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Covered Bond Opinion

  • President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker’s address on the state of the EU proposed more Europe as a remedy for most of what ails the bloc. A European finance minister, European Monetary Fund, and a tighter decision making system should give the Union a clearer direction. Maybe — but then he would say that.
  • European banks are pushing the conversation on from simply meeting regulatory capital requirements towards optimising the cost of their capital stacks.
  • For years there's been talk of online lenders and challenger banks disrupting the UK banking sector, but reports that Goldman Sachs is ready to plant its flag in the UK savings and consumer lending market is the biggest challenge established UK giants are likely to face.
  • Nordea announced on Wednesday that it was moving its headquarters from Sweden, where it has been since it was formed through a series of mergers in 2000, to Finland, where it will be supervised by the European Central Bank, as part of the ‘Banking Union’ arrangements.
  • Julius Baer’s additional tier one deal on Tuesday attracted a splendid book — enough to gladden the hearts of syndicate bankers and funding officials. But it highlights the absurdity of Europe’s Market Abuse Regulation.
  • Last week’s deals from BBVA and CaixaBank show just how much the Spanish banking sector is powering ahead of Italians in getting to grips with capital regulations.
  • Senior preferred debt has never been cheaper for banks — and it has regulatory benefits as well. While funding teams rush to meet bail-in targets, there's a value in keeping the old asset class alive.
  • Russian bank debt has fallen out of favour after events snowballed into fears that Central Bank of Russia is lining up to pull the plugs on Credit Bank of Moscow (CBM) and Otkritie.
  • The practical application of covered bond harmonisation is too challenging to implement and the process may ultimately not amount to much more than an exercise in moral suasion.
  • When Britain voted to leave the European Union, some saw it as a good opportunity to change insurance regulations in Britain’s favour, but moving away from the European framework will be easier said than done.