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☆ UniCredit to repay AT1 bond, says no need to issue more near term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Investors' confidence in AT1 bonds has been rocked by a Swiss authorities' decision to wipe out $17 billion of Credit Suisse's CSGN.S AT1 debt under its takeover by UBS (UBSG.S), in a move that hit AT1 holders harder than shareholders. To do so, banks need approval from supervisors because such bonds, which are designed to help lenders withstand possible losses, count towards their capital buffers and banks would normally need to refinance them. A supervisory source told Reuters at the time that banks with strong capital ratios such as UniCredit did well to call AT1 bonds and prop up investor confidence. AT1 bonds were introduced in the wake of the global financial crisis to provide lenders with tools that could allow them to pass on losses to investors, shielding taxpayers. "UniCredit has limited need for TLAC/MREL fundingfor the remainder of this year and no need to issue AT1 instruments in the foreseeable future.

☆ Sale of Italy's MPS should help create several big banks, says Meloni
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Monte dei Paschi (MPS), of which the government owns 64% following a 2017 bailout, is seen playing a pivotal role in the consolidation expected among Italy's mid-sized lenders. After failing to clinch a sale of MPS to UniCredit (CRDI.MI) in 2021, the government is expected to seek another bank interested in buying its stake in the Tuscan lender. The government has just decided to renew Luigi Lovaglio's mandate as MPS chief executive for another term. We confirmed Lovaglio at the helm of Monte dei Paschi, the CEO successfully led the last capital increase, and now we must work to bring Monte back to the private market," Meloni said. "The government will not intervene, it is alert to check that there are no situations that jeopardise the national interest," Meloni told the newspaper.

REUTERS/Pierre AlbouyMILAN/LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Short-sellers who bet against European banks are set to lose a substantial amount of money in April after the sector bounced back from the shock downfall of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings. The STOXX European banks share index (.SX7P) has risen as much as 18% from late March's lows. But a Bank of America survey showed fund managers cut bank exposure in April to the lowest since May 2020, as they piled into more recession-proof defensive sectors. Ortex estimates short interest on European banks is close to 1% of the free share float, an 11-month high. One area of concern is exposure to commercial real estate and investors will be alert to any sign of emerging stress as European lenders report earnings next week.

☆ Italian investor in UniCredit, Banco BPM sees 'strategic value' in deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Italy's No.2 bank UniCredit was preparing an offer for number three Banco BPM in 2022, before the Ukraine conflict forced CEO Andrea Orcel to focus on its Russia exposure. Orcel had looked to move on Banco BPM soon after becoming UniCredit CEO two years ago, but instead entered talks with the government over a possible Monte dei Paschi (BMPS.MI) acquisition that eventually fell through. Fondazione CRT holds 1.9% of UniCredit and 1.8% of Banco BPM. Twenty years later that gap is still there so the strategic value of the deal remains". Born from the merger of BPM with Verona-based Banco Popolare, Banco BPM controls 12% of Lombardy's banking market, twice UniCredit's market share.

☆ Why a European stock index is crushing its US peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the United States has climbed 2%. Those “growth” stocks gave investors a stake in firms that were on track to expand their businesses quickly and generate hefty returns. Now, investors are more drawn to “value” stocks: companies thought to be trading at a discount based on their financial performance. That’s been a “near-perfect combination” for European stocks to beat their US peers, he added. Economists at the Fed predict the United States will fall into a “mild” recession as a result of the recent banking crisis.

