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In the build-up to the Paris-based United Nations Climate Talks this weekend, banks are falling over themselves to demonstrate green credentials through their lending, their asset books and their borrowing. But just as important is what they choose not to finance, and why. -
Green bonds are finally beginning to take hold among commercial banks, which could end up being the product’s main issuers.
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The Total Loss Absorbing Capacity rule, years in the making, is finished. But no one has any idea how it will actually work.
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Investment banks all want the same things — more capital, smaller loan books, and more concentration on more profitable business. When banks announce a turnaround, they should be judged on specifics, not aspirations, and on this, Standard Chartered’s strategy update is pretty watery fare.
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The fragility of corporate hybrid capital was laid bare again this week, when Standard & Poor’s stripped the equity credit from 29 bonds, issued by 14 issuers.
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Banks may have become safer places to invest, but investors in senior unsecured bank debt have been shunted down the capital structure. However, senior spreads do not reflect this new credit risk, especially compared with covered bond spreads.
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Twenty-three developed countries have promised $100bn a year to poor nations from 2020 to help them cope with climate change. So far, progress towards meeting that promise has been inadequate. It’s time for a proper, fair system so struggling countries get the finance they need, and the rich penny-pinchers are named and shamed.
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The covered bond purchase programme (CBPP3) has been a roaring success from point of view of smaller banks in Europe’s periphery. But it may have simply postponed difficult choices.
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Twenty-three developed countries have promised $100bn a year to poor nations from 2020 to help them cope with climate change. So far, it looks like that promise won't be met. It’s time for a proper, fair system so struggling countries get the finance they need, and the rich penny-pinchers are named and shamed.
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In a market tormented by volatility, where the price of going to the public markets is too high for many, banks need somewhere to turn. Many have opted for the MTN market — but more should follow.
