Bl***y Banks Again
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sat 16 Mar - 22:06
The CEO of JPMorgan Chase was before the Senate yesterday regarding it's banking activities but said little, probably advised by his Lawyers the Reporter said. I was browsing to see if I could find out what the charges were and came across the above Article.....even the Vatican involved in money laundering!!!
It really is disgraceful that these rogues are directly responsible for the state the World is in, yet have any been sentenced to a term in Jail and had his personal assets seized ?????
At least the Americans are doing something about it, even the EU is bringing in regulation on bonuses yet Britain is terrified to do anything for fear the Banks will go elsewhere . If the Banks are not punished it will be more of the same.
It really is disgraceful that these rogues are directly responsible for the state the World is in, yet have any been sentenced to a term in Jail and had his personal assets seized ?????
At least the Americans are doing something about it, even the EU is bringing in regulation on bonuses yet Britain is terrified to do anything for fear the Banks will go elsewhere . If the Banks are not punished it will be more of the same.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Mon 18 Mar - 18:35
Cyprus banks euro tax bail-out is a small-scale smash-and-grab compared to Britain’s slow-motion bank robbery
By Ian CowieYour MoneyLast updated: March 18th, 2013
334 CommentsComment on this article
The Bank of England has frozen interest rates at 0.5pc since early 2009
Outrage about the Cyprus banks euro tax bail-out should not be allowed to obscure the fact that millions of savers in British banks have already lost much more of the real value or purchasing power of their money to prop up financial institutions closer to home.
Savers in British banks and building societies have been stealthily robbed of more than £43bn of the real value of their savings since the Bank of England froze interest rates at 0.5pc four years ago. That's the total shrinkage of bank and building society depositors' purchasing power caused by inflation exceeding frozen interest rates, according to calculations by the pressure group Save Our Savers, following similar calculations by Yorkshire Building Society that the average saver has lost £2,500 in real terms since the credit crisis began.
Both figures have got much bigger than they were a couple of years ago, as inflation has continued to run ahead of interest paid on deposits. Pensioners have suffered even more because higher than average proportions of their fixed incomes are spent on food and fuel. They are the largely silent victims of the Bank of England's policy of running negative real interest rates.
But this slow-motion bank robbery is more difficult to describe than the short, sharp, smash-and-grab in Cyprus. So, despite the best efforts of this column to blow the whistle, more attention will be given to smaller losses for fewer people in Cyprus than millions of savers and pensioners who have lost much more in British banks and retirement funds.
Suggested levies of 6.75 per cent of all deposits up to €100,000 (£86,500) and 9.9 per cent for larger deposits caused many savers in Cyprus to withdraw their money from banks over the weekend. More than 50,000 Britons are thought to have bank accounts in Cyprus, including about 3,000 members of the Armed Forces serving in the country. George Osborne, the Chancellor, has offered to compensate them if they are hit. Cypriot banks operating in this country are not affected.
With commendable understatement, Mr Osborne told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: "It’s a difficult situation for people who live in Cyprus. For people serving in our military and our government out in Cyprus, we are going to compensate anyone affected by this bank tax – people who are doing their duty for our country in Cyprus will be protected from this Cypriot bank tax."
Elsewhere, Government sources stressed that deposits held in the London branches of Bank of Cyprus UK and Laiki Bank would not be subject to the new levy. Treasury sources said that “deposits in UK subsidiaries and branches [of Cypriot banks] aren’t affected” by the crisis.
If only small savers with Britain’s high street banks and building societies could say the same. Nor are they the only victims to pay a high price for quantitative easing and QE’s aim of protecting over-stretched banks and borrowers at the expense of savers.
Unfortunately, in a vicious seesaw effect, extra demand for gilts created by QE has pushed up the price of bonds, pushing down their yield or the income pensioners can obtain with their savings. Laith Khalaf of wealth managers Hargreaves Lansdown reckons annuity yields have fallen by about a fifth during the last four years.
So savers of all descriptions are paying a high price for the Bank of England’s strategy of maintaining negative real interest rates. Sadly for the millions of victims of this slow-motion bank robbery in Britain, it remains too complex to explain on the front page or in TV bulletins and so much more coverage will be given to a relatively small scale smash and grab with fewer victims in Cyprus.
================
I have said all along that King was a useless BOE Governor, no imagination , all he has done is keep interest rates low. He retires soon with a fat Pension and hopefully the Canadian whizz kid will breathe life into the Banking system. It says a lot that no one employed by the BOE was considered good enough to succeed King.
By Ian CowieYour MoneyLast updated: March 18th, 2013
334 CommentsComment on this article
The Bank of England has frozen interest rates at 0.5pc since early 2009Outrage about the Cyprus banks euro tax bail-out should not be allowed to obscure the fact that millions of savers in British banks have already lost much more of the real value or purchasing power of their money to prop up financial institutions closer to home.
Savers in British banks and building societies have been stealthily robbed of more than £43bn of the real value of their savings since the Bank of England froze interest rates at 0.5pc four years ago. That's the total shrinkage of bank and building society depositors' purchasing power caused by inflation exceeding frozen interest rates, according to calculations by the pressure group Save Our Savers, following similar calculations by Yorkshire Building Society that the average saver has lost £2,500 in real terms since the credit crisis began.
Both figures have got much bigger than they were a couple of years ago, as inflation has continued to run ahead of interest paid on deposits. Pensioners have suffered even more because higher than average proportions of their fixed incomes are spent on food and fuel. They are the largely silent victims of the Bank of England's policy of running negative real interest rates.
But this slow-motion bank robbery is more difficult to describe than the short, sharp, smash-and-grab in Cyprus. So, despite the best efforts of this column to blow the whistle, more attention will be given to smaller losses for fewer people in Cyprus than millions of savers and pensioners who have lost much more in British banks and retirement funds.
Suggested levies of 6.75 per cent of all deposits up to €100,000 (£86,500) and 9.9 per cent for larger deposits caused many savers in Cyprus to withdraw their money from banks over the weekend. More than 50,000 Britons are thought to have bank accounts in Cyprus, including about 3,000 members of the Armed Forces serving in the country. George Osborne, the Chancellor, has offered to compensate them if they are hit. Cypriot banks operating in this country are not affected.
With commendable understatement, Mr Osborne told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: "It’s a difficult situation for people who live in Cyprus. For people serving in our military and our government out in Cyprus, we are going to compensate anyone affected by this bank tax – people who are doing their duty for our country in Cyprus will be protected from this Cypriot bank tax."
Elsewhere, Government sources stressed that deposits held in the London branches of Bank of Cyprus UK and Laiki Bank would not be subject to the new levy. Treasury sources said that “deposits in UK subsidiaries and branches [of Cypriot banks] aren’t affected” by the crisis.
If only small savers with Britain’s high street banks and building societies could say the same. Nor are they the only victims to pay a high price for quantitative easing and QE’s aim of protecting over-stretched banks and borrowers at the expense of savers.
