central Bank could decarbonise its corporate bond book, how digital banks would suffer if the Bank of England goes negative, and what UK financial services policy could look like after Brexit.
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A friendlier face for UK bank supervision
Prudential rules will become more supportive for UK banks after Brexit.
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Will the Next Gen loans be needed?
Europe’s bevy of recovery lending packages is undoubtedly a welcome gesture, but it may remain just that — a gesture. If trends continue as they are, some countries may prefer market lending to concessional loans from Europe.
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Meissner takes charge of Credit Suisse’s new ‘A-team’
Christian Meissner has an exciting new position at Credit Suisse. But how far can he improve the Swiss bank’s offering to wealth management clients while also handling its culture, asks David Rothnie.
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When a rose by any other name is asked to leave
The theory of nominative determinism states that people tend to take jobs that fit their names: John Baker becomes a baker, Ted Milk becomes a dairy farmer, Fakey McBlowhard becomes a politician. But there are also names that are valuable, not so much because they affect your career choices but because there’s a good chance you might get confused for someone else.
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Banks: net zero in 2050 is not enough
One by one, banks are taking responsibility to help fight climate change, by setting targets to eliminate carbon emissions from their whole financing portfolios by 2050. This will not suffice. Banks must learn a new way of interacting with clients.
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Pfandbrief’s soft bullet highlights key differences
A proposed change to the Pfandbrief law introducing a soft bullet maturity is designed to harmonise Germany’s covered bond regime with the rest of Europe’s, as envisaged under the EU’s Covered Bond Directive. However, it could highlight the vast differences in how soft bullet covered bonds are repaid following extension triggers.
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Transition bonds: not so sustainable after all
Enel, the Italian energy company, scored a number of firsts last week when it sold a sterling sustainability-linked bond. But the effect of that deal that might last the longest could be that it has brought about the end of transition bonds.
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China’s sovereign bond: a missed SRI opportunity
China wowed investors last week with a $6bn 144A bond amid a trade war with the US, but it missed a chance to solidify its credentials in the socially responsible bond market.
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From Deutsche Bank to the world
Japanese giant MUFG is freshening up its global capital markets business, with a couple of senior new hires. It has poached one of them from Deutsche Bank, some of whose alumni are corralling their efforts for a capital markets advisory business.
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A poor score, the pain in Spain and what will happen if Trump is dumped
This week Keeping Tabs brings you thoughts on the inadequacies of ESG data, the US election and why Spain is in such a bind.
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Liquidity makes a market, the ECB takes it away
Despite the Eurozone covered bond market’s huge size, its inherent liquidity is dwarfed by much smaller sectors outside the trading block — effectively meaning ‘the market’ is slowly but surely becoming impotent.
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Markets must beware blue wave complacency
Equity markets are pricing in a big win for Democrats in the US elections in November, meaning a large post-election stimulus package to help the economy through Covid-19. However, they should be wary as president Donald Trump is far from beaten.
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Tasty Spacs whet banks' appetites
Despite a year of turmoil, many bankers have a spring in their step, writes David Rothnie. They are rushing to get involved in the boom in special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs).
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Bankers try, fail to evade cyber security
Banks have improved their cyber security dramatically in the last few years. But their employees are still taking creative approaches to sneaking out data — for fun and profit.
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Why is nobody talking about Brexit?
Thursday marks the UK’s deadline for reaching a Brexit trade deal with the EU, which according to the country's prime minister Boris Johnson means that it will begin to shift focus to preparations for leaving without one. A no-deal Brexit could be a disaster but nobody in capital markets seems to care.
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Putting the 'K' in capital markets
The coronavirus crisis will continue to lead to divergence in economic fortunes, and that will play out in European capital markets as well.
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Rubio is wrong to want to block Ant IPO
US senator Marco Rubio wants his government to find a way to delay the listing of Ant Group, even though it is happening outside of the US. The move would undoubtedly be bad news for US banks but it also appears to offer little upside to politicians.
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P&M Notebook: should he Stay-ley or should he go?
What does the recent management shake-up at Barclays' investment bank mean?
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Vending machines, ETF design, Matt Levine
This week in Keeping Tabs: ETFs during the market meltdown and the economics of vending machines.
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There is no quick fix for bank profitability
Policymakers should be careful about rushing into action over signs that bank profitability is collapsing.
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EU can’t have it both ways on securitization
The European Parliament’s proposals on the role of the securitization in fixing the European economy are set to nullify any benefit STS might grant to the synthetic market. With Europe’s economy at stake, the Parliament must decide whether ABS is a hindrance or a help.
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Staley picks top allies for investment bank leadership
A top-level reshuffle suggests that Barclays chief executive Jes Staley is not going anywhere, but raises fresh questions about whether the bank’s top-five ambitions are achievable, writes David Rothnie.
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Breaking news: Friends keep secrets too
Sometimes, it seems, the best way to get to know a friend is not through drinks, but from the news.
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Libor transition: A dirty job but one for bankers
Crunch time is coming for the shift away from Libor and a recent survey shows that the majority of companies have yet to do anything tangible in preparation. Quite right too. Lenders need to realise this is a bank problem, not a client issue.
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Asian bond issuers: time is running out
Asian borrowers looking to tap the international dollar bond market this year have only a small window of opportunity to raise funds. They should act quickly.
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P&M Notebook: Europe’s grand plan for bonds ‘dies’
The European Distribution of Debt Instruments (EDDI), the eurozone’s much hyped, all-singing and dancing, front-to-back bond market autobahn is, in the words of one of the senior people working on the project, “dead.”
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Bondholders simmering, Brexit bubbling
This week in Keeping Tabs: investment strategy in the age of quantitative easing and a possible Joe Biden presidency in the US, while in the UK, financial firms are still adjusting to Brexit.
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Colombia is right to lean on the IMF
Colombia will become the first country to ever draw funds from an IMF flexible credit line (FCL), the Fund’s facility for its star pupils. In these exceptional times, Colombia should ignore any stigma associated with tapping IMF funding and be applauded for healthy pragmatism.
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ECB can do better than a green TLTRO
The ECB is mulling the idea of green Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations to boost green lending. It's a noble aim — but it should work with the policies it has first, if it is serious about environmental impact.
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FIG ties bind tight as bank M&A returns
Domestic bank consolidation has returned to the top of the agenda, but for financial institutions bankers, unlocking the most lucrative relationships requires years of coverage and an ability to look beyond the quick fix of M&A, writes David Rothnie.
