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HSBC should separate its Asia business into a Hong Kong-listed entity, top shareholder Ping An said in an update to proposals it began to push for last November. Glass Lewis said the strategic review proposal, filed by individual shareholder Ken Lui in Hong Kong and backed by Ping An, was "not in shareholders' interest". HSBC also denied a claim by Ping An that the bank had "refused to verbally engage in discussions on the proposals". The lender has had extensive discussions with Ping An on these topics, a spokesperson for HSBC said. London listed shares in HSBC were down 0.5% on Tuesday afternoon, against a broad-based 1.3% rally in the STOXX European banks index (.SX7P).

☆ Shareholder group ISS backs Barclays board over former CEO Staley
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Sinead Cruise | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended Barclays investors re-elect all board members at next month's annual meeting, sapping the momentum of protests against bosses for supporting former CEO Jes Staley who is being investigated over his links with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Investors should instead await the outcome of various investigations into the matter, ISS said. Staley has acknowledged having been friendly with Epstein, but expressed regret for their relationship and has denied knowing about the financier's criminal activities. JPMorgan, in turn, has sued Staley over "outrageous" alleged conduct and breaching his duty of loyalty to the bank. Barclays docked bonuses earned by Morzaria and its current top executives by a combined 1 million pounds ($1.24 million) in February over the blunder.

☆ Proxy advisor ISS urges investors to back Barclays board
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Staley has acknowledged having been friendly with Epstein, but expressed regret for their relationship and has denied knowing about the financier's criminal activities. The notice also said Staley's unvested long-term bonuses remained suspended pending further developments, adding that the board would "consider further action as appropriate". JPMorgan, in turn, has sued Staley over "outrageous" alleged conduct and breaching his duty of loyalty to the bank. Staley's lawyers have dismissed allegations that he hid what he knew about the late disgraced financier as "slanderous" and "false". Reporting By Sinead Cruise, editing by Lawrence WhiteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Bank of England has raised interest rates 11 times since December 2021 in a bid to curb soaring inflation, which has squeezed living standards. Anil said last month's banking sector turmoil, sparked by the failure of SVB which spooked investors, could contribute to a broad shake-up in the digital finance sector. "The Bank of England looking at the regulations... is the sensible course to do," Sam Everington, senior executive at British digital bank Starling, told the event in London. Digital finance company bosses said they were confident the sector could weather tough economic conditions, but that pressure was building on business models. Lisa Jacobs, CEO of fintech Funding Circle, said much of the digital finance industry had only ever known low interest rates, but she was confident the industry could still show its value.

Launched in February 2022, the FTX Future Fund was part of the FTX Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire which fell apart last year, in what U.S. prosecutors called an "epic" fraud. Representatives for FTX also declined to comment and declined to say whether the FTX Foundation is included in the bankruptcy proceedings. The FTX Future Fund supported research into topics that "improve humanity's long-term prospects" and was funded primarily by Bankman-Fried, according to a profile of its activities published on Twitter. FTX's statement did not reference the FTX Future Fund specifically. One FTX Future Fund beneficiary in the U.S., who asked not to be named, said they received a grant of more than $150,000.

By offloading some of the risk on their loans, the banks can significantly reduce how much capital they need to set aside to cover potential losses, according to law firm Clifford Chance. A bank can normally transfer risks of losses equivalent to around 7% to 12% of a loan portfolio, two market sources said. With synthetic structures, a bank transfers the risk via credit derivatives or guarantees but keeps holding the underlying exposures. The IFC sold BNP a $50 million guarantee on $1 billion of loans to emerging markets, they said, without disclosing terms. While Europe has been at the forefront for risk transfers, the stock of loans covered by SRTs is small relative to European banks' balance sheets.