Unfortunately, in a vicious seesaw effect, extra demand for gilts created by QE has pushed up the price of bonds, pushing down their yield or the income pensioners can obtain with their savings. Laith Khalaf of wealth managers Hargreaves Lansdown reckons annuity yields have fallen by about a fifth during the last four years.
So savers of all descriptions are paying a high price for the Bank of England’s strategy of maintaining negative real interest rates. Sadly for the millions of victims of this slow-motion bank robbery in Britain, it remains too complex to explain on the front page or in TV bulletins and so much more coverage will be given to a relatively small scale smash and grab with fewer victims in Cyprus.
================
I have said all along that King was a useless BOE Governor, no imagination , all he has done is keep interest rates low. He retires soon with a fat Pension and hopefully the Canadian whizz kid will breathe life into the Banking system. It says a lot that no one employed by the BOE was considered good enough to succeed King.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Badboy Mon 18 Mar - 19:49
IF SOME RICH PEOPLE IN CYPRUS LOSE THEIR MONEY,THAT VERY GOOD BECAUSE THE RICH DON'T PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Thu 21 Mar - 10:09
RBS to sell 316 Branches.
Banks in Cyprus closed until Monday . Finance Minister in Russia trying to get a loan but Russia reluctant.
Malta would be affected, as would other Countries if Cyorus defaults .
Germany prepared to help bailout of Cyprus but only if Cyprus helps itself.
Banks in Cyprus closed until Monday . Finance Minister in Russia trying to get a loan but Russia reluctant.
Malta would be affected, as would other Countries if Cyorus defaults .
Germany prepared to help bailout of Cyprus but only if Cyprus helps itself.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Badboy Fri 22 Mar - 20:20
WHO WILL RBS SELL THEM TO?Panda wrote:RBS to sell 316 Branches.
Banks in Cyprus closed until Monday . Finance Minister in Russia trying to get a loan but Russia reluctant.
Malta would be affected, as would other Countries if Cyorus defaults .
Germany prepared to help bailout of Cyprus but only if Cyprus helps itself.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Fri 22 Mar - 20:53
It's not known yet, I don't think one Bank will buy all 316 maybe split and change their name to that of the Buyer.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sat 23 Mar - 18:03
Libor Probe
|
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Fears grow as banks reveal exposure to Cyprus euro crisis
Panda Sun 24 Mar - 23:29
Fears grow as banks reveal exposure to Cyprus euro crisis
Britain’s largest banks have a combined exposure to Cyprus of more than
£1bn, raising the prospect of new losses for the lenders.
Fillings from Barclays, Lloyds
Banking Group, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, show a total exposure to the
troubled Mediterranean island of
£1.06bn.
By Harry Wilson
6:00AM GMT 24 Mar 2013
60 Comments
Fillings from Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Royal Bank of
Scotland, show a total exposure to the troubled Mediterranean island of £1.06bn.
Although a tiny fraction of their assets, the collapse of the Cypriot economy
could see the banks nursing losses of tens or even hundreds of millions of
pounds amid the country’s worsening financial crisis.
Barclays has the largest gross
exposure to Cyprus, with £431m of lending and other links to Cypriots, including
£102m of exposure to the country’s banks, £120m of corporate lending and £44m of
residential mortgages.
RBS has the second biggest exposure
of £377m, with £274m of corporate lending linked to Cyprus, as well as £15m of
personal lending. Crucially, RBS has no exposure to Cypriot banks, though it
does have £2m of assets linked to “other financial institutions”.
In its latest annual report RBS told shareholders that its links to Cyprus
comprised mainly “lending to special purpose vehicles incorporated in Cyprus,
but with assets and cash flows largely elsewhere”.
Related Articles
HSBC’s $400m (£265m) exposure to
Cyprus is not broken down in detail by the bank, which only discloses that its
on-balance sheet assets consist “primarily of loans and advances to other
financial institutions and corporates”.
Lloyds has the smallest exposure of
the UK’s four largest banks, with £102m of Cyprus-linked corporate lending and
£2m of bank exposure.
The main risk to the banks would be the exit of Cyprus from the euro, which
could lead to losses of about 40pc of the value of their assets if the loans
were redenominated into a new local currency, according to economists’
estimates.
Direct exposures to Cyprus’s main banks are likely to be small to
non-existent, meaning any closure or restructuring of one of the country’s main
lenders will have a minimal impact on British banks.
Last week, Cyprus’s main banks were forced to remain closed as European
officials, local politicians and the Russian government discussed a potential
multi-billion bail-out.
Cyprus has in recent years become one of the main offshore centres for
Russian money and thousands of Russians live in the country.
Jim O’Neill, outgoing chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the
eurzone had revealed again that it was a group of 17 countries with very
different interests.
He said that most deals seemed to be about what politicians thought they
could “get away with” in their parliaments.
“The European Monetary Union (EMU) in effect continues to be a union of 17
countries that don’t see their collective shared interests as the same,” Mr
O’Neill said.
“Much decision making is not actually decided by the European Union or
eurozone bodies but by key politicians whose main criteria is what they 'can get
away with’ with respect to their parliaments.
“Can EMU ultimately survive, or indeed, can EMU survive with this system?
Behind the scenes, who is going to win the battle over the immediate resolution
of the Cyprus dilemma – Moscow or Berlin?”
Britain’s largest banks have a combined exposure to Cyprus of more than
£1bn, raising the prospect of new losses for the lenders.
Fillings from Barclays, Lloyds
Banking Group, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland, show a total exposure to the
troubled Mediterranean island of
£1.06bn.
By Harry Wilson
6:00AM GMT 24 Mar 2013
60 Comments Fillings from Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, HSBC and Royal Bank of
Scotland, show a total exposure to the troubled Mediterranean island of £1.06bn.
Although a tiny fraction of their assets, the collapse of the Cypriot economy
could see the banks nursing losses of tens or even hundreds of millions of
pounds amid the country’s worsening financial crisis.
Barclays has the largest gross
exposure to Cyprus, with £431m of lending and other links to Cypriots, including
£102m of exposure to the country’s banks, £120m of corporate lending and £44m of
residential mortgages.
RBS has the second biggest exposure
of £377m, with £274m of corporate lending linked to Cyprus, as well as £15m of
personal lending. Crucially, RBS has no exposure to Cypriot banks, though it
does have £2m of assets linked to “other financial institutions”.
In its latest annual report RBS told shareholders that its links to Cyprus
comprised mainly “lending to special purpose vehicles incorporated in Cyprus,
but with assets and cash flows largely elsewhere”.
Related Articles
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24 Mar 2013
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24 Mar 2013
Cyprus bailout - as it happened: March 18,
2013
18 Mar 2013
Cypriot savers hit as eurozone agrees €10 billion
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16 Mar 2013
A brutal bail-out
18 Mar 2013
Cyprus bail-out risks UK troops’ savings
16 Mar 2013
HSBC’s $400m (£265m) exposure to
Cyprus is not broken down in detail by the bank, which only discloses that its
on-balance sheet assets consist “primarily of loans and advances to other
financial institutions and corporates”.
