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☆ EU watchdog sets out capital, liquidity rules for stablecoin issuers
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The bloc is deploying the world's first comprehensive set of rules for cryptocurrency and stablecoin markets, and the European Banking Authority (EBA) proposed minimum capital and liquidity requirements for issuers of stablecoins and other types of digitised tokens. The EBA launched public consultations on liquidity requirements for the reserve of assets that back a stablecoin, meaning that only eligible assets of high enough quality can be used. The EBA said that issuers of stablecoins backed by a currency must be able to offer full redemptions at par to investors. Banks may be exempt from liquidity requirements in some instances, given that they already hold liquidity buffers under existing EU bank capital and liquidity rules, the EBA said. The proposed liquidity rules ensure that issuers of stablecoins, which can be non-bank institutions, meet the same safeguards, and also avoid unfair capital or liquidity advantages over banks.

Persons: Stablecoins, Banks, Huw Jones, Louise Heavens Organizations: European Banking Authority, EBA, Thomson

☆ EU watchdog piles pressure on banks to better quantify climate risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Other "enhancements" to capital rules include adding environmental and social factors to external credit assessements of banks by credit rating agencies. Banks would also be required to identify whether environmental and social factors are triggers of operational risk losses, EBA said. "Improving the quality of data on environmental risks is a key priority as most recent data may not yet reflect environmental risks in full...," EBA said. The watchdog will develop in-house "metrics" to help it supervise environment-related risks at banks. More comprehensive revisions to capital rules to reflect climate risks will be considered for the medium to long term, EBA said.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, Banks, Huw Jones, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, European Banking, European Banking Authority, prudential, EBA, Thomson Locations: Provatonas, Evros, Greece

☆ Banks in EU largely comply with 'Basel Endgame', says watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The global Basel Committee agreed additional capital rules in 2017 that require banks to hold bigger reserves to shield them from potential shocks. The EU, along with Britain and the United States, is now putting the final Basel requirements into its rule books. Basel has a 2028 deadline for implementing its remaining rules, which are set to be rolled out in the EU from January 2025. The BoE is due to set out its final Basel Endgame rules sometime in 2024. The aggregate shortfalls globally and in the EU represent a fraction of banks' total capital buffers and earnings.

Persons: Arnd, BoE, Huw Jones, Jacqueline Wong, Jane Merriman Organizations: Bank for International Settlements, REUTERS, Union, Basel, European Banking Authority, Basel III, United, Bank of England, EU, Committee, Thomson Locations: Basel, Switzerland, EU, Britain, United States, Banks

This, regulators say, makes it harder for banks to cut costs and absorb losses in a downturn. But many bankers are expected to resist swapping guaranteed pay for potentially higher bonuses, which can swing wildly across economic cycles. UK Finance, the industry body for banks in Britain, did not respond to the public consultation, leaving individual members to comment if they wanted to. Others warned against overplaying the significance of bonuses in Britain's battle to grow its financial sector, still reeling from the loss of big-ticket listings, such as Arm Holdings. "Compensation is a small point in the grand scheme of things of a vibrant financial sector.

Persons: Toby Melville, Luke Hildyard, there'll, Suzanne Horne, Paul Hastings, Horne, Simon Patterson, Edelmann, Oliver Wyman, Sinead Cruise, Huw Jones, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: City of, Regulators, European Union, Bank of England, Financial, Bankers, Reuters, European Banking Authority, International Employment, Britain, EU, Finance, Arm Holdings, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, Banks, European, New York, Singapore, EU, Paris, Frankfurt, United States, Japan, Switzerland, London, Europe

☆ EU banks face liquidity checks next year after 2023 crises
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. The need for credible options was reinforced after the Swiss central bank stepped in with a liquidity backstop for Credit Suisse in March, before it was taken over by rival UBS (UBSG.S). Liquidity refers to readily available cash or short-term debt with a ready buyer to fund a bank's day-to-day operations without having to sell assets. "Strategies and actions suggested by institutions to support liquidity in resolution remained limited and mostly focused on accessing central bank facilities," EBA said in its report. Tapping private markets for liquidity, however, may be difficult for a stressed bank coming out of resolution, and even getting central bank liquidity can be hard without enough collateral, the EBA noted.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Huw Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, Union, Credit Suisse, UBS, European Banking Authority, Silicon Valley Bank, EU, EBA, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Swiss, Switzerland, Silicon, United States

