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Local Russian banks now see VTB and Sberbank as international players, somewhat removed from their world. At the same time, international banks still do not consider them a real threat. The truth is that both sets of rivals should be worried.
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Throughout this year the credit curve has flattened, forcing investors to chase anything offering a decent spread. But this mood cannot possibly last through the whole of next year. That's why challenged issuers should waste no time in accessing the market while they still can.
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Barclays’ new tier two write down instrument was supposed to set a template for other UK banks to follow. Its soggy secondary performance has made it an easy target, but a better gauge of real investor interest in UK Cocos will be where it trades in the medium term.
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A global trade repository for all securities lending transactions is part of the Financial Stability Board’s plans to overhaul shadow banking. There would be knock-on benefits for the industry too.
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Conrad Baker has taken a rather topsy turvy approach to the upcoming Yuletide festivities. The former Deutsche Bank MTNs impresario, who is heading to Nomura to join its SSA syndicate, is planning a pretty big treat for himself between Christmas and New Year — starting his new job.
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The bank capital community — management, funding officials and investors — has had a tough time in recent years trying to get its head around a continually evolving set of rules.
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HSBC’s investment banking aspirations are growing while the competition retrenches, writes David Rothnie.
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Intesa Sanpaolo’s decision to remove the call options from several lower tier two securities to optimise their capital treatment under Basel III has stunned the market. But it makes absolute economic sense — and it’s high time everyone accepted that.
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Blog was distressed to hear of more staff cuts in the City this week (not naming any names... UBS). We’re sure there are some psychopaths out there who relish dismissing staff — perhaps inviting them into the dreaded meeting room with a wide-eyed grin and promising them a promotion before letting out an uncontrollable, Patrick Bateman-style cackle and slamming the door in their face — but for normal, compassionate people, it can’t be a particularly enjoyable experience.
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The European Council hopes to charge towards banking union later this week, “sprinting” ahead with plans to make the ECB the single supervisor. But it should not press on blindly: a well-designed banking union is far preferable to one thrown together in haste.