Lloyds has the smallest exposure of
the UK’s four largest banks, with £102m of Cyprus-linked corporate lending and
£2m of bank exposure.
The main risk to the banks would be the exit of Cyprus from the euro, which
could lead to losses of about 40pc of the value of their assets if the loans
were redenominated into a new local currency, according to economists’
estimates.
Direct exposures to Cyprus’s main banks are likely to be small to
non-existent, meaning any closure or restructuring of one of the country’s main
lenders will have a minimal impact on British banks.
Last week, Cyprus’s main banks were forced to remain closed as European
officials, local politicians and the Russian government discussed a potential
multi-billion bail-out.
Cyprus has in recent years become one of the main offshore centres for
Russian money and thousands of Russians live in the country.
Jim O’Neill, outgoing chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said the
eurzone had revealed again that it was a group of 17 countries with very
different interests.
He said that most deals seemed to be about what politicians thought they
could “get away with” in their parliaments.
“The European Monetary Union (EMU) in effect continues to be a union of 17
countries that don’t see their collective shared interests as the same,” Mr
O’Neill said.
“Much decision making is not actually decided by the European Union or
eurozone bodies but by key politicians whose main criteria is what they 'can get
away with’ with respect to their parliaments.
“Can EMU ultimately survive, or indeed, can EMU survive with this system?
Behind the scenes, who is going to win the battle over the immediate resolution
of the Cyprus dilemma – Moscow or Berlin?”
Last edited by Panda on Wed 27 Mar - 4:39; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Wed 27 Mar - 4:38
Banks Facing £60bn Capital Shortfall
Institutions are likely to be told to beef up their capital
levels to better prepare themselves for any future financial losses.
4:19am UK,
Wednesday 27 March 2013
A new banking regulatory regime comes in on
Monday
Institutions are likely to be told to beef up their capital
levels to better prepare themselves for any future financial losses.
4:19am UK,
Wednesday 27 March 2013
A new banking regulatory regime comes in on
Monday
;
Britain's banks are expected to be told today they face a capital
shortfall of up to £60bn as the Bank of England delivers its verdict on the
strength of the sector.
The Bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC) will reveal the scale of the
balance sheet pressure in the banking industry and its decision on how to tackle
the collective capital hole.
Banks are already braced for grim news after the FPC warned in November that
the shortfall in capital needed as a cushion against future crises could be as
high as £60bn in its worst-case scenario.
Lenders - such as The Co-operative Bank - have already been taking action to
boost their balance sheets after discussions with the Financial Services
Authority (FSA).
But it is thought the FPC believes banks will have to go further and raise
more than agreed with the FSA, which is set to be axed on Monday as part of a
major regulation overhaul in the UK.
In its quarterly report on liabilities and financing in the sector, the Bank
yesterday said that capital levels remained broadly unchanged so far this year,
although they were expected to rise in the next three months.
It had expected capital levels to have already started increasing.
A number of players are understood to have been given orders by the FSA to
beef up their capital cushions, with the Co-operative Bank reportedly warned
over a potential £1bn shortfall.
There are fears that state-backed lenders Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds
Banking Group are also significantly under-capitalised and may be told to
bolster their balance sheets with large capital raisings.
The Treasury is expected to make it clear that the taxpayer will not foot the
bill and that there will be no more direct state support for RBS and Lloyds.
Instead, the FPC is likely to allow the lenders an extended period to come up
with measures to build up their capital buffers.
They have already started making efforts to appease concerned regulators,
with RBS recently agreeing to float a stake in its US business Citizens, while
Lloyds has raised £500m by selling part of its stake in fund manager St James's
Place.
Today's statement is seen as a pivotal one for the FPC, whose job it is to
spot and prevent another financial crisis.
It is also the pillar of the new regulatory regime introduced by the
coalition, which comes into force on April 1.- =================================================
- Yet Banks still pay themselves massive rises and bonuses !!!
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This is what happens when you try to get a straight answer from a Banker
Panda Wed 27 Mar - 7:44
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Lioned Mon 1 Apr - 0:00
Badboy wrote:RBS TO SACK INVESTMENT STAFF AND POSSIBLY MORE
They should declare independence.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Mon 8 Apr - 19:25
From COMPANIES Apr 1,
2013
Japanese
lenders to evaluate Tibor
©Bloomberg
New JBA head vows to improve reliability of lending benchmark
From COMPANIES Mar 29,
2013
Banks
secure partial win in US Libor case
Judge throws out large portion of investors’ claims
FT.$doc.trigger("pgObjStart", {key: "10", keyType: "el"});
Editorial
The
rising cost of the Libor scandal
Evidence of price-fixing should be worrisome for banks
Banks
must learn from past scandals
A new culture is required at the top of financial
institutions
Wheatley’s
Libor detoxification
The head of the Financial Conduct Authority has set out a
sound strategy
FT.$doc.trigger("pgObjStop", {key: "10"});
From COMPANIES Mar 26,
2013
Big
Libor developments soon, says SFO
Director announces three-month timeframe
From COMPANIES Mar 26,
2013
Deutsche
sets aside €500m to cover Libor
Bank expected to settle with US, UK and Germany by end of 2013
©Daniel Lynch From MARKETS Mar 25,
2013
Libor
regulation ‘to cost £1m a year’
Regulator to monitor administrator and rate-setting process
From COMPANIES Mar 19,
2013
UBS
joins exodus from Euribor panel
Swiss lender to focus on core funding markets
From COMPANIES Mar 19,
2013
Freddie
sues over ‘substantial’ Libor loss
Action against a dozen banks and the British Bankers’ Association
From UK Mar 6, 2013
Libor
scandal led to creation of banking panel
Commission set up to focus on ethics and accountability in sector
©Bloomberg
From UK Mar 5, 2013
FSA
says it was slow on Libor scandal
Internal review finds watchdog was too focused on financial crisis
2013
Japanese
lenders to evaluate Tibor
©Bloomberg
New JBA head vows to improve reliability of lending benchmark
From COMPANIES Mar 29,
2013
Banks
secure partial win in US Libor case
Judge throws out large portion of investors’ claims
FT.$doc.trigger("pgObjStart", {key: "10", keyType: "el"});
Editorial
The
rising cost of the Libor scandal
Evidence of price-fixing should be worrisome for banks
Banks
must learn from past scandals
A new culture is required at the top of financial
institutions
Wheatley’s
Libor detoxification
The head of the Financial Conduct Authority has set out a
sound strategy
FT.$doc.trigger("pgObjStop", {key: "10"});
From COMPANIES Mar 26,
2013
Big
Libor developments soon, says SFO
Director announces three-month timeframe
From COMPANIES Mar 26,
2013
Deutsche
sets aside €500m to cover Libor
Bank expected to settle with US, UK and Germany by end of 2013
©Daniel Lynch From MARKETS Mar 25,
2013
Libor
regulation ‘to cost £1m a year’
Regulator to monitor administrator and rate-setting process
From COMPANIES Mar 19,
2013
UBS
joins exodus from Euribor panel
Swiss lender to focus on core funding markets
From COMPANIES Mar 19,
2013
Freddie
sues over ‘substantial’ Libor loss
Action against a dozen banks and the British Bankers’ Association
From UK Mar 6, 2013
Libor
scandal led to creation of banking panel
Commission set up to focus on ethics and accountability in sector
©Bloomberg
From UK Mar 5, 2013
FSA
says it was slow on Libor scandal
Internal review finds watchdog was too focused on financial crisis
Panda- Platinum Poster
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Age : 67
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EU Said to Push to Fine Banks on Yen Libor, Euribor reates
Panda Tue 9 Apr - 16:30
EU Said to Push to Fine Banks on Yen Libor, Euribor Rates
By Aoife White - Apr 9, 2013 2:30 PM GMT+01
Q
European Union regulators are pushing to fine banks before the end of the year for attempting to fix benchmark interest rates tied to the euro and yen currencies, two people familiar with the investigation said.