☆ UniCredit CEO expects ECB to take 'balanced approach' on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, April 6 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to take a 'balanced approach' on interest rate hikes, acting on the basis of economic data as they become available given the high level of uncertainty. "I believe that in the end the (European) Central Bank will take a balanced approach, probably raising rates by more than what 'doves' would like, but by less than what 'hawks' would," CEO Andrea Orcel was quoted as saying by Il Messaggero daily on Thursday. Orcel added he expected the ECB's deposit rate could peak in the summer. Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UBS names 6 global 'high-quality' dividend stocks with over 5% yield
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In a report titled ''Global High-Quality Dividend Stock List," UBS highlighted that all sectors of U.S. stock markets also appear relatively safe in terms of dividend growth prospects. The table below shows 10 "high-quality dividend stocks" with the biggest dividend yield forecast. While the top five dividend payers are from Europe and Japan, UBS sees stocks there generally underperforming compared with the United States. Energy has been forecast to have the largest dividend growth globally, while communication services have seen no increase in their projected yield. Deutsche Bank was also among the stocks with a forecast yield of more than 5%.

The sources said one possibility that has been considered would see Amundi (AMUN.PA) spinning off its Italian operations into a separate company, in which UniCredit (CRDI.MI) could buy a stake. Azimut had 83 billion euros of assets under management (AUMs) at the end of February. Amundi, which is 69% owned by Credit Agricole, ranks third in Italy with 214 billion euros of AUMs as of end-February. UniCredit had 194 billion euros of AUMs at group level in December. "Extracting further value from partnerships on asset management, protection and payments remains another focus," they added.

Italy's bond, which marks its third green bond and matures on 30 October 2031, was priced to yield 4.056%. Elsewhere, Cyprus raised 1 billion euros from its first sustainable bond, the country's debt office said, becoming the latest European government to enter the market. Sustainable bonds are a broader form ESG debt, proceeds from which can be spent on both green and social projects. Cyprus follows a number of smaller countries including Slovenia and Luxembourg opting for sustainable bonds as they often struggle to find enough projects to back standalone green bonds. Leonidou said Cyprus expects to sell sustainable bonds every two or three years going forward.

☆ Explainer: Oil price surge changes ECB narrative only at the margins
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The following examines how higher crude prices - which jumped around 5.5% on Monday following the OPEC+ decision - could impact ECB policy. IS AN OIL PRICE SURGE INFLATIONARY? Part of the issue is that high energy prices slow growth further out and thus become deflationary because they reduce households' and businesses' purchasing power. "The case for more ECB rate hikes is still intact," UniCredit said in a note. If high energy prices spook the Fed, rate-cut bets will unwind and push up the dollar.

[1/2] The Credit Suisse logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 16, 2023. Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders get nothing under the UBS merger deal. A WisdomTree exchange traded fund that tracks a broad index of bank AT1s, has dropped 11% in the past fortnight. Credit Suisse AT1s made up less than 3% of the fund just before the Swiss bank's rescue, the asset manager disclosed. Deutsche Bank AT1 debt is trading at 74 cents on the dollar, off last week's lows around 67 cents but still below levels seen before the Credit Suisse writedown, Tradeweb data shows.

☆ Factbox: Five facts about returning UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Sergio Ermotti has been rehired as the CEO of Swiss banking giant UBS (UBSG.S) to steer its massive takeover of rival Credit Suisse (CSGN.S). * He joined UBS in 2011 after being passed over for the top job at Italian lender UniCredit. Within six months of joining he was appointed interim CEO in the wake of a $2.3 billion trading scandal, before he was picked to run UBS on a permanent basis until 2020. * Ermotti, with long experience in investment banking and wealth management, is credited with executing UBS's turnaround and scaling down its investment banking operations after a series of scandals and losses nearly caused the bank's implosion. Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ BoE's Bailey says rate-setters can put inflation before bank worries
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey signalled on Monday that interest rate-setters would focus on fighting inflation and would not be swayed unduly by worries about the health of the global banking system. Some investors have argued that central banks should take into account the banking turmoil when setting interest rates. "With the Financial Policy Committee on the case of securing financial stability, the Monetary Policy Committee can focus on its own important job of returning inflation to target," Bailey said. As well as the BoE, the European Central Bank, U.S. Federal Reserve and Swiss National Bank have all raised interest rates this month, despite the high-profile bank failures including Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse. Bailey repeated the BoE's view that further monetary tightening would be required if signs of persistent inflationary pressure became evident.

