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REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's top bank watchdog defended its push to overhaul capital requirements, saying they would have a minimal impact on borrowing costs and make the industry more stable. Michael Barr, the Fed's vice chair for supervision, told a conference in New York on Friday that the so-called "Basel endgame" proposal is mainly focused on raising capital requirements for activities like trading, rather than lending. "Normally, we issue a proposal and then we get very detailed commentary, and we take those comment letters into account." Banks have loudly complained about the proposal, which overhauls how banks gauge their risk and require them to set aside more capital. Industry executives said the draft rules would force them to raise costs and potentially curb lending.

Persons: Michael Barr, Evelyn Hockstein, Banks, Barr, Pete Schroeder, Lananh Nguyen, Chizu Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, Federal, Bank, National Football League, Industry, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, New York

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon Acquire Licensing RightsNov 17 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. The Asia Pacific economic data and policy calendar on Friday is very light, with only Malaysian third quarter GDP and current account reports scheduled for release. Ahead of the data the ringgit is trading around 4.6850 per dollar, near last month's 25-year low of 4.79 per dollar. Anyone hoping for market-moving news from the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco will have been disappointed. The gathering of APEC leaders has been cordial and cooperative but, viewed through an economic and market lens, lacking any real substance.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Jamie McGeever, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Fed's Barr, Collins, Daly, Josie Kao Organizations: Nikkei, REUTERS, Treasury, Asia, Malaysian, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, CSI, Brent, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Asia Pacific, Asia, San Francisco, China, Malaysia

Passersby are reflected on an electric stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 9 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist. To recap, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Friday registered their biggest gains since late August, and the S&P 500 snapped a four-week losing streak, after data showed that showed U.S. job growth in September smashed forecasts. Figures on Saturday showed that China's foreign exchange reserves fell $45 billion in September to $3.115 trillion from $3.16 trillion in August. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Issei Kato, Jamie McGeever, Wall, Treasuries, Fed's Barr, Jefferson, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Swiss, Nasdaq, Analysts, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Israel, Gaza, Asia, China, U.S, Beijing, Logan, Indonesia

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official said on Friday the central bank is "a long way" from any decision on whether it would issue its own digital currency, and added it would not do so without official support in Washington. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said while officials are investigating a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Fed was far from any decision. "Of course, investigation and research are very different from decision-making about next steps in terms of payments system development, and we are a long way from that." Barr's comments echo those of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who also has said the Fed would not move to issue a digital currency without explicit authorization from Congress. It is important to get the legislative and regulatory framework right before significant risks emerge," he said.

Persons: Michael Barr, Evelyn Hockstein, Barr, Jerome Powell, Pete Schroeder, Hugh Lawson, Andrea Ricci Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, Philadelphia

☆ Fed's Barr lays out plan to order more capital for large U.S. banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Federal Reserve Board Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the response to the recent bank failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 29, 2023. The Federal Reserve's top regulatory official laid out a sweeping plan to increase capital requirements for the nation's largest banks, saying recent bank failures underlined the need for regulators to bolster resilience in the system. Barr said he did not plan to overhaul the U.S. bank capital framework, but instead build on it in several ways, including by fully implementing an international bank capital agreement and expanding annual "stress tests" of bank health. Barr also said the Federal Reserve is close to reaching the appropriate level of interest rates to bring inflation back to the central bank's 2% target but added: "We still have a bit of work to do." Barr's remark came in response to a question on how much further the Fed's policy rate may need to rise to contain inflation.

Persons: Michael Barr, Barr Organizations: Financial, Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Capitol, Federal, Silicon Valley Bank, Federal Reserve Locations: Washington, Silicon

MSCI's broad Asia ex-Japan index shed 1.5% last week, its third consecutive week without rising, and is flat for the year. Much of that is due to the sluggishness of China's markets, and key indicators from the region's largest economy on Monday will get the trading week underway. Annual producer price inflation, already the most negative since 2016, is seen falling to -5.0% from -4.6% in May. Chinese banking stocks, measured by the Hong Kong-listed Hang Seng Mainland Banks Index (.HSMBI), plunged 10.5% last week. Reflecting just how poorly China's post-lockdown economy has performed relative to consensus forecasts, Citi's Chinese economic surprises index has now fallen 11 weeks in a row.

Persons: Jamie McGeever, Janet Yellen's, Yellen, Fed's Barr, Daly, Mester, Diane Craft Organizations: U.S, Mainland Banks Index, Treasury, China CPI, PPI, Thomson, Reuters Locations: China, New Zealand, South Korea, Wall, MSCI's, Asia, Japan, Hong Kong, Mainland, underperformance

☆ Fed's Barr says first learned of risks at SVB weeks before it failed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's head of banking supervision said Tuesday he was first made aware of the interest rate risk-related issues at Silicon Valley Bank in mid-February, just weeks before its failure. "The staff highlighted the interest-rate risk that was present at Silicon Valley Bank and indicated that they were in the middle of a further review," Barr said. "I believe that is the first time that I was told about interest-rate risk at Silicon Valley Bank." In mid-2022, Fed staff deemed the bank's management to be deficient and barred the bank from growing through mergers or acquisitions, Barr said. "To the best of my knowledge I first learned about the issues at Silicon Valley Bank with respect to interest rate risk in mid-February of 2023," Barr said.