Several banks want to resolve the antitrust probe and may negotiate with the EU for a settlement as early as October, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are in private. The EU would seek to include U.S. firms, such Citigroup Inc., that so far haven’t been punished by U.K. or U.S. regulators, one of the people said.
Enlarge image
EU Said to Push to Fine Banks Over Yen Libor and Euribor Rates
Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
The European Union is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules.
The European Union is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules. Photographer: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
The European Commission’s investigations into price-fixing of the yen London interbank offered rate and euro Euribor are a top priority for the EU’s antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, and officials are working overtime and limiting vacations to wrap up the probes, the people said. Almunia has previously described Libor-fixing as “quite shocking” and has warned that any fines would “not be one euro.”
If Almunia wants to end the Libor investigations before he leaves office next year, he would have to seek a settlement with the companies, said Nicolas Petit, a law professor at the University of Liege in Belgium. “There’s no way they can close this cartel within two years without a settlement,” he said.
The alternative is a lengthier process to finalize cartel fines that takes an average of four years, Petit said, and may take longer for such a complex case with “a very extensive practice that covers a number of countries, a lot of products.”
Swiss Franc
The EU is also investigating the possible rigging of Swiss franc Libor, Almunia has said. That case is less advanced than the EU’s probes into the yen Libor, the cost of borrowing in the Japanese currency, and Euribor rates and unlikely to be completed this year, according to the two people.
Any settlement would include fines and an admission that the companies violated competition rules, one of the people said.
Barclays Plc (BARC), Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are among banks and brokerages that have been quizzed by the EU about manipulation of lending rates that may have helped them and others generate profits from derivatives trades. Even minor tweaks to the rate by one bank would benefit trading positions to net millions of euros in profit, one of the people said.
U.S. Banks
The EU may seek to include Citigroup and other U.S. banks as part of any EU settlement or complaint, the person said. The New York-based bank said in a regulatory filing last month that it was subject to extensive legal and regulatory investigations related to Libor, including in the EU. Citigroup spokesman Jeff French declined to comment.
At least one other U.S. bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), said it has been contacted by investigators in the EU. JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony also declined to comment.
Barclays, UBS and RBS have already paid more than $2.5 billion in fines to settle Libor manipulation claims with U.S. and U.K. financial regulators. Rabobank Groep, the Dutch agricultural lender, is next in line and faces a fine of more than the 290 million pounds penalty levied against Barclays, four people said in February. Deutsche Bank has set aside 500 million euros for possible Libor fines, German magazine Der Spiegel reported last month, without saying where it got the information.
Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for the Brussels-based authority, said the EU’s cases are ongoing.
High Priority
“We are treating them with a high degree of priority, but as with all antitrust investigations, I cannot anticipate timing,” he said in an e-mail.
The EU is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules. That means fines can be as much as 10 percent of a company’s yearly global revenue and are based on its annual sales in the market where it tried to fix prices, though authorities rarely impose the maximum.
The EU is behind the U.S. in announcing an end to its Libor investigations because it can’t settle with companies individually and must levy penalties against all targets of its case at the same time. The regulator must negotiate with all the companies to speed up a decision and in order to grant them a discount of as much as 10 percent on any fine for cooperating.
The settlement may not be possible if most or all the firms can’t negotiate a deal, one of the people said. If talks break down, the commission may require more time to draft detailed formal objections before imposing fines.
Little Incentive
Petit warned that the minor fine reductions for a settlement give very little incentive for companies to reach a deal because other users of the rate will sue firms for over-charging them as a result of rate-rigging.
“Given that the potential for follow-on litigation is quite high, I can’t really understand why these banks would be hungry for a settlement in which they would give the commission the rope to hang themselves with,” Petit said.
Almunia, previously the EU’s economy commissioner during the 2007 and 2008 financial crisis, has used his powers as an antitrust enforcer to focus on the financial industry. He told reporters last year that Libor-rigging showed some of banks’ “most irresponsible behavior” and that a culture change was needed to eliminate a lack of transparency that tempted companies to flout competition rules.
Swaps Probes
The EU is also probing possible collusion involving Markit Group Ltd., the International Swaps & Derivatives Association and 16 investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on how data on credit derivatives is shared. The EU levied a record 1.47 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in fines on a TV-parts cartel last year.
Libor, a benchmark for more than $300 trillion of financial products worldwide, is derived from a survey of banks conducted each day on behalf of the British Bankers’ Association in London. Lenders are asked how much it would cost them to borrow from one another for 15 different periods, from overnight to one year, in currencies including dollars, euros, yen and francs.
Euribor is a benchmark derived from a daily survey of lending quotes conducted for Euribor-EBF by Thomson Reuters Corp.
By Aoife White - Apr 9, 2013 2:30 PM GMT+01
Q
European Union regulators are pushing to fine banks before the end of the year for attempting to fix benchmark interest rates tied to the euro and yen currencies, two people familiar with the investigation said.
Several banks want to resolve the antitrust probe and may negotiate with the EU for a settlement as early as October, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are in private. The EU would seek to include U.S. firms, such Citigroup Inc., that so far haven’t been punished by U.K. or U.S. regulators, one of the people said.
Enlarge image
EU Said to Push to Fine Banks Over Yen Libor and Euribor Rates
Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
The European Union is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules.
The European Union is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules. Photographer: Jock Fistick/Bloomberg
The European Commission’s investigations into price-fixing of the yen London interbank offered rate and euro Euribor are a top priority for the EU’s antitrust chief, Joaquin Almunia, and officials are working overtime and limiting vacations to wrap up the probes, the people said. Almunia has previously described Libor-fixing as “quite shocking” and has warned that any fines would “not be one euro.”
If Almunia wants to end the Libor investigations before he leaves office next year, he would have to seek a settlement with the companies, said Nicolas Petit, a law professor at the University of Liege in Belgium. “There’s no way they can close this cartel within two years without a settlement,” he said.
