Livin’ la vida CoCo not possible in circumstances: Regulator defends AT1 wipe out in Credit Suisse merger March 23, 2023 The Swiss banking regulator defended its decision to wipe out alternative tier 1 (AT1) bondholders – also known as CoCo bonds – in the merger of UBS and Credit Suisse. In a statement put out today, Finma said Credit Suisse’s coco bonds could contractually be completely written down in a ‘viability event’, particularly if there [...]
Square Mile and Me: Emma Kane on building a City institution and her musical past March 23, 2023 Each week we ask the City’s movers and shakers to give us a tour of the Square Mile they know. Today, it’s Emma Kane, UK CEO of SEC Newgate and chair of Target Ovarian Cancer What was your first job? My first job was as a professional tenor saxophonist but my first role in the [...]
When is the Bank of England interest rate decision and what is going to happen? March 23, 2023 The Bank of England is going to deliver its interest rate decision today against the backdrop of a shock rise in inflation and a now becalmed banking mini-crisis. Before Wednesday’s surprise increase in inflation to 10.4 per cent, there was speculation about whether the Bank’s decision making body, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would raise [...]
Let’s be honest, the financial sector needs to learn to get the basics right March 23, 2023 After the collapse of both Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank, the financial sector needs to learn the basics before an over-emphasis on ESG, writes Matthew Lesh
Post-Brexit rules on capital for challenger banks will only hurt the industry more March 23, 2023 The last week of upheaval in the banking world is proof of the importance of a competitive landscape; we must do more to ensure a level playing field for smaller banking players, writes Karen Bradley One of Britain’s great economic success stories since the global financial crisis has been the emergence of a vibrant and [...]
US Federal Reserve presses on with interest rate hike amid banking chaos March 22, 2023 The US Federal Reserve today looked past the ongoing wobbles in the global banking system and hiked interest rates for the ninth time in a row, extending its aggressive fight against inflation. Chair Jerome Powell and the rest of the federal open market committee (FOMC) today bumped the world’s most important interest rate 25 basis [...]
FTSE 100 close: Inflation shock tames London index as investors brace for Fed decision March 22, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 nipped higher today despite investors betting the Bank of England will be forced to keep raising interest rates to tame higher than feared inflation. The capital’s premier index closed up 0.41 per cent at 7,566.84 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Why HAVE savers missed out on interest rate rises? MPs accuse banks of ‘profiting’ in failing to pass on savings hike March 22, 2023 MPs suggested banks were earning “disproportionate profits” by failing to pass on interest rates rises to savings accounts. In a letter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Treasury Committee also asked whether banks were earning “disproportionate profits” by “increasing rates on mortgages far quicker than rates on savings products”. Earlier this month, the chair [...]
UK inflation shock was bad for the Bank of England – and disastrous for families March 22, 2023 These were not good inflation numbers for the Bank of England. They were even worse for families. Nearly everyone has been taken aback by the Office for National Statistics calculating the annual rate of headline inflation (the consumer price index) snapped a three month falling streak to climb to 10.4 per cent last month. That [...]
Who’s going loco over Credit Suisse’s cocos? Here are the losers of the AT1 bond write-off March 22, 2023 Bond markets were sent into a spin across Europe this week after the move from Swiss regulator Finma to wipe out $17bn of Credit Suisse’s AT1, or coco, bonds, as part of a rescue deal from its rival UBS.