“The Federal Reserve’s New York office indicated to Citigroup Inc. C +0.15% that the bank would have more time to fix certain “stress test” planning problems before Fed officials in Washington last month gave it a failing grade, said people close to the company.” “The divergent messages from different parts of the Fed were a major reason why Citigroup executives […]
“Rain causes flooding and flooding causes damage. Which shall we blame: the rain, the river or an inadequate system of levees? Ocean tides can cause chaos along the coastline. Is the resulting devastation to nearby power plants the fault of nature or of imprudent planning and supervision? What is the proper government response? To regulate […]
“The global financial crisis that broke out following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 was a big shock. This is literally true in terms of the impact on investors and market prices; a wide range of financial variables moved rapidly in unexpected and worrying directions. But what happened was also a shock to […]
“Banks identified as systemically important to the global economy face tighter rules on how much business they can do with each other as part of a push to limit the chance a single failure would drag down multiple lenders.” “The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published rules that from 2019 will cap one too-big-to-fail bank’s financial dealings […]
(Reuters) – “Barclays’ (BARC.L) Chief Executive Antony Jenkins is facing a high-wire act to overhaul the firm’s investment bank without undermining a division that contributes about half of group profits.” “Jenkins, criticized by investors and politicians for raising bonuses this year despite a big fall in earnings, has embarked on the third review of the investment […]
“LONDON – Three former brokers at the British financial firm ICAP appeared in court on Tuesday on charges that they conspired to manipulate a global benchmark interest rate.” “Danny Martin Wilkinson, Darrell Paul Read and Colin John Goodman are the latest individuals to be charged in a wide-ranging investigation into potential manipulation of the London interbank […]
WASHINGTON (AP) —“ The Federal Reserve may be about to turn more aggressive in its regulation of the financial system.” “Fed Chair Janet Yellen suggested Tuesday that current regulatory rules might not be enough to prevent the kind of risk-taking that triggered the 2008 financial crisis and nearly toppled the entire banking system.” “She said […]
“The U.S. Federal Reserve is considering further steps to force big banks to hold more capital, and sees a case for other stability-enhancing measures for more shadowy areas of Wall Street as well, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday.” “The Fed has been pushing banks to strengthen their balance sheets since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and last week […]
“Say a company finds out that it is under investigation for possible criminal violations. Its challenge is to figure out the chances that the investigation will result in charges and the possible impact of those charges on its business. Not all investigations are alike, and there are telltale signs about how serious a threat one […]
“Europe’s biggest financial rulemaking spree since the creation of its single market more than 20 years ago reached its finale on Tuesday with the adoption of a slew of landmark reforms designed to make banks safer and financial markets more transparent.” “It marks the climax of a fraught four-year drive to end the era of taxpayer bailouts and fuse […]
“No solvent government will allow its entire banking industry to collapse. Leveraged institutions whose liabilities are more liquid than their assets are inescapably vulnerable to panics. In a panic, it will be hard to distinguish illiquidity from insolvency. These three points shape my views: the state stands behind banking even though it might not stand […]
“High-frequency traders in the European Union are set to face some of the toughest rules in the world, after legislators backed rules that they said would curb volatility and make markets safer.” The limits include standards meant to keep the price increment for securities from being too small, mandatory tests of trading algorithms and requirements […]
(Reuters) – “Just over a week ago, CME Group Inc suffered the worst-ever trading outage on the world’s most important agricultural markets, plunging electronic screens into darkness and sending dozens of traders scrambling for Chicago’s famous but now often deserted trading “pits”.” “It seemed like an impossible task: replace the seamless efficiency of an electronic trading screen with […]
“LONDON – Credit Suisse said on Wednesday that profit fell 34 percent in the first quarter as the Swiss bank shed assets and streamlined its investment banking operations as part of an overhaul of its business.” “For the first three months of the year, Credit Suisse reported earnings of 859 million Swiss francs, or about $976 million. […]
“In the insider trading case against SAC Capital Advisors, federal prosecutors have given a particularly nice gift to a former federal prosecutor, Bart M. Schwartz. Mr. Schwartz, who is now the chairman of the consulting firm Guidepost Solutions, was appointed SAC’s independent compliance consultant and is charged with assessing the firm’s future trading practices.” “The […]
“Bank of America swung to a first-quarter loss of $276 million, as legal expenses related to the financial crisis mounted.” “The bank said on Wednesday that its litigation expenses increased to $6 billion in the quarter, showing how Bank of America is still paying for its mortgage missteps nearly six years after the financial crisis.” […]
“The U.S. housing industry has waited three months to find out how Mel Watt will govern taxpayer-owned mortgage companies Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), and has been frustrated by his silence. “The former 11-term congressman from North Carolina, who took over the agency that oversees the two enterprises in January, has not delivered […]