The alternative is a lengthier process to finalize cartel fines that takes an average of four years, Petit said, and may take longer for such a complex case with “a very extensive practice that covers a number of countries, a lot of products.”
Swiss Franc
The EU is also investigating the possible rigging of Swiss franc Libor, Almunia has said. That case is less advanced than the EU’s probes into the yen Libor, the cost of borrowing in the Japanese currency, and Euribor rates and unlikely to be completed this year, according to the two people.
Any settlement would include fines and an admission that the companies violated competition rules, one of the people said.
Barclays Plc (BARC), Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc are among banks and brokerages that have been quizzed by the EU about manipulation of lending rates that may have helped them and others generate profits from derivatives trades. Even minor tweaks to the rate by one bank would benefit trading positions to net millions of euros in profit, one of the people said.
U.S. Banks
The EU may seek to include Citigroup and other U.S. banks as part of any EU settlement or complaint, the person said. The New York-based bank said in a regulatory filing last month that it was subject to extensive legal and regulatory investigations related to Libor, including in the EU. Citigroup spokesman Jeff French declined to comment.
At least one other U.S. bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), said it has been contacted by investigators in the EU. JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony also declined to comment.
Barclays, UBS and RBS have already paid more than $2.5 billion in fines to settle Libor manipulation claims with U.S. and U.K. financial regulators. Rabobank Groep, the Dutch agricultural lender, is next in line and faces a fine of more than the 290 million pounds penalty levied against Barclays, four people said in February. Deutsche Bank has set aside 500 million euros for possible Libor fines, German magazine Der Spiegel reported last month, without saying where it got the information.
Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for the Brussels-based authority, said the EU’s cases are ongoing.
High Priority
“We are treating them with a high degree of priority, but as with all antitrust investigations, I cannot anticipate timing,” he said in an e-mail.
The EU is treating the collusion as a price-fixing cartel that can be punished under its antitrust rules. That means fines can be as much as 10 percent of a company’s yearly global revenue and are based on its annual sales in the market where it tried to fix prices, though authorities rarely impose the maximum.
The EU is behind the U.S. in announcing an end to its Libor investigations because it can’t settle with companies individually and must levy penalties against all targets of its case at the same time. The regulator must negotiate with all the companies to speed up a decision and in order to grant them a discount of as much as 10 percent on any fine for cooperating.
The settlement may not be possible if most or all the firms can’t negotiate a deal, one of the people said. If talks break down, the commission may require more time to draft detailed formal objections before imposing fines.
Little Incentive
Petit warned that the minor fine reductions for a settlement give very little incentive for companies to reach a deal because other users of the rate will sue firms for over-charging them as a result of rate-rigging.
“Given that the potential for follow-on litigation is quite high, I can’t really understand why these banks would be hungry for a settlement in which they would give the commission the rope to hang themselves with,” Petit said.
Almunia, previously the EU’s economy commissioner during the 2007 and 2008 financial crisis, has used his powers as an antitrust enforcer to focus on the financial industry. He told reporters last year that Libor-rigging showed some of banks’ “most irresponsible behavior” and that a culture change was needed to eliminate a lack of transparency that tempted companies to flout competition rules.
Swaps Probes
The EU is also probing possible collusion involving Markit Group Ltd., the International Swaps & Derivatives Association and 16 investment banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on how data on credit derivatives is shared. The EU levied a record 1.47 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in fines on a TV-parts cartel last year.
Libor, a benchmark for more than $300 trillion of financial products worldwide, is derived from a survey of banks conducted each day on behalf of the British Bankers’ Association in London. Lenders are asked how much it would cost them to borrow from one another for 15 different periods, from overnight to one year, in currencies including dollars, euros, yen and francs.
Euribor is a benchmark derived from a daily survey of lending quotes conducted for Euribor-EBF by Thomson Reuters Corp.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Badboy Tue 9 Apr - 18:57
HBOS EX-EXECUTIVE SAYS HE WANTS TO BE STRIPPED OF KNIGHTHOOD AND FOREGO PART OF HIS PENSION.
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Big Banks "more dangerous than ever says IMF's Christine LaGarde
Panda Thu 11 Apr - 14:47
Big banks 'more dangerous than ever', IMF's Christine Lagarde says
Europe needs to recapitalise, restructure or shut down its banks as part of
a vital clean-up of the industry, International Monetary Fund managing director
Christine Lagarde said as she warned that the threat from world’s biggest
lenders was “more dangerous than ever”.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF's
managing director, has warned that too-big-to-fail banks are "more dangerous
than ever"
By Philip Aldrick, Economics
Editor
5:21PM BST 10 Apr 2013
239 Comments
Speaking in New York ahead of next week’s IMF Spring meeting, Ms Lagarde
launched a broadside against the financial services industry for resisting
urgent reform.
“In too many cases – from the United States in 2008 to Cyprus today – we have
seen what happens when a banking sector chooses the quick buck over the lasting
benefit, backing a business model that ultimately destabilizes the economy. We
simply cannot have pre-crisis banking in a post-crisis world.
“We need reform, even in the face of intense pushback from an industry
sometimes reluctant to abandon lucrative lines of business.”
Almost five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed, she claimed: “The
'oversize banking’ model of too-big-to-fail is more dangerous than ever. We must
get to the root of the problem with comprehensive and clear regulation.”
Regulators have forced banks to increase significantly their loss-absorbing
capital buffers since the crisis, but are still working on "resolution"
mechanisms that will allow giant lenders to fail without hitting the taxpayer
and threatening financial stability.
Related Articles
Regulators must also work together, she added, amid evidence that some
countries are caving into pressure from the banking lobby. “Financial sector
reform efforts must be coordinated internationally. We are already seeing
countries pulling in different directions in some areas, such as in calculating
the riskiness of assets and curbing banking excesses,” Ms Lagarde said.
The eurozone has yet to grapple with its banking problems convincingly, which
is harming efforts to revive growth in the region.
“Especially in the periphery, many banks are still in an early stage of
repair – not enough capital and too many bad loans on their books. Even outside
the periphery, there is a need to shrink balance sheets, reduce reliance on
wholesale funding, and improve business models,” she said.
Because the banks are broken, cheap credit is not getting through to the
parts of the economy that need it. “Because of insufficient financial repair,
monetary policy is “spinning its wheels” – meaning that low interest rates are
not translating into affordable credit for people who need it,” she said.
“So the priority must be to continue to clean up the banking system by
recapitalising, restructuring, or – where necessary – shutting down banks.” One
option for eurozone would be “direct recapitalisation by the European Stability
Mechanism”, the region’s bail-out fund, she added.
The UK is leading the field on bank reform, with the Bank of England last
month demanding lenders find another £25bn of capital despite already being far
better capitalised than European peers.
Ms Lagarde's comments came as she said the global economy was improving and
“no longer looks quite as dangerous as it did six months ago”. The world is now
in a three speed recovery of countries doing well, such as the emerging markets,
those “on the mend, like the US, and those that “still have some distance to
travel”, like the eurozone.
