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Judging extension risk is a key part of investing in bank capital. If investors call it wrong, it is hard to say they have been grossly mistreated. -
UBI Banca includes financing for "religious entities" as an eligible category under its new social bonds framework, listing eligible organisations as those “aiming at reducing exclusions and inequalities”. But it would take a miracle for the world’s largest religions — with their central tenets of ‘we’re special and you’re not’ — to meet that requirement, raising the question of who actually qualifies.
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UniCredit paid a hefty price for hitting the market this week, but it will also stand to reap the rewards.
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The European Central Bank is likely to decide soon whether to launch a new targeted long-term refinancing operation (TLTRO III) for banks. The market may already be forcing its hand, but the EU’s fight with Italy means the choice has wide-reaching implications.
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Eurobank’s ambitious scheme to fully merge with its real estate firm Grivalia, hive off €7bn of NPLs, and sell a stake in its servicer was rightly welcomed by the market, with the shares bouncing on Monday morning and other Greek indices rallying. But it’s not something the country’s other banks can count on — the scheme relies on a generous backer, willing to double down on the troubled economy.
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Between sleeping and waking, there is a middle phase: you realise it’s time to get up, but can’t quite bear to admit you need to get out of bed. London’s debt capital markets teams are in that zone. Brexit’s alarm has sounded, but few are eager to haul themselves into the cold air of Frankfurt or Paris.
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No bond issuer is safe in this volatile market. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) learned that the hard way when it was forced to pull a dual-tranche floating rate deal last week. Its failure should serve as a warning sign to other borrowers.
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EU supervisors should not need Andrea Enria, chair of the European Banking Authority, to tell them that full transparency on Pillar 2 is beneficial for the capital markets. It should have been clear all along.
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From June 2019 a large chunk of debt borrowed by banks from the EU periphery under the European Central Bank’s second Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO II) will no longer be considered stable funding. Banks should refinance that debt in the market instead of hoping for another ECB handout.
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J Paul Getty once said that if you owe the bank $100, that’s your problem. But if you owe the bank $100m, that’s the bank’s problem. Italy’s battle with Europe and the response from the European Central Bank (ECB) suggest the same is true of eurozone membership.