☆ Morning Bid: Wall St shines, China misses again
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Back on Wall Street, another heavy earnings week beckons and the July U.S. employment report on Friday looms large. Stock futures are marginally positive ahead of Monday's open, Asia bourses mostly just caught up with Friday's U.S. gains and European indexes were little changed. U.S. Treasury yields were steady, with the dollar firmer - due mainly to dollar/yen's jump to three-week highs. Reuters GraphicsReuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsBy Mike Dolan, editing by Alex Richardson <a href="mailto:mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com" target="_blank">mike.dolan@thomsonreuters.com</a>. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Mike Dolan, What's, Asia bourses, Alex Richardson Organizations: Apple, Nasdaq, Bank of England, Friday's U.S, Treasury, European Banking Authority, Loews, Arista Networks, Eversource Energy, ON Semiconductor, SBA Communications, Republic Services, Diamondback Energy, Dallas Fed, Federal Reserve, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Beijing, United States, Tokyo, Asia, Western, Chicago

The European Banking Authority (EBA) said the test covered 70 banks, 20 more than in 2021 with 57 from the euro zone whose test was overseen by the European Central Bank, representing about 75% of banking assets in the EU. Of the 14 German banks tested, 8 were below the EU average for CET1 and leverage ratio, while 6 were above. The European Banking Federation, an industry body, said the results reaffirmed the resilience of the EU banking sector. The watchdog said that in year three of the test, 37 banks fell below capital levels that trigger curbs on payouts. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella association representing the German financial industry, said the results proved that German banks were "resilient" but it criticized the ECB's approach.

Persons: Goldman, Banks, markups, Tom Sims, John O'Donnell, Mathieu Rosemain, Mark Potter Organizations: European Union, European Banking Authority, European Central Bank, EU, JPMorgan, Volkswagen Bank, La Banque Postale, European Banking Federation, Deutsche, ECB, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Europe, United States, France, Frankfurt, Paris

☆ EU watchdog calls for early adoption of stablecoin standards
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - The European Union's banking watchdog urged stablecoin issuers on Wednesday to voluntarily comply with 'guiding principles' on managing risks and protecting consumers ahead of mandatory rules due in a year's time. The European Banking Authority (EBA) published on Wednesday for public consultation its first batch of measures to flesh out MiCAR requirements for issuing a stablecoin that would come into force on June 30, 2024. Separately the EU's European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) set out draft rules for so-called crypto asset service providers (CASPs) who trade cryptocurrencies. EBA will issue a second batch of draft rules in October that focus on capital requirements for stablecoin issuers, and how firms should deal with stablecoin redemptions in stressed markets. Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Paul SimaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: stablecoin, Huw Jones, Paul Simao Organizations: EU, Crypto, European Banking Authority, European Securities and Markets Authority, unbacked, Thomson Locations: unbacked cryptoassets

☆ EU to ease process of winding down medium-sized banks - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 31 (Reuters) - The European Union intends to make it easier to wind down medium-size banks that fail by tapping national deposit guarantee systems for funding, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The European Commission, in a proposal due in April, would facilitate using the funds to close the gaps at banks that have insufficient funds, as well as avoid tapping uninsured depositors, Bloomberg reported. Last week, European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde told EU leaders that European banks were safe but called on governments to push ahead with a stalled EU deposit insurance scheme. This week, the head of the European Banking Authority (EBA) Jose Manuel Campa warned that the banking sector remained very vulnerable even after measures to stem the fallout of crises at Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Rate rises pile pain on SME firms in U.S. and Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Chiara Elisei | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Summary SME vulnerability to rate hikes gone under radarUS, European credit conditions tighteningUK SMEs especially vulnerable -analystsLONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. and European small and medium-sized (SME) firms may be next to feel the pain of rapid interest rate rises, with analysts and investors warily watching for the impact of tighter credit conditions exacerbated by recent banking turmoil. In the U.S. the average rate that small businesses pay on bank loans rose from around 5% to 7.6% in 2022, and is likely to hit about 9.5% by mid-year, Jefferies analysts estimate. British SMEs, hurt by weak growth, double digit inflation and rising Bank of England rates, are seen as particularly vulnerable. "The Government needs to demonstrate that it is on the side of small businesses who are feeling stressed and under huge margin pressure," McTague added. HARD TIMESMeanwhile the rate of small business loan approval at big U.S. banks meanwhile fell in February for nine straight months and business loan approvals at small banks has also fallen, said online financing platform for small businesses Biz2Credit.

☆ EU regulators distance themselves from Credit Suisse bond writedowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Switzerland's second largest bank Credit Suisse is seen here next to a Swiss flag in downtown Geneva. BRUSSELS — European regulators distanced themselves from the Swiss decision to wipe out $17 billion of Credit Suisse 's bonds in the wake of the bank's rescue, saying they would write down shareholders' investments first. Dominique Laboureix, chair of the EU's Single Resolution Board, had a clear message for investors in an exclusive interview with CNBC. The Swiss decision has led some Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders to consider legal action, and it sparked uncertainty for bondholders around the world. The Single Resolution Board became operational in 2015 in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis and sovereign debt crisis.