“We know the future we want. We know the path to get there. The task before
us now is to act, to make that future a reality, to get ahead – and stay ahead –
of the crisis,” she said.
Europe needs to recapitalise, restructure or shut down its banks as part of
a vital clean-up of the industry, International Monetary Fund managing director
Christine Lagarde said as she warned that the threat from world’s biggest
lenders was “more dangerous than ever”.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF's
managing director, has warned that too-big-to-fail banks are "more dangerous
than ever"
By Philip Aldrick, Economics
Editor
5:21PM BST 10 Apr 2013
239 Comments Speaking in New York ahead of next week’s IMF Spring meeting, Ms Lagarde
launched a broadside against the financial services industry for resisting
urgent reform.
“In too many cases – from the United States in 2008 to Cyprus today – we have
seen what happens when a banking sector chooses the quick buck over the lasting
benefit, backing a business model that ultimately destabilizes the economy. We
simply cannot have pre-crisis banking in a post-crisis world.
“We need reform, even in the face of intense pushback from an industry
sometimes reluctant to abandon lucrative lines of business.”
Almost five years since Lehman Brothers collapsed, she claimed: “The
'oversize banking’ model of too-big-to-fail is more dangerous than ever. We must
get to the root of the problem with comprehensive and clear regulation.”
Regulators have forced banks to increase significantly their loss-absorbing
capital buffers since the crisis, but are still working on "resolution"
mechanisms that will allow giant lenders to fail without hitting the taxpayer
and threatening financial stability.
Related Articles
Lagarde: crisis has created 'three-speed
economy'
10 Apr 2013
Vatican agrees to financial transparency
following critical report
10 Apr 2013
Andy Haldane: simplify 'Byzantine' banking
regulation
11 Apr 2013
UK growth back at trend rate, OECD says
10 Apr 2013
Regulators must also work together, she added, amid evidence that some
countries are caving into pressure from the banking lobby. “Financial sector
reform efforts must be coordinated internationally. We are already seeing
countries pulling in different directions in some areas, such as in calculating
the riskiness of assets and curbing banking excesses,” Ms Lagarde said.
The eurozone has yet to grapple with its banking problems convincingly, which
is harming efforts to revive growth in the region.
“Especially in the periphery, many banks are still in an early stage of
repair – not enough capital and too many bad loans on their books. Even outside
the periphery, there is a need to shrink balance sheets, reduce reliance on
wholesale funding, and improve business models,” she said.
Because the banks are broken, cheap credit is not getting through to the
parts of the economy that need it. “Because of insufficient financial repair,
monetary policy is “spinning its wheels” – meaning that low interest rates are
not translating into affordable credit for people who need it,” she said.
“So the priority must be to continue to clean up the banking system by
recapitalising, restructuring, or – where necessary – shutting down banks.” One
option for eurozone would be “direct recapitalisation by the European Stability
Mechanism”, the region’s bail-out fund, she added.
The UK is leading the field on bank reform, with the Bank of England last
month demanding lenders find another £25bn of capital despite already being far
better capitalised than European peers.
Ms Lagarde's comments came as she said the global economy was improving and
“no longer looks quite as dangerous as it did six months ago”. The world is now
in a three speed recovery of countries doing well, such as the emerging markets,
those “on the mend, like the US, and those that “still have some distance to
travel”, like the eurozone.
“We know the future we want. We know the path to get there. The task before
us now is to act, to make that future a reality, to get ahead – and stay ahead –
of the crisis,” she said.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sat 13 Apr - 5:45
HBOS: Bosses Get Bonuses 'For Going Bust'
Pressure mounts on ex-HBOS executives after it is revealed
seven directors got automatic 'change of control' payments.
2:33pm UK,
Friday 12 April 2013
Lord Stevenson, Sir James Crosby and Andy Hornby were
slammed by MPs
Pressure mounts on ex-HBOS executives after it is revealed
seven directors got automatic 'change of control' payments.
2:33pm UK,
Friday 12 April 2013
Lord Stevenson, Sir James Crosby and Andy Hornby were
slammed by MPs
Pressure is mounting on disgraced former HBOS bosses amid anger
over mammoth pension pots and nearly £1m of "bonuses for going bust".
Seven directors of HBOS landed £914,000 in "change of control" payments
triggered by the bank's rescue takeover by Lloyds Banking Group, following its
£20.5bn taxpayer bailout in 2008.
It also emerged that Sir James Crosby and Andy Hornby - two of the three
former HBOS chiefs damned last week by a parliamentary commission for
"catastrophic failures of management" - were on pension schemes that accrued
benefits at twice the rate of average workers.
Mr Hornby, eligible to start drawing down a £240,000-a-year HBOS pension when
he turns 50 in four years' time, is now in the spotlight following Sir James's
decision earlier this week to hand back 30% of his £580,000-a-year pension.
Under the change of control payments handed out at the time of the Lloyds
takeover, Mr Hornby received £251,000 cash and 7,599 shares - on top of salary,
pensions awards and redundancy payments.
MPs are now demanding an inquiry into the handouts.
John Mann, MP and member of the Treasury Select Committee, said the due
diligence done at the time of the deal needed to be investigated, while the
former bosses should also pay the money back.
He told the Guardian: "This is taxpayers' money being used to pay bonuses to
bankers that brought down their own bank and cost thousands of ordinary workers
their jobs - These are bonuses for going bust."
Others to receive the payments include Peter Cummings - the former head of
corporate lending and the only ex-HBOS director penalised by the Financial
Services Authority (FSA) after being fined £500,000 and banned for life from
working in the City. He received £129,000 and 2,051 shares.
Lloyds said the decisions to award change-of-control payments and pensions
were made by HBOS before its takeover.
A spokesman said: "At the time these arrangements were settled, Lloyds did
not own HBOS.
"All decisions with respect to the redundancy or severance terms applicable
to departing HBOS senior executives, including pensions, were made by the HBOS
remuneration committee or board of HBOS prior to the acquisition by Lloyds."
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sat 13 Apr - 9:07
Tax havens: Bank deal pressures Austria and Luxembourg
10 April 2013
Presseurop EUobserver.com, ABC
Europe’s five largest economies – Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain – have signed a deal to automatically share bank details of account holders as part of a push to combat tax evasion, writes the EUobserver.
The new agreement puts “increasing pressure” on Austria and Luxembourg to drop their threatened veto of a similar EU-wide accord. The finance ministers from the five nations wrote to European Commissioner on Fiscality, Algirdas Šemeta saying they have agreed a pilot scheme, based on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which requires banks to notify US tax authorities of any American clients. The EUobserver says –
10 April 2013
Presseurop EUobserver.com, ABC
Europe’s five largest economies – Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain – have signed a deal to automatically share bank details of account holders as part of a push to combat tax evasion, writes the EUobserver.