“Last week brought a tale of two banks. At one extreme is the Co-operative Bank in the UK, which reported annual losses of £1.3bn on Friday. The mutual lender is now seeking to raise £400m from shareholders to shore up its capital, which has fallen close to regulatory minimums. “At the other end of the […]
“For all of the outrage kicked up by Michael Lewis’s depiction of fundamentally rigged securities exchanges in his book “Flash Boys,” there’s a giant obstacle standing in the way of punishing high-frequency traders or the exchanges that facilitate them: the blessing of federal regulators. As Dealbook’s Peter Henning wrote in his White Collar Crime Watch […]
“Bill Gross and Larry Fink manage a $3 trillion pile of bonds — an amount almost as big as Germany’s economy. Their firms, Pacific Investment Management Co. and BlackRock Inc. (BLK), doubled holdings since 2008, outpacing the market’s growth of 50 percent. “Some of the largest hedge-fund firms, including Bridgewater Associates LP and BlueCrest Capital […]
“Citigroup reported net income of $3.94bn in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates, but the bank suffered another setback as it disclosed a second alleged fraud linked to its Mexican business. “While the size of the latest alleged fraud is smaller, it adds to concerns about Citi’s ability to govern its sprawling global operations in […]
“Citigroup and Mexico’s bank regulator on Monday said they uncovered a second fraud at Citi’s local unit Banamex, as part of a wider investigation following the discovery in February of fraudulent loans to oil services company Oceanografia. “Mexico’s National Bank and Securities Commission (CNBV) said the investigation found another company with under $30 million in […]
“Citigroup’s stock looks perfectly priced – for more mediocrity. “The bank’s $3.9 billion first-quarter net income was no disaster. And, unlike JPMorgan, Citi beat analysts’ estimates. Its bad bank, Citi Holdings, is no longer much of a drag. And the bank even managed to use a chunk of its substantial tax breaks and thus increase […]
“Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Michael Corbat vowed to find an “industrial-strength” solution to the regulatory problems dogging the bank. “Speaking after Citigroup reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings Monday, Mr. Corbat faced more than a dozen questions from analysts on the bank’s recent failure to win regulatory approval to return capital to shareholders. “Is the Fed denial […]
“A group of traders has sued CME Group Inc, accusing the operator of the world’s largest derivatives exchange of selling market data to high frequency traders, cheating other investors who lacked such access. “In a complaint filed on Friday in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, William Braman, Mark Mendelson and John Simms said CME […]
“Bernard L. Madoff was handcuffed and whisked into a cell. Michael R. Milken, head in palm, wept. Martha Stewart simply stared straight ahead. “If not for one person, these moments might be lost to memory. But when the mighty stumble, the court illustrator captures it forever. For Elizabeth Williams, who has spent more than three […]
“Over the last 26 years, BlackRock has become one of the biggest investment managers around, with more than $4 trillion under management. “With that much capital at its disposal, the firm plans to use its financial muscle to speak out for investors, its chief writes in the firm’s most recent annual report. “Laurence D. Fink, […]
“Credit Suisse Group AG Chief Executive Officer Brady Dougan could take a lesson from Zurich neighbor UBS AG as he seeks to boost his company’s stock: scale down the investment bank. “Shares of Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, are valued lower than UBS’s, and the gap has widened since UBS decided in 2012 to exit […]
“The U.S. would lose its veto power on the International Monetary Fund’s executive board under a plan being considered by some emerging economies. The countries are fed up with the United States’ failure to ratify a four-year-old deal to restructure the emergency lender. “Some members of the IMF’s steering committee indicated at a series of […]
“The tens of billions of euros euro zone banks set aside for loan losses in their latest annual accounts may have substantially reduced the chance of institutions failing ECB stress tests in the next few months. “A total of 71.5 billion euros ($99.3 billion) was set aside in 2013 by the 20 biggest listed banks […]
“A federal appeals court has overturned a disclosure requirement that public companies must post information about their use of minerals from Congo, where militias linked to atrocities have profited from mining minerals used in electronics, jewelry and other goods. “The appeals court says the requirement violates the free speech rights of companies that must inform […]
“The US Federal Reserve’s plan to keep interest rates low even once the economy is back to normal could risk a policy mistake, a Fed policy maker has warned in an interview with the Financial Times. “James Bullard, president of the St Louis Fed, said he did not see a persuasive reason to think interest […]
“Wells Fargo showed that lending to consumers and businesses can be more lucrative than being a big name on Wall Street, upstaging J.P. Morgan Chase with its first-quarter results. “The San Francisco bank reported a 14% rise in net income, while J.P. Morgan, based in New York and the U.S.’s largest bank by assets, suffered […]
“Mario Draghi has signalled that the European Central Bank is getting ready to unleash new unconventional monetary policy in a bid to fight low inflation. “Speaking after the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund in Washington on Saturday, the ECB president said the strengthening of the euro “requires further monetary stimulus”. “His words came […]