☆ BlackRock calls on clients to rethink hedging strategy after UK pension crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asset managers worry new rules to make LDI investing more robust could render the strategy unviable for some schemes, but consultants warn BlackRock's push could repel pension clients who want to minimise concentration risk. On Wednesday the Bank of England said LDI funds would, in practice, need to increase liquidity buffers to withstand a 300-400 basis points surge in bond yields. BlackRock is also encouraging schemes to shift to a new, smaller range of LDI funds which are less complex to operate, and moving bigger schemes into segregated accounts, which fared better in the crisis, Claringbull said. "But where clients feel they are being compromised they will look to move assets," he added. Despite the crisis fallout BlackRock has told clients it remains committed to LDI.

☆ VIEW Sergio Ermotti makes surprise comeback to lead UBS into new era
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STORIES: read moreANDREAS VENDITTI, HEAD OF BANKS RESEARCH, BANK VONTOBEL"We welcome the appointment of Sergio Ermotti and believe that he is right person for the challenging task, given his experience of successfully transforming UBS after the Global Financial Crisis." In addition, UBS is already facing significant political pressure due to its large size and importance for the country. MICHAEL KLIEN, ANALYST, ZUERCHER KANTONALBANK"With this change of leadership, the bank is sending a clear signal that its focus is on the successful integration of Credit Suisse. With Ermotti, UBS is bringing on board a proven expert on the bank and an effective enforcer for the successful merger of the two banks. JERRY DEL MISSIER, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT COPPER STREET CAPITAL AND FORMER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AT BARCLAYS"They needed to strengthen management.

☆ Sergio Ermotti makes surprise comeback to lead UBS into new era
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STORIES: read moreASHLEY PITTARD, HEAD OF GLOBAL EQUITIES, PENDAL, SYDNEY: (A SHAREHOLDER)"Without a doubt, he is the right person for the job. "Sergio was in the trenches during and post the global financial crisis when UBS was in a lot of trouble. VICTORIA SCHOLAR, HEAD OF INVESTMENT, INTERACTIVE INVESTOR, LONDON"Having steered UBS through the aftermath of the 2008 GFC and a rogue-trading scandal, Ermotti is a dab hand at crisis management. He also helped UBS to navigate through the onset of the pandemic and the corresponding market volatility during most of 2020. With Ermotti, UBS is bringing on board a proven expert on the bank and an effective enforcer for the successful merger of the two banks.

☆ Subprime lender Amigo to wind down after failing to raise funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - British subprime lender Amigo Holdings plc (AMGO.L) said on Thursday it would wind down after failing to secure adequate investor interest in a crucial capital raising, ending months of efforts to restructure its ailing business. The loan book will continue to be collected during the wind-down phase and employees will continue to be paid, the company said. Amigo has been scrambling to survive after struggling to cope with the cost of compensating customers for missold loans. Shares have collapsed 99% from a high of 315 pence shortly after a 2018 IPO valuing it at 1.3 billion pounds. Reporting by Amy-Jo Crowley Editing by Sinead Cruise and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - Distressed debt investors and large hedge funds are buying up Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) additional tier-1 bonds at rock-bottom prices after they were written down to zero in the Swiss bank's rescue by cross-town rival UBS (UBSG.S). AT1 bonds issued by other European banks tumbled on Monday as the treatment of Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders highlighted the risks of this type of debt. Buyers have included a mixture of hedge funds and deep distressed debt funds, which Southey expected would need to hold the bonds for an extended period before they paid off. Some of those buyers intend to join groups that would litigate to improve odds on cashing in on the bonds, Southey said. "It's quite possible that we will see demand from buyers of subordinated bank debt to have more explicit protections written into these bond prospectuses in the future."

Credit Suisse staff had already been seeking to jump ship in recent weeks, sources told Reuters. "Many Credit Suisse bankers had already been talking to a lot of people for a while [about leaving the Swiss bank]. An executive at a rival London-based wealth manager said they had seen a steady flow of CVs coming in from Credit Suisse bankers. UBS told Credit Suisse wealth bankers on Monday that it was weighing financial sweeteners for them to stay, as it seeks to reassure key staff. Some experts have said Britain's financial services industry could ultimately benefit from recent bouts of turmoil in the United States and Switzerland.

