GFMA: News on the global financial markets
Thursday 27 October 2011 GFMA
|
French banks speed up cuts to their trading
books
BNP Paribas and Société Générale are trying not to tap shareholders
of taxpayers for capital, by stepping up efforts to reduce their
trading books. The French banks have concentrated on reducing their
dollar-funded operations. However, they have been reluctant to
endanger trading and derivatives business. Bloomberg Businessweek(26 Oct.)
Lehman and Danske Bank agree on bankruptcy
claim
Danske Bank filed a claim in 2009 for nearly $700 million against
Lehman Brothers Holdings, and another claim for the same amount
against Lehman's commercial paper division. The claims focus on a
commercial and residential loan repurchase agreement from 2005.
Danske has now agreed to significantly reduce the claims, and
support Lehman's bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to court
records. Bloomberg(27 Oct.)
|
FSB calls for tougher mortgage-lending
standards
The Financial Stability Board said the global financial crisis
called attention to weak home-lending standards, and that banks
should make sure borrowers are able to repay their loans. "In all
instances, a robust and effective assessment of individual
affordability has to underpin any sustainable lending model," an
FSB statement says. Reuters(26 Oct.)
EU antitrust officials to question Deutsche Boerse
and NYSE
European antitrust authorities today will to question executives of
Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext about their proposed merger,
which would result in a near-monopoly in European derivatives
trading. Financial Times (tiered subscription model)(26
Oct.)
ECB to outline covered-bond buying
programme
The European Central Bank next week will disclose details of its
plan to purchase as much as €40 billion worth of covered bonds. The
ECB helped boost the market in 2009 in its first foray into the
covered-bond market. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription
model)(27 Oct.)
Draghi indicates that ECB will continue buying
sovereign bonds
Mario Draghi, the incoming president of the European Central Bank,
suggested that he is prepared to keep markets steady by buying the
bonds of indebted euro-zone nations. Draghi also hinted that he
might support an interest rate cut after he takes over from
Jean-Claude Trichet. Reuters(26 Oct.)
BoE committee aims to balance bank capital and
lending
The Bank of England's new Financial Policy Committee is working to
encourage banks to lend to businesses, while ensuring that they are
strongly capitalised, committee member Robert Jenkins said. "That
debate within the policy committee was very thoughtful and very
difficult," he said. "It was just generally felt it was better in
these uncertain times to err on generating confidence in the system
as a whole... rather than to push on a string in terms of lower
capital requirement that might or might not find itself into
lending." Reuters(26 Oct.)