[1/3] The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen in front of a branch office in Bern, Switzerland November 29, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File PhotoWASHINGTON/FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) - Stress in the banking sector is being closely monitored for its potential to trigger a credit crunch, a U.S. Federal Reserve policymaker said on Sunday, as a European Central Bank official also flagged a possible tightening in lending. "What's unclear for us is how much of these banking stresses are leading to a widespread credit crunch. Meanwhile in Europe, the ECB believes that recent banking sector turmoil may result in lower growth and inflation rates, its vice president Luis de Guindos said. Turbulence among banking stocks on both sides of the Atlantic continued into the end of the week, despite efforts by politicians, central banks and regulators to dispel concerns.

☆ As banking sector confidence falters, central banks called on to do more
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Davide Barbuscia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - Some investors and analysts are calling for more coordinated interventions from central banks to restore financial stability, as they fear that tumult in the global banking sector will continue amid rising interest rates. On Friday, shares of Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) plunged amid concerns that regulators and central banks have yet to contain the worst shock to the banking sector since the 2008 global financial crisis. Global central banks including the Federal Reserve have recently taken measures to enhance the provision of liquidity through the standing U.S. dollar swap line arrangements. "The issue with European banks and big U.S. banks at the moment is confidence. Meanwhile, overall deposits in the banking sector have declined by almost $600 billion since the Fed began to raise interest rates last year, the biggest banking sector deposit outflow on record, noted Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management.

☆ Norway wealth fund to vote in favour of UniCredit remuneration plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, March 26 (Reuters) - Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, will vote in favour of the UniCredit (CRDI.MI) remuneration package, it said on Sunday. The Italian bank is due to hold its annual meeting of shareholders on March 31. Orcel's current pay package of up to 7.5 million euros ($8.06 million) a year makes the former head of investment banking at Swiss lender UBS (UBSG.S) one of Europe's best paid bank executives. The Norwegian fund owns 2.65% of UniCredit's shares, worth some $728 million, at the end of 2022, according to fund data. ($1 = 0.9301 euros)Reporting by Nora Buli, writing by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury said it would confirm Luigi Lovaglio as chief executive of Monte dei Paschi di Siena , keeping the veteran banker in charge of the bank as turmoil shakes the industry. Monte dei Paschi (MPS) is due to appoint a new board of directors on April 20 and the Treasury, which owns 64% of MPS following a 2017 bailout, on Saturday said it had filed its slate of nominees for the board. He arrived at MPS just over a year ago, when the Treasury pushed out his predecessor. A merger also remains the preferred option of banking supervisors to buttress MPS' fragile profitability, a second source said. A failed attempt to sell MPS to UniCredit has forced Italy to seek more time from the EU to cut its stake.

☆ Italy to hand Monte dei Paschi CEO Lovaglio new mandate - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury is set to hand veteran banker Luigi Lovaglio a new mandate as chief executive of state-owned lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena , two people with knowledge of the matter said. Lovaglio, who built his career at UniCredit (CRDI.MI) where he eventually rose to lead the group's former Polish unit Bank Pekao, arrived at Monte dei Paschi (MPS) just over a year ago, when the Treasury pushed out his predecessor. The state owns 64% of MPS following a 2017 bailout. Lovaglio, one of Italy's most experienced commercial bankers, in November oversaw a make-or-break 2.5 billion euro ($2.7 billion) capital raise which allowed MPS to bolster capital and fund voluntary layoffs. ($1 = 0.9295 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za and Valentina Za; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

A supervisory source told Reuters that redeeming AT1 bonds is a good way to instil confidence in markets if banks have enough capital, which the source said is the case for UniCredit. AT1 bonds are the riskiest type of debt banks can issue, ranking immediately after equity in the event of losses. The decision has disrupted the $275 billion AT1 bond market, which had already seen yields rise in the wake of recent U.S. banking failures. European rules require lenders to put in a request to supervisors to call an AT1 bond at least three months before the due date. AT1 bonds emerged in the wake of the global financial crisis as a way to build up bank capital and absorb losses.