☆ Andrew Bailey says Bank of England on high alert as investors 'test' banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

On Monday, European bank shares rose, boosted by news that First Citizens Bank in the United States would buy most of the assets of Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed earlier this month. “I think there are moves in markets to, if you like, test out firms,” Bailey told a UK parliamentary committee Tuesday. José Manuel Campa, the head of the European Banking Authority, told Germany’s Handelsblatt Monday that European lenders remained vulnerable. The Swiss heavyweight was rescued by UBS, while SVB UK was bought by HSBC (HBCYF) for £1 after its US parent was shut by regulators. Despite being well-capitalized, SVB UK would not have survived the demise of its US parent, according to Bailey.

London CNN —Europe’s banks are not yet in the clear, a top EU regulator said Monday, two weeks after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States unleashed turmoil in the global banking sector. José Manuel Campa, the head of the European Banking Authority (EBA), told a German newspaper that European lenders remained vulnerable following the demise of SVB and the subsequent emergency rescue of Credit Suisse by UBS. The regulator is currently finalizing a study of the effects of interest rate risks on European banks, which it started working on in the fall. “The investigation is not yet concluded, but I can say already today that we don’t expect to find major institutions with significant solvency risks arising from unrealized losses,” Campa said. Meanwhile, years of mismanagement and scandal at Credit Suisse left it particularly exposed to a broad sense of unease about banks.

☆ 'The first bank crisis of the Twitter generation': The pressure on banks is very different from 2008
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

It is "unlikely" that European banks will undergo anything as serious as in 2008, according to economists. But a banking crisis today would look very different from 15 years ago thanks to social media, online banking, and huge shifts in regulation. This is "the first bank crisis of the Twitter generation," Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, told CNBC earlier this month, in reference to the collapse of Credit Suisse . watch nowRegulators shuttered Silicon Valley Bank on March 10 in what was the biggest U.S. bank collapse since the global financial crisis in 2008. Risk in the banking system today is significantly less than it has been at any time over the last 20 or 30 years.

☆ European lawmakers are quietly miffed at U.S. regulators over SVB's collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chair of the ECB Supervisory Board Andrea Enria and Chairperson of the European Banking Authority (EBA) Jose Manuel Campa in the European Parliament on March 21, 2023. And in Switzerland, a non-member of the European Union, authorities had to rescue Credit Suisse by asking UBS to step in with an acquisition. Meanwhile, regulators and officials across the European Union have been nervous about potential contagion to their own banking sector. After all, it's not been that long since European banks were in the depths of the global financial crisis. Like him, an array of officials have made an effort to stress that the European banking system is in much better share compared to 2008.

☆ Credit Suisse bondholders prepare lawsuit after contentious $17 billion writedown
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A sign of Credit Suisse bank is seen at their headquarters in Zurich on March 20, 2023. A number of Credit Suisse bondholders said Tuesday that they were considering legal action after $17 billion of the bank's additional tier-one (AT1) bonds were wiped out as part of its emergency sale to UBS . David Benamou, chief investment officer at Axiom Alternative Investments and a holder of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds, told CNBC on Tuesday that he would be joining the lawsuit along with, he imagined, "probably most bondholders." Was Credit Suisse failing? The Credit Suisse write-down represents the largest loss ever inflicted on AT1 investors since their inception.

☆ 'A financial banana republic': UBS-Credit Suisse deal puts Switzerland's reputation on the line
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Imageswatch now"The Credit Suisse debacle will have serious ramifications for other Swiss financial institutions. A country-wide reputation with prudent financial management, sound regulatory oversight, and, frankly, for being somewhat dour and boring regarding investments, has been wiped away," Marenzi said. Credit Suisse traded up 3.5% during afternoon deals after ending Monday's session down a whopping 55%. Credit Suisse bond wipeoutUnder the terms of the emergency takeover, investors in Credit Suisse's additional tier-one bonds — widely regarded as a relatively risky investment — will see the value of their holdings slashed to zero. One euro was last seen trading at 0.9961 Swiss francs, weakening from 0.9810 when compared with March 14.

FRANKFURT, March 20 (Reuters) - European supervisors tried to stop a rout in the market for convertible bank bonds on Monday, saying owners of this type of debt would only suffer losses after shareholders have been wiped out - unlike what happened at Credit Suisse (CSGN.S). Regulators in the European Union and Britain were reacting to a decisions by Swiss authorities to write off Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds even as stockholders received shares in UBS (UBSG.S). The EU regulators - the European Central Bank, the European Banking Authority and the Single Resolution Board - said they would continue to impose losses on shareholders before bondholders. The comments helped the price of bank bonds cut losses and were echoed by the Bank of England shortly after. Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds contained a clause allowing Swiss authorities to write them off if the bank became unviable, regardless of what happens to the shares.