☆ Switzerland puts up 260 billion francs for Credit Suisse rescue, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The total of 259 billion francs of support is equivalent to a third of Switzerland's entire economic output, which stood at 771 billion francs last year. Credit Suisse said last Wednesday it would take 50 billion francs from the scheme, which provides funding secured against collateral such as mortgages and securities. On top of this, the Swiss National Bank offered the combined bank an emergency liquidity loan of up to 100 billion Swiss francs. UBS and Credit Suisse were both in a group of the 30 global systemically important banks watched closely by regulators. A failure by Credit Suisse failure would ripple throughout the entire financial system, the Swiss government said late on Sunday.

☆ UK finance minister, Bank of England governor in contact over Credit Suisse - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt walks at Downing Street in London, Britain, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are in regular contact this weekend over the fate of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), according to a source with knowledge of the matter. UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) is mulling a takeover of its embattled Swiss rival Credit Suisse, other sources told Reuters on Saturday, amid a crisis of confidence in the bank that risks destabilizing the global financial system. A spokesperson for the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversees lenders, declined to comment. Credit Suisse's UK entity, Credit Suisse International, has $60 billion of risk weighted assets, according to the company's latest filings.

Virgin Money (VMUK.L), Britain's sixth largest bank, said in a statement it had also seen "net business deposit inflows in recent days". That means SVB UK's customer deposits are safe and their loans supported, HSBC's top bosses have said. Franklin told Reuters a number of CEOs and startup execs had started researching other banks with which to park cash in addition to SVB UK this week, citing Barclays as a favourite among some. But the collapse of SVB has intensified scrutiny of the business models of all lenders, including specialists with smaller balance sheets to fall back on. "The UK banking system remains safe and continues to operate as normal."

A reversal of low rates to stem rampant inflation has forced a risk rethink and exposed the vulnerability of firms such as Credit Suisse. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse still needs to push ahead with a radical restructuring it undertook in October to restore profitability. [1/2] The Credit Suisse logo adorns one of their buildings at their campus in Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S., March 15, 2023. "Credit Suisse has been in our watch-list for a while," one senior executive told Reuters. The radical move by the Swiss central bank is aimed at banishing such doubts.

[1/2] The Credit Suisse logo adorns a sign at the entrance to their campus in Research Triangle Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, U.S., March 15, 2023. In its statement early Thursday, Credit Suisse said it is exercising its option to borrow from the Swiss National Bank up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion). They said the bank could access liquidity from the central bank if needed. Credit Suisse said it welcomed the statement of support from the Swiss National Bank and FINMA. The U.S. Treasury also said it is monitoring the situation around Credit Suisse and is in touch with global counterparts, a Treasury spokesperson said.

March 15 (Reuters) - Swiss regulators pledged a liquidity lifeline to Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in an unprecedented move by a central bank after the flagship Swiss lender's shares tumbled as much as 30% on Wednesday. They said the bank could access liquidity from the central bank if needed. Credit Suisse said it welcomed the statement of support from the Swiss National Bank and FINMA. Hoping to quell concerns, FINMA and the Swiss central bank said there were no indications of a direct risk of contagion for Swiss institutions from U.S. banking market turmoil. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022.

March 15 (Reuters) - Swiss regulators said Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) can access liquidity from the central bank if needed, racing to assuage fears around the lender after it led a rout in European bank shares on Wednesday. The U.S. Treasury is monitoring the situation around Credit Suisse and is in touch with global counterparts about it, a Treasury spokesperson said. They slid again as a crisis of confidence gripped Credit Suisse on Wednesday after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said market turmoil has steered more money its way.

