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Regulatory and political opposition to the City may be detracting from London’s appeal as a global financial centre, but the UK as a source of investment banking fees is as important as ever. And as David Rothnie writes, competition for talent is getting fiercer.
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The loan market is going to have to get used to a new pricing dynamic as Basel III bites. But countries are adopting the new standards at different speeds. The resulting pricing disparity is set to ratchet up the tension between borrowers and their lending banks.
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Investors in new style bank hybrids will face much greater risk of haircuts from regulatory intervention than from a bank breaching a 5.125% common equity tier one ratio. But that is no reason to scrap the capital trigger.
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Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, price cuts are the last ditch effort of a struggling retailer and — as we now know — short selling bans are the last hiding place for regulators that have run out of ideas
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Pricing new bond issues can be a delicate affair, and never more so than when a borrower is switching old bonds for new. So the market should not be too quick to judge a hefty rally on the back of a liability management exercise.
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HSBC is overhauling its investment banking operations and demanding more from its bankers, writes David Rothnie. The bank has been here before, of course, but this time it is taking a different approach to its more traditional rivals — and it seems to be paying off.
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Defenders of financial innovation have been too timid. There is a moral case to be made, which is being drowned by bleating on about cost-benefit.
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The secondary covered bond rally rolls on, grinding spreads tighter and pushing yields to their limit. But foresight and fundamentals have played no part in the lust for peripheral paper. As lucrative as the carry trade has been for banks, when things turn sour investors could find themselves trapped.
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The ECB's long term refinancing operation (LTRO) has worked miracles for the primary market and is arguably the only emergency measure to date to have had the desired effect. But central bankers need to think extremely carefully before serving up more of the same.
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The more LTRO funding banks take, the more their senior creditors become structurally subordinated. Another big shot in the arm at the end of February means senior debt gets pushed further down the capital structure. But party on — the ECB won’t let anyone go bankrupt.