| News on the global financial markets |  |
| Morning Bell |  |  |
|
- Basel III won't be postponed, official says
With many jurisdictions ready to go, Basel III capital rules for banks will take effect on 1 January as scheduled, said Wayne Byres, secretary general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. "We are persisting with the date, and those not ready on 1 January can be ready thereafter," Byres said. Reuters
(27 Nov.)      
- Asian financial leaders fear Basel III derailment
Worried that delays in US and European implementation of Basel III will eventually lead to abandonment, Asian financial leaders are calling for specified postponements that don't extend into years. "The fact is that the US and euro zone are the most important regions where Basel III should have been implemented," said Anand Sinha, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India. "It would have been very helpful, even if there is a delay, if the US and euro zone could have indicated a definite timeline; that is not there." Reuters
(27 Nov.)
| Industry News | | |
|
- ECB might have to release data on Greece's debt cover-up
A European court is poised to rule on whether the European Central Bank must disclose documents showing how Greece concealed debt by using derivatives. Bloomberg News sued the ECB under freedom-of-information rules, challenging the central bank's efforts to keep actions hidden. Bloomberg
(27 Nov.)
- OECD warns about Europe as it cuts growth forecasts
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development lowered its forecasts for global economic growth, noting that the euro-zone debt crisis is the greatest threat. "The US fiscal cliff is a very important source of concern, but the greatest downside risk remains the euro zone," Chief Economist Pier Carlo Padoan said. The OECD says that if leaders fail to resolve the debt crisis, central banks must be prepared for more monetary easing. Reuters
(27 Nov.)
- Citi exec paints gloomy economic picture
Richard Cookson, chief investment officer of Citigroup's private bank, has voiced concerns about major economies, saying China's "demographics stink", Europe is on the ropes and US corporations are overstating balance sheets. Cookson says the only way for investors to profit in this environment is to catch cyclical upswings. Reuters
(27 Nov.)
| Regulatory Roundup | | |
|
- Carney's record in Canada signals future at BoE
Edwin Truman, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, says that with Mark Carney as governor, "tough rules with some discretion as opposed to tough rules with no discretion" will be the norm at the Bank of England. Coming from a highly regarded tenure at the Bank of Canada, Carney has a reputation for requiring banks to reduce risk, even if it cuts into profit. Reuters
(27 Nov.), The Wall Street Journal/The Source blog
(27 Nov.)
- ECB moves ABS loan-reporting mandate into January
The European Central Bank is postponing until 3 January mandatory reporting of loan-by-loan information for asset-backed securities. The ECB says the delay aims "to ensure that all the necessary amendments will have been made" at the national level. Reuters
(27 Nov.)
- Germany removes licensing provision from HFT proposal
German lawmakers have dropped strict licensing rules from legislation designed to rein in high-frequency trading. Legislators are "worried that a licence requirement may cause firms using algorithmic-trading strategies to retreat from German trading venues, with negative effects on liquidity", said Andreas Wieland, an associate at law firm Shearman & Sterling. Lawmakers also want further information on effects of a minimum resting time. The Trade News (U.K.)
(27 Nov.)
- Easy money in US sparks foreign capital controls
South Korea has launched another round of capital controls, aiming to curb foreign exchange forwards carried on banks' balance sheets. The move is expected to hamper banks' ability to act as counterparties for rapid capital inflows. Such inflows can be attributed to the Federal Reserve, but capital controls overseas could come back to haunt the US, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal
(27 Nov.)
| Spotlight on China | | |
|
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority warily eyes CoCos
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is sceptical of contingent-convertible bonds amid worries about their safety, Deputy CEO Arthur Yuen says. Though the bonds are designed to prevent bondholders from being saved if taxpayers must rescue a bank, Yuen said, "We are not sure how banks and investors will behave in times of crisis. It's easy to say when they reach nonviability they absorb losses, but whether regulators will do the right thing at the right time is a difficult judgment call to make when the market is under stress." Risk.net (subscription required)
(27 Nov.)
| SmartQuote | | |
|
 | Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony."
--Mahatma Gandhi,
Indian political and spiritual leader
|
| |
| Advertise |
| Sales Account Director:
Abiy Bekele (212) 450-7919
|
| |
|
Read more at SmartBrief.com |
|
A powerful website for SmartBrief readers including:
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| © 1999-2012 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information |
|