The new agreement puts “increasing pressure” on Austria and Luxembourg to drop their threatened veto of a similar EU-wide accord. The finance ministers from the five nations wrote to European Commissioner on Fiscality, Algirdas Šemeta saying they have agreed a pilot scheme, based on the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which requires banks to notify US tax authorities of any American clients. The EUobserver says –
A similar EU-wide law has so far been held up by Austria and Luxembourg, both keen on preserving bank secrecy for domestic and foreign clients. [...] The collapse of the Cyprus banking system – which like Luxembourg's was much larger than the country's GDP – and a series of revelations about the offshore banking model have increased pressure on Austria and Luxembourg to change their position. Luxembourg has already signalled "openness" to discuss bank secrecy.However, “the decision is not trivial”, writes Spanish daily ABC,
as it means a substantial advance in the fight against tax evasion, and so, against tax havens in Europe [...] but European reality concerning taxes is stubborn and any advance in Brussels becomes difficult as any decision, even at its minimum, requires unanimity — something impossible in practice taking into account that some countries within Europe, as Luxembourg or Austria, have policies which rely very much on banking secrecy, and mean huge profits for banks based in those countries and for their clients.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sun 14 Apr - 16:25
European Central Bank News
EU
Set to Clash on Bank Deal as Germany Sees Treaty Limit
European Union nations are set to clash over plans to centralize the handling
of failing banks, as Germany warned that the bloc is running out of road to
adopt crisis-fighting measures under its current treaties.
Cyprus
Central Bank Independence Attacked, Official Says
The governor of Cyprus’s central bank said the government is attacking his
institution’s independence at the same time as his family endures death threats
from people who lost money in the country’s bailout.
U.K.
Sees German Treaty-Talk Bid as Opening to Repatriate Powers
The U.K. views Germany’s bid to alter European Union treaty rules on bank
oversight as an opportunity to pursue its own goal of repatriating powers from
the bloc.
U.S.
Stocks Gain for Week on Earnings, Stimulus Optimism
U.S. stocks advanced for the week, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500
Index to a record, amid optimism that global stimulus efforts and corporate
earnings growth will continue to power the world’s largest economy.
European
Stocks Post Largest Weekly Gain in a Month
European stocks posted the biggest weekly advance in more than a month amid
speculation that central banks will continue to provide monetary stimulus and as
a report showed Chinese imports beat forecasts.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sun 14 Apr - 16:39
- Home»
Financial crisis caused by too many bankers taking cocaine, says former
drugs tsar
David Nutt, the former Government drugs tsar sacked after claiming that
horse riding was as safe as taking ecstasy, has said that the banking crisis was
caused by too many workers taking cocaine.
The banking crisis was caused by
cocaine use claims Dr Nutt Photo:
REX
By Nick Britten
3:10PM BST 14 Apr 2013
26 Comments Prof Nutt said that too many bankers who took the drug were “overconfident”
and so “took more risks” and said that not only did it lead to the current
crisis in this country, but also the 1995 collapse of Barings bank.
He said cocaine was perfect for their "culture of excitement and drive and
more and more and more", adding: “Bankers use cocaine and got us into this
terrible mess. It is a 'more' drug."
Prof Nutt is not a stranger to making controversial claims about drugs. His
latest attack is on the Government for “absurd” and “insane” laws dealing with
magic mushrooms, ecstasy and cannabis, which he said were hindering medical
research because regulations meant one of the ingredients - psilocybin, which is
used to treat depression - was so hard to get hold of.
He was sacked as the Government’s most senior drugs advisor in 2009 after
publishing a paper saying that there was "not much difference" between the harm
caused by riding and ecstasy. Society, he argued, did not always "adequately
balance" all of the risks inherent in it.
He was ordered to apologise by the then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who
accused him of trivializing the dangers of taking drugs. But he went on to claim
that alcohol and tobacco were more dangerous than many illegal drugs, including
LSD, ecstasy and cannabis, and was fired after later criticizing the moral tone
of the Government’s policy making.
Related Articles
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cocaine binge
20 Feb 2009
Whistleblower labelled 'Crazy Miss
Cokehead'
28 Feb 2013
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jailed
22 Sep 2008
Madam ran £1milion-a-year 'banker's
brothel'
25 Feb 2013
In his latest broadside, Prof Nutt, 61, professor of neuropsychopharmacology
at Imperial College London, he said that magic mushrooms, which were banned in
2005, were done so by the Conservatives to “goad” Tony Blair, meaning he has to
pay £6,000 for a license, which was “bonkers”, or face buying it on the streets,
which "my ethics committee wouldn't allow".
He said; "The reason we haven't started the study is because finding
companies who could manufacture the drug and who are prepared to go through the
regulatory hoops to get the licence, which can take up to a year and triple the
price, is proving very difficult. The whole situation is bedevilled by this
primitive, old-fashioned attitude that Schedule 1 drugs could never have
therapeutic potential."
He told the Observer that being prevented on such grounds greatly hinders his
research into evidence that psilocybin shuts down an area of the brain that is
overactive in depression, therefore potentially blocking negative thought
patterns.
Prof Nutt also accused the coalition of having "chickened out" of minimum
pricing on alcohol, a move that has been proved in other countries to curb binge
drinking. "Pathetic," he said. "I mean, the Lib Dems are sensible. They support
these policies."
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Sun 14 Apr - 16:48
I think he is tight about the drug taking by employees in the Trading Dept.
I attended a Seminar in London several years ago about Banking and the Speaker said Traders have to work under enormous pressure , making trades worth millions every couple of minutes so by the age of 31 they were played out as Traders.They worked hard and played hard and he suspected many took drugs as a stimulant when they were tired or hung over.
I attended a Seminar in London several years ago about Banking and the Speaker said Traders have to work under enormous pressure , making trades worth millions every couple of minutes so by the age of 31 they were played out as Traders.They worked hard and played hard and he suspected many took drugs as a stimulant when they were tired or hung over.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Badboy Sun 14 Apr - 18:37
NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT,DIDN'T THINK OF THAT ONE!
SEPARATELY,SWEDEN,FINLAND AND ICELAND MAY HAD THE RIGHT IDEA WITH BANKS,LET THEM FAIL,THEN NATIONALISE THEM.
SEPARATELY,SWEDEN,FINLAND AND ICELAND MAY HAD THE RIGHT IDEA WITH BANKS,LET THEM FAIL,THEN NATIONALISE THEM.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Mon 15 Apr - 11:18
I think it inevitable that there will be more Bank closures but doubt the British Government could afford to buy them. they got their fingers burned bailing out RBS and HBOS Badboy. What banks need to do when they have finished paying all these Fines and Lawsuits is to stick to what they know. they tried to muscle in on Insurance and other sidelines like sub-prime mortgages , got too greedy and showed they were out of their depth.Badboy wrote:NOW THERE'S A THOUGHT,DIDN'T THINK OF THAT ONE!
SEPARATELY,SWEDEN,FINLAND AND ICELAND MAY HAD THE RIGHT IDEA WITH BANKS,LET THEM FAIL,THEN NATIONALISE THEM.