Two supervisory sources told Reuters that the European Central Bank (ECB) had contacted banks on its watch to quiz them about their exposures to Credit Suisse. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Switzerland's second-largest bank, after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constraints. Credit Suisse had appealed to the Swiss National Bank and Swiss financial watchdog FINMA for a public show of support, the Financial Times reported. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said market turmoil has steered more money its way.

☆ Credit Suisse shares down by a quarter, key backer says no more money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Noele Illien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Saudi National Bank (SNB) (1180.SE), which holds 9.88% of Credit Suisse, said it would not buy more shares in the Swiss bank on regulatory grounds. The Swiss bank's shares were down about 24% early afternoon on Wednesday, after hitting a new record low. Koerner had said earlier in the week Credit Suisse's liquidity coverage ratio averaged 150% in the first quarter of this year. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Credit Suisse's stock move. Five-year credit default swaps on Credit Suisse debt widened to 574 basis points from 549 bps at last close, based on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, marking a new record high.

The drop in Credit Suisse shares led a 7% fall in the European banking index (.SX7P), while five-year credit default swaps (CDS) for the flagship Swiss bank hit a new record high, highlighting increasing investor concerns. We move from the problems of American banks to those of European banks, first of all Credit Suisse," said Carlo Franchini, head of institutional clients at Banca Ifigest in Milan. The Swiss National Bank declined to comment on Switzerland's second-largest bank, after its largest investor said it could not provide Credit Suisse with more financial assistance because of regulatory constrains. The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of an office building in Zurich, Switzerland October 26, 2022. Ralph Hamers, CEO of Credit Suisse rival UBS (UBSG.S) said it has benefited from market turmoil and seen money inflows.

March 15 (Reuters) - European bank stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with embattled Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) tumbling to a new low, on renewed investor concerns about stresses within the sector triggered by Silicon Valley Bank's sudden collapse. A more than 20% drop in Credit Suisse shares led a 6% plus fall in the European banking index (.SX7P), while five-year credit default swaps (CDS) for the flagship Swiss bank hit a new record high, highlighting increasing investor concerns. We move from the problems of American banks to those of European banks, first of all Credit Suisse," said Carlo Franchini, head of institutional clients at Banca Ifigest in Milan. BlackRock (BLK.N) Chief Executive Laurence Fink warned on Wednesday that the U.S. regional banking sector remains at risk, and predicted further high inflation and rate increases. And in an attempt to avert a similar crisis down the line, the U.S. Federal Reserve is considering tougher rules and oversight for midsize banks similar in size to SVB.

☆ Investors tiptoe back into US bank stocks, regulators probe SVB collapse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Chris Prentice | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

March 14 (Reuters) - Bruised U.S. bank stocks regained some ground on Tuesday, as a sell-off sparked by Silicon Valley Bank's collapse gave way to bargain-hunting by investors hopeful that efforts to shore up confidence would avert a wider financial crisis. The S&P 500 regional banks index (.SPLRCBNKS) rebounded 1.4%, leaving it with a 26% loss over the past five sessions. Investors worry about the health of smaller banks, the prospect of tighter regulation and authorities' preference for protecting depositors before shareholders. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsINVESTIGATIONSAs markets adjusted to the impact of SVB's collapse, regulars turned their focus to the circumstances around the bank's collapse. Officials are also examining stock sales by officers of SVB Financial Group, which owned the bank, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Worries about potential contagion had also slammed bank shares in Asia and Europe as investors re-examined their risks, despite assurances from U.S. President Joe Biden and other global policymakers that the financial system is safe. In Europe, where some see lenders as less vulnerable, the banking index (.SX7P) first fell then recovered to rise 2.7%. Asian banking stocks had extended their declines overnight, with Japanese banks hard-hit despite reassurances from the Bank of Japan said about their capital buffers. Regulator FDIC had moved swiftly to close New York's Signature Bank SBNY.O as well as taking control of SVB. Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ said the investigators are also examining stock sales that SVB Financial Group's executives made days before SVB failed, adding that the Justice Department's probe involves the department's fraud prosecutors in Washington and San Francisco.

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