☆ SVB customers tried to withdraw nearly all the bank’s deposits over two days, Fed's Barr testifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The run on Silicon Valley Bank's deposits this month went far deeper than was initially known. Regulators shuttered SVB on March 10 in the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. The combined withdrawal figure of $142 billion represents a staggering 81% of SVB's $175 billion in deposits as of the end of last year. Lawmakers summoned top U.S. banking regulators to Washington to explain why Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed earlier this month. In fact, Fed supervisors began warning SVB management about the risk that higher interest rates posed to the bank's balance sheet in November 2021, Barr testified.

☆ Fed's Barr says regulators committed to ensuring 'all deposits' are safe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In prepared testimony, Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr added that the banking system is "strong and resilient." Barr said SVB's collapse was a "textbook case of mismanagement," citing the firm's concentrated business model, exceedingly fast growth, failure to manage its interest rate risk, and reliance on uninsured deposits. Supervisors told bank senior management in October 2022 of its concern with the bank's interest rate risk profile, Barr said. He added Fed leaders in Washington were briefed on the impact of rising interest rate on some banks' financials, and SVB was highlighted. The Fed is undertaking an internal review of its supervision of the bank, and Barr said he welcomes external reviews as well.

☆ Fed's Barr calls Silicon Valley Bank failure a 'textbook case of mismanagement'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Federal Reserve's top banking regulator said Monday that the failure of Silicon Valley Bank was due largely to mismanagement, though he noted that regulation and oversight also need to step up. "To begin, SVB's failure is a textbook case of mismanagement," he said. Along with the examination into what happened specifically with the bank, Barr also noted that the probe will examine whether the Fed's testing of risk was adequate. He pointed out that the supervisors identified problems with SVB's liquidity risk management as far back as late-2021. Part of the review also will look at whether more stringent standards would have pushed SVB to have a better handle on its liquidity risk.

Asian markets could rebound on Tuesday from their sluggish start to the week, after a deal to buy the assets of stricken U.S. bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) prompted a relief rally in financials and allayed fears of deeper systemic stress. Treasury's sale of $43 billion five-year notes on Tuesday and $35 billion of seven-year notes on Wednesday will be worth monitoring. There are no central bank policy decisions on Tuesday, but investors can expect a slew of headlines from central bank officials around the world to hit their screens. In Asia, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda gives a speech, and finance ministers and central bank governors of the ASEAN nations attend a three-day summit in Bali. European Central Bank and Bank of England chiefs Christine Lagarde and Andrew Bailey head a raft of European policymaker events.

☆ Fed's Barr says crypto needs 'guardrails' to realize benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The top regulatory official for the U.S. Federal Reserve said cryptocurrency technology still could have "potential transformative" effects on the financial system, but needs "guardrails" to realize them. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr said recent turmoil in crypto markets make clear the sector could still pose a risk to traditional banks, but that the impact has been limited as regulators urge caution. Barr stopped short of saying banks have no role to play in crypto, but rather said regulators are busy figuring out what firms could do in the space while remaining safe and sound. He noted that technology behind crypto could make financial markets and payments systems more efficient and affordable. "Our goal is to create guardrails, while making room for innovation that can benefit consumers and the financial system more broadly," he said.

☆ Fed's Barr: Concerned about blowback to financial system from crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"That includes obviously crypto activity, but more broadly risks in parts of the financial system where we don't have good visibility, we don't have good transparency, we don't have good data. That can create risks that blow back to the financial system that we do regulate." Barr's remarks came in his first congressional testimony since becoming the Fed's top Wall Street cop over the summer and augmented his prepared comments to the committee that he was keeping a close eye for stresses in the financial system amid a weakening economy. Banks are not required to place other types of custody assets on their own balance sheets. "Wouldn't this impose a significant cost on banks if they are in fact obligated to put all of the ... crypto custody assets on their balance sheets," Toomey asked Barr.

☆ Fed's Barr: Concerned about non-bank risks, including crypto, that can 'blow back' on system
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's top financial regulatory official, on Tuesday said he is concerned about risks from the nonbank sector, including cryptocurrencies, for which the U.S. central bank and other regulators have poor visibility. "We're concerned about the risks that we don't know about in the nonbank sector," Barr said in response to a question during an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee. "That includes obviously crypto activity, but more broadly risks in parts of the financial system where we don't have good visibility, we don't have good transparency, we don't have good data. That can create risks that blow back to the financial system that we do regulate." Reporting By Dan BurnsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Asian stocks ease to 2-1/2-year lows, pound lifted by Sunak's victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Anshuman Daga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sterling strengthened 0.3% to $1.13170, heading toward the high this month of $1.1493 from Oct. 5. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares (.MIAP00000PUS) lost 0.4% to 428.2 after dipping to 427.4 , the lowest since April 2020. ING economists noted widespread weakness in the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) published on Monday across the developed markets. The mainland Chinese benchmark index (.CSI300) shed 0.6 and the offshore yuan tumbled to yet another record low against the dollar, weakening to as much as 7.3650 per dollar. In commodities markets, gold prices rose 0.1% to $1,650.6 per ounce, while benchmark Brent crude futures were steady at $93.2 per barrel.

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