☆ What are AT1 bonds and why are Credit Suisse’s now worthless?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But it is the owners of Credit Suisse’s $17 billion worth of “additional tier one” (AT1) bonds who have been left fully in the cold. David Benamou, chief investment officer at Axiom Alternative Investments, a French wealth management firm with exposure to AT1 bonds, called the decision “quite surprising, not to say … shocking.”What are AT1 bonds? AT1 bonds are also known as “contingent convertibles,” or “CoCos”. It is not the write-down of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds that has rocked investors, but the fact that the bank’s shareholders will receive some compensation when bondholders will not. But because Credit Suisse’s demise has not followed a traditional bankruptcy, analysts told CNN, the same rules don’t apply.

☆ European supervisors say shares should be wiped out before bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, March 20 (Reuters) - European supervisors tried to stop a rout in the market for convertible bank bonds on Monday, saying owners of this type of debt would only suffer losses after shareholders have been wiped out - unlike what happened at Credit Suisse (CSGN.S). The European Banking Authority, European Central Bank and the Single Resolution Board and were reacting to a decisions by Swiss authorities to write off Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 bonds even as stockholders received shares in UBS (UBSG.S). The three European regulators - respectively responsible for writing the rules, applying them and winding down failing banks - said they would continue to impose losses on shareholders before bondholders. "Additional Tier 1 is and will remain an important component of the capital structure of European banks," they added. The supervisors welcomed, however, "the comprehensive set of actions taken yesterday by the Swiss authorities" to save Credit Suisse.

☆ EU watchdog to tackle banks with too few women on boards
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Women earned on average 9.5% less than male executive directors, and 6% less than male non-executive directors. While banks are allowed to set their own targets for women on boards, some EU states have adopted national laws with targets. EBA Diversity Graphic 2Larger banks, and banks from northern and eastern Europe fare better on diversity, perhaps linked to better childcare facilities in those countries. The EU has just approved a law requiring at least 40% of non-executive board members at listed companies to be women from mid-2026. EBA Diversity Graphic 1Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU calls for fast-track crypto capital rules for banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Tough capital rules for banks holding cryptoassets must be fast-tracked in the European Union's pending banking law if Europe wants to avoid missing a globally-agreed deadline, the bloc's executive has said. The global Basel Committee of banking regulators from the world's main financial centres has set a January 2025 deadline for implementing capital requirements for banks' exposures to cryptoassets such as stablecoins and bitcoin. "Banks have expressed interest in trading crypto-assets on behalf of their clients and to provide crypto-assets-related services." Basel's standards are applied in the EU with a law, and a delay could mean that banks have to wait longer to enter the cryptomarket as separate EU rules for trading cryptoassets come into force in 2024. To enforce Basel's crypto rules, the EU could either propose a new law, or expand the banking law it is now finalising as called for by the European Parliament.

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rising borrowing costs are giving a long-awaited lift to Europe's beleaguered banks, but they come with a sting in the tail. Last year central banks ended a decade of rock-bottom interest rates as the U.S. Federal Reserve and then the European Central Bank moved towards tightening. But while rising rates are good news for bank profits, they herald a slowdown in an economy hit by war and runaway prices that squeeze borrowers and could prick pricing bubbles, most notably in property. "On the one hand, interest rates are going up, which is good and helps banks," said Jerome Legras of Axiom Alternative Investments. Germany's financial regulator BaFin recently warned that a rapid rise in interest rates could weigh on some banks, and that loans may sour.

☆ Brexit lifts number of million-euro-a-year bankers in EU, watchdog says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - More Brexit-related relocations from London and rise in trading increased the number of bankers earning more than a million euros a year in the European Union by more than 40% in 2021, the bloc's banking watchdog said on Thursday. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said the number of bankers earning over a million euros ($1.08 million) rose to 1,957 in 2021 from 1,383 in 2020, up 41.5% to reach the highest level since the watchdog began collecting such data in 2010. Germany still has most top earning bankers, with 589, followed by France with 371 and Italy 351. Most high earners - 1,516 - received remuneration within the payment bracket from 1 million to 2 million euros, with the highest payment bracket ranging from 14 million to 15 million euros, EBA said. EBA Graphic on Banker Pay($1 = 0.9245 euros)Reporting by Huw Jones Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Some banks may struggle to pay back ECB loans, says EU watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Some banks in the euro zone could struggle to pay back money borrowed from the European Central Bank as volatile markets make it harder to raise funds, the European Union's banking watchdog said on Friday. "Banks must repay substantial amounts of central bank loans until 2024. A number of banks will be able to rely on existing liquidity buffers – including central bank deposits – to pay back central bank loans," the European Banking Authority said in a report on banking risks in the 12 months to June 2022. It remains to be seen how costly replacing central bank funding will be," EBA said. Meeting separate minimum requirements for issuing debt that can be written down in a crisis could also prove a challenge for some banks, EBA said.

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