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Banks Drop Off ISDAFIX Panel amid RATE-rIGGING pROBES
Panda Mon 15 Apr - 17:32
Banks Drop Off IsdaFix Panel Amid Rate-Rigging Probes
By Liam Vaughan - Apr 15, 2013
Banks are leaving the panel that sets ISDAFix, the benchmark for the $379 trillion swaps market, as regulators probe suspected manipulation of the rate.
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s largest bank by assets, andJapan’s Mizuho Financial Group (8411) stopped contributing to the ISDAFix dollar rate between November and January, and haven’t been replaced, documents on the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s website show. The industry group didn’t give any reason for the lenders’ departure.
Enlarge image
Banks Drop Off ISDAFix Panel as CFTC Investigates Rate-Rigging
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
A sign is displayed inside a window of a HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in London.
A sign is displayed inside a window of a HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in London. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
7:48 April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Cambridge University professor Petra Geraats discusses central bank monetary policy, interest rates and inflation expectations. She spoke March 22 with Bloomberg's Simon Kennedy in Cambridge, England. (Source: Bloomberg)
Enlarge image
Banks Drop Off ISDAFix Panel as CFTC Investigates Rate-Rigging
Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg
A pedestrian walks past the logo for Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Tokyo.
A pedestrian walks past the logo for Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Tokyo. Photographer: Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg
Firms are pulling out of rates such as the London interbank offered rate, Euribor and ISDAFix on growing concern that they may face lawsuits, fines and criminal penalties if found to have engaged in wrongdoing. Without data from a large number of firms, benchmarks risk becoming unrepresentative and losing the confidence of the market, said Owen Watkins, a former regulator at the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority.
Banks across the industry are “concerned about the regulatory scrutiny and they don’t see any upside,” said Watkins, who’s now a lawyer at Lewis Silkin LLP in London. “If it continues, the authorities would look to compel institutions to provide quotes, either through regulation or statute.”
Regulators including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, one of the FSA’s successors, are working on a set of principles to govern all financial benchmarks after they fined Barclays Plc (BARC),UBS AG (UBSN) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc more than $2.5 billion for rigging Libor. The CFTC has issued subpoenas to brokers at ICAP Plc (IAP) and as many as 15 banks amid allegations ISDAFix was rigged, Bloomberg News reported on April 8.
Bank Estimates
ISDAFix is used as a reference for parties looking to settle interest-rate options and cancel swaps contracts. The rates were created in 1998 by ISDA with the predecessors of ICAP and Thomson Reuters Corp., which competes with Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, in providing news, information, and trading systems to the financial community.
Rates are published in eight currencies and the U.S. Federal Reserve includes them in a daily report on money markets. Like Libor, it is based on an average of submissions from banks rather than actual trade data, leaving it vulnerable to manipulation, according to William Gilmore, a former futures broker and founder of Gilmore & Co., a risk analysis and derivative-valuation firm based in Bath, western England.
By Liam Vaughan - Apr 15, 2013
Banks are leaving the panel that sets ISDAFix, the benchmark for the $379 trillion swaps market, as regulators probe suspected manipulation of the rate.
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Europe’s largest bank by assets, andJapan’s Mizuho Financial Group (8411) stopped contributing to the ISDAFix dollar rate between November and January, and haven’t been replaced, documents on the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s website show. The industry group didn’t give any reason for the lenders’ departure.
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Banks Drop Off ISDAFix Panel as CFTC Investigates Rate-Rigging
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
A sign is displayed inside a window of a HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in London.
A sign is displayed inside a window of a HSBC Holdings Plc bank branch in London. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
7:48 April 11 (Bloomberg) -- Cambridge University professor Petra Geraats discusses central bank monetary policy, interest rates and inflation expectations. She spoke March 22 with Bloomberg's Simon Kennedy in Cambridge, England. (Source: Bloomberg)
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Banks Drop Off ISDAFix Panel as CFTC Investigates Rate-Rigging
Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg
A pedestrian walks past the logo for Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Tokyo.
A pedestrian walks past the logo for Mizuho Bank Ltd. in Tokyo. Photographer: Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg
Firms are pulling out of rates such as the London interbank offered rate, Euribor and ISDAFix on growing concern that they may face lawsuits, fines and criminal penalties if found to have engaged in wrongdoing. Without data from a large number of firms, benchmarks risk becoming unrepresentative and losing the confidence of the market, said Owen Watkins, a former regulator at the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority.
Banks across the industry are “concerned about the regulatory scrutiny and they don’t see any upside,” said Watkins, who’s now a lawyer at Lewis Silkin LLP in London. “If it continues, the authorities would look to compel institutions to provide quotes, either through regulation or statute.”
Regulators including the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority, one of the FSA’s successors, are working on a set of principles to govern all financial benchmarks after they fined Barclays Plc (BARC),UBS AG (UBSN) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc more than $2.5 billion for rigging Libor. The CFTC has issued subpoenas to brokers at ICAP Plc (IAP) and as many as 15 banks amid allegations ISDAFix was rigged, Bloomberg News reported on April 8.
Bank Estimates
ISDAFix is used as a reference for parties looking to settle interest-rate options and cancel swaps contracts. The rates were created in 1998 by ISDA with the predecessors of ICAP and Thomson Reuters Corp., which competes with Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, in providing news, information, and trading systems to the financial community.
Rates are published in eight currencies and the U.S. Federal Reserve includes them in a daily report on money markets. Like Libor, it is based on an average of submissions from banks rather than actual trade data, leaving it vulnerable to manipulation, according to William Gilmore, a former futures broker and founder of Gilmore & Co., a risk analysis and derivative-valuation firm based in Bath, western England.
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Re: Bl***y Banks Again
Panda Tue 16 Apr - 14:59
Paschi Prosecutors Seizing $2.4 Billion of Nomura Assets
By Elisa Martinuzzi & Sergio Di Pasquale - Apr 16, 2013 12:48 PM GMT+0100
Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
Siena prosecutors are seizing assets from Nomura Holdings Inc. as part of their probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s use of derivatives to hide losses.Italian prosecutors are seizing about 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of assets from Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) as part of a probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s use of derivatives to hide losses.
Sadeq Sayeed, Nomura’s former European head, and Raffaele Ricci, a managing director in fixed-income sales, have also been put under probe for colluding to obstruct regulators and making false statements, prosecutors in Siena, where the bank is based, said in a statement today. They are also sequestering 14.4 million euros of assets from three of the Italian lender’s former managers who are already under probe, including Chairman Giuseppe Mussari, General Manager Antonio Vigni and finance chief Gianluca Baldassarri.
The seizures are linked to allegations of fraud and usury, prosecutors said. Monte Paschi has claimed Nomura colluded with its former managers to devise one of two derivatives in 2008 and 2009 that hid total losses of much as 557 million euros. Nomura reaped at least 88 million euros from the transaction, dubbed Alexandria, according to Italian lender.
“The amount in question is unprecedented,” said Andrea Castaldo, a criminal lawyer and professor at the University of Salerno, Italy who isn’t involved in the case. “The allegation of usury raises concern as to why