[1/5] The logo of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is seen on their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerVIENNA, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is pressing Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) to unwind its highly profitable business in Russia, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. One person said such a plan could include the sale or closure of its Russian bank. A Raiffeisen spokesperson said that it was examining options for its Russia business "including a carefully managed exit" and that it was "expediting" its assessment, adding that it had also reduced lending in the country. HIGH STAKESIn January, the U.S. sanctions authority launched an inquiry into Raiffeisen over its business related to Russia.

☆ Swiss CoCo shakeout may yet help bank regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Neil Unmack | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Switzerland’s forced merger of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) with UBS (UBSG.S) has caused a real stink. European regulators on Monday mobilised to calm debt investors after Swiss authorities chose to write off 16 billion Swiss francs of Credit Suisse’s Additional Tier 1 CoCos. Both the Bank of England and European regulators pledged on Monday to respect the bank rescue hierarchy that says shareholders should lose money before debt. A case in point: only last year the already creaking Credit Suisse chose to redeem a bond. Follow @Unmack1 on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSPrices of contingent capital securities, a kind of junior ranking loss-absorbing bank debt, fell after bonds issued by Credit Suisse were wiped out following its takeover by UBS.

The Credit Suisse rescue has shaken the European banking sector and fears of wider fallout remain. Under the Credit Suisse rescue deal, 16 billion Swiss francs worth of Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 debt will be written down to zero on the orders of the Swiss regulator. Overall, bank debt remained under pressure, with the cost of insuring exposure to the debt rising in the credit default swaps (CDS) market. CONTAGION RISKThe wipeout of AT1 bonds in the Credit Suisse rescue has alerted fixed income investors to the risks of investing in these instruments. At Credit Suisse, the bank's AT1 bonds were bid as low as 1 cent on the dollar on Monday as investors braced for the wipeout.

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - European bank bonds slumped on Monday following the state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS (UBSG.S) as a wipeout of some bondholders raised concerns around broader bank capital and also hammered bank shares. "The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS was done fast and should have provided reassurance to the market that we haven’t had another bank collapse. However, what it has done is exposed the issues around AT1 bonds,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. In the bond market, Credit Suisse's Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bonds were bid as low as 1 cent on the dollar on Monday as investors braced for the wipeout. Shares in Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) fell as much as 64.5% while UBS Group (UBSG.S) shares dropped as much as 16%.

☆ UniCredit board member did not quit due to alleged spat over CEO pay - chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, March 17 (Reuters) - The former head of the remuneration committee and board member of UniCredit (CRDI.MI), Jayne-Anne Gadhia, did not quit the bank due to alleged disagreements over the pay package of CEO Andrea Orcel, the chairman of Italy's No.2 lender said on Friday. UniCredit is proposing hiking Orcel's fixed salary by 30% while a corresponding increase in the variable pay would be tied to the group beating financial targets. Hitting 2023 goals would leave Orcel with the same overall pay of up to 7.5 million euros ($5.33 million) as in 2022, making him one of Europe's best paid bank executives, thanks to a reduction in the compensation's variable component, which will be all in shares and spread over a longer period. "The suggestion that Dame Jayne-Anne left the bank 'after skirmishes ... over [chief executive] pay' is false, as we have repeatedly said", Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan said in a letter to the Financial Times, referring to an opinion piece published by the British newspaper on March 13. ($1 = 0.9378 euros)Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Federico MaccioniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Short sellers are doubling down on these European banks — and Credit Suisse isn't their top target
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Short-sellers are sitting on nearly $2 billion in profit from bets against the European banking sector this month so far. The worries heightened in Europe on Wednesday as Credit Suisse shares fell by 24% — its biggest daily loss. However, data shows that Credit Suisse — Switzerland's second-largest lender — doesn't even make the list of the top five most-shorted European Banks. BNP Paribas remains the biggest target for short-sellers, with $3.1 billion in total wagers expecting shares to fall. The following table shows the European lenders that saw the largest increase in shorts over the past 30 days.

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