European leaders and financial markets brace for Greek exit from the Euro.
Guardian: “Financial markets are hastily making preparations for a Greek exit from the euro after a day of political and economic turmoil ended with Europe‘s policy elite admitting for the first time...
View ArticleShaming the banks: a whole generation of leaders may have to go, FT says.
FT: On the Libor scandal: “This was market-rigging on a grand scale,” an editorial rages. “It is hard to think of anything more damning – or more corrosive of the reputation of capitalism.” The FT...
View Article“Banking has become criminalised in a way that threatens global stability.”
Charles Ferguson, Director of Inside Job, in the Guardian: “This week evidence emerged that HSBC abetted massive money laundering by Iran, terrorist organisations, drug cartels and organised criminals....
View ArticleFSA boss: LIBOR riggers should be jailed.
Guardian: City dealers who rig Libor should face criminal charges and jail, the head of the review into reforming the benchmark interest rate has said, as he promised swift action to repair the...
View ArticleBasle bank liquidity rules watered down after intense lobbying by banks.
FT: The first ever global liquidity standards will be less onerous than expected and not be fully enforced until 2019, four years later than expected. ““Aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2008 bank...
View ArticleFed officials initially thought the credit crunch was a good thing.
FT: Embarrassing minutes show top officials at the US Federal Reserve took months to realise the 2007 financial crisis would have such a dire impact. “The transcripts reveal that some Fed policy makers...
View ArticleLondon banks consider suing EU over bonus cap.
FT: “The City of London’s big banks are considering suing the EU over rules to cap bonuses after receiving legal advice that the pay regulation could be struck down in court.” “The drastic options...
View ArticleBank of England decides against further QE.
Guardian: Monetary policy committee decides against expanding its £375bn quantitative easing programme. …and keeps interest rates at their historic low of 0.5%.
View ArticleBoE warns private equity crash could trigger next wave of financial crisis.
Guardian: The Bank of England warned on Thursday that the next phase of the UK’s six-year financial and economic crisis may be triggered by the collapse of debt-laden companies bought by private...
View ArticleCarbon bubble ‘creates global economic risk’.
Guardian: Front page headline:” Economists fear massive losses on overvalued oil, coal and gas reserves.” “The world could be heading for a major economic crisis as stock markets inflate an investment...
View Article2.4 million quit UK banks in protest at lack of reforms.
Guardian: “An estimated 2.4 million customers quit the UK’s five biggest banks in 2012 as people “voted with their feet” in response to a string of scandals, according to latest figures.” “The Move...
View ArticleUK Banking Commission recommends jailing bankers for recklessness.
Guardian: “George Osborne is facing pressure to radically overhaul Britain’s banks by introducing a new law to jail bankers for “reckless misconduct” and force bankers to wait up to 10 years to receive...
View Article“Wall Street returns to era of big profits: FT.
FT: Pre-crisis levels of profits are back at Wall Street banks. Sherrod Brown, a Democratic senator, suggested to Ben Bernanke: “It’s no surprise that mega banks are doing quite well,” he says. “Yet...
View ArticleUS regulators may remove Wall Street banks’ licence to trade oil & gas.
FT: The Fed is reviewing permits for trading physical commodities issued over the past decade that allow them to own physical commodity assets such as takers of oil. The Fed clearly fears scope for...
View ArticleJP Morgan faces new criminal probe over MBS selling.
FT: The Department of Justice opens a criminal probe into JP Morgan Chase’s as unprecedented scrutiny from regulators continues after the loss of $6bn in a trading debacle last year. The issue: its...
View ArticleWorld Bank green bonds for tackling climate now exceed $4 bn.
Climate Bonds Initiative: Three weeks after adopting a new energy policy that axes coal lending, the World Bank is back with a new $550m, 2 year Green Bond, AAA. The bond coupon is 0.375%, slightly...
View ArticleIndia crisis threatens to hit banks hard as bad debt soars.
FT: The new central bank governorspeaks almost entirely about his plans for liberalising the banking sector, which he regards as essential for poverty alleviation and long-term growth in one of the...
View Article“Derivatives move from banks into the shadows”: FT.
FT: “Shadow financial institutions have taken advantage of the wave of new regulation to steal the lion’s share of the derivatives business from the major banks in a blow to those institutions’...
View ArticleWhistleblower sues Morgan Stanley over harrassment.
FT: “An ex-Morgan Stanley auditor has sued his former employer, claiming that his warnings that the bank was taking on too much credit risk before the financial crisis were ignored and “whitewashed” by...
View ArticleFive years on from Lehman collapse, risk of meltdown remains.
Guardian: “Five years on from the tumultuous collapse of Lehman – which prompted a near meltdown of the global financial system – (Adair) Turner admits the socially useless activity he was concerned...
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