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It’s hard to attack green finance, because its aims are so noble. But when institutions use environmental aims to argue they deserve special subsidies, it tarnishes the whole market. Prudential regulation should stick to being prudential.
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When Popular was sold to Santander on June 7, in the first resolution under the new bank resolution and recovery directive (BRRD), the outcome was regarded as a success — but potential problems have arisen. -
Socially conscious investing in Asia has so far concentrated on green bonds and little else. But SRI financing is not just limited to green bonds. By taking a broader approach, Asian borrowers — including sovereigns — can reap serious benefits.
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When it comes to Banking Union, national priorities always trump European ones.
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On Wednesday, RBS announced it was settling one of its subprime RMBS lawsuits, for a chunky $5.5bn. The shares plunged to the depths of last Monday on the news, and the market mostly yawned — RBS had provisioned nearly everything, leaving only a £151m earnings charge for Q2.
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What will happen to share prices and bond returns if the climate warms by 1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C? You don’t know, and neither does anyone else. But these scenarios are probable. It’s time we worked it out — and a decision before the G20 next weekend could make a huge difference.
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Part of the selling point of covered bonds is that they are a relatively easy to understand, safe investment. But this has become less true over time, especially in conditional pass through structures. It's time for a more unified approach.
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It's been uncanny how all of Europe’s recently failing financial institutions have failed in just the right way to ensure the most favourable outcome for the competent authorities.
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When Banco Popular lost the market's confidence, it ran out of road. Realistic assumptions for recovery rates on bad assets plunged to super-conservative levels. Confidence is the greatest form of solvency, its withdrawal a precursor to insolvency.
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For every step forward that the Masala bond market takes, it goes two steps backwards, with the Reserve Bank of India recently putting up barriers to keep high yield issuers out of offshore rupees. Cutting off low grade Masala issuance isn’t the worst thing to come out of the central bank’s announcement — the rules could also stifle investment grade deals.