“At the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual spring meetings, concerns about crisis have given way to concerns about complacency. “The euro zone has re-emerged from recession. Emerging-market jitters have quieted. The fiscal battles in the United States have abated. But the recovery remains fragile and in many cases, growth remains sluggish, leaving a […]
“Europe’s largest banks cut their staff by another 3.5 percent last year and the prospect of a return to pre-crisis employment levels seems far off, despite the region’s fledgling economic recovery. “Spurred into action by falling revenue, mounting losses and the need to convince regulators they are no longer “too big to fail”, banks across […]
“The European Union will sign off on a slew of major reforms this week to allow failing banks to be wound down without public money, clearing its desk before elections in May that may lead to a slower pace of legislation. “This week is the final plenary session of the European Parliament before it breaks […]
“Wayward UK bankers risk increasingly large fines as the amount of individual penalties levied by the country’s financial watchdog has increased 76 per cent over the past two years. “The Financial Conduct Authority and its predecessor meted out fines totalling £35.5m on individuals in 2012 and 2013, compared with £20.1m in 2010 and 2011, while […]
“For a bunch of people who just agreed the global economy is doing better, top officials from the world’s rich and poor nations sound rather worried. “For poor nations, the easy monetary policies in advanced economies are leading to big swings in capital flows that could destabilize emerging markets. For rich countries, the hoarding of […]
“Almost a billion people in the developing world are at risk of slipping out of the ranks of a nascent middle class, according to FT analysis, raising questions about the durability of the past 30 years’ remarkable march out of poverty. “Rising inequality and slower global growth raise issues for businesses that have been investing […]
“The world’s top finance officials stepped up warnings about low inflation during weekend meetings of the International Monetary Fund, calling for action to combat downward price pressures that threaten consumption and stymie debt reduction. “The IMF’s policy committee highlighted stubbornly weak price increases as a key drag on the global recovery, which is approaching the […]
“Cutting taxes on business investment is an effective form of economic stimulus that could go a long way toward mending the damage from the financial crisis and Great Recession, a top Federal Reserve official said on Saturday. “In prepared remarks that did not touch on monetary policy, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota told […]
“A top Federal Reserve policymaker on Sunday repeated his controversial assertion that financial stability should be an aim of U.S. central bank policymaking. “Jeremy Stein, a Fed governor who is resigning next month, told an International Monetary Fund forum there is a need “in principle” to incorporate the aim of financial stability into monetary policies. […]
“Throughout its history, the U.S. Federal Reserve has faced accusations, on the left and the right, that it is the mere institutional puppet of powerful bankers who control it from within. Marriner Eccles, the liberal Fed chairman during the 1930s and 40s, called it the “instrument by which private interests alone could be served.” Ron […]
“Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Michael Corbat vowed to find an “industrial-strength” solution to the regulatory problems dogging the bank. “Speaking after Citigroup reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings Monday, Mr. Corbat faced more than a dozen questions from analysts on the bank’s recent failure to win regulatory approval to return capital to shareholders. “Is the Fed denial […]
“Mary Jo White took over the Securities and Exchange Commission with a back-to-basics plan to toughen enforcement and clear a backlog of regulations aimed at the last financial crisis. “Now White and the SEC may be confronting the next crisis: claims that the stock market is rigged. Ending her first year as SEC chairman, White […]
“Advocates for tougher rules on Wall Street are crying foul about legislation that is rapidly moving through Congress, arguing it would unravel key protections put in place after the financial crisis. “Legislation reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) surged out of the House Agriculture Committee with strong backing from both parties, and could be […]
“A bank’s financial statements don’t measure the health of its children or the joy of their play, the beauty of its poetry or the strength of its marriages, the intelligence of its boardroom debate or the integrity of its executives. Honestly, they barely even measure its assets and liabilities. But JPMorgan is breaking new ground in what measures it […]
“(Reuters) – Barclays (BARC.L) has settled its second lawsuit in a week that alleged the British bank had mis-sold products that were tied to Libor benchmark interest rates.” “Barclays said on Friday it had reached a compromise in its proceedings with Portugueseconstruction and property firm Domingos Da Silva Teixeira in London’s Commercial Court.” “Following discussions between […]
“(Reuters) – A former JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) executive has won the right to challenge criticisms by Britain’s financial watchdog of his actions in connection with the “London Whale” derivatives trading scandal.” “The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) infringed the rights of Achilles Macris by failing to give him the right of reply to its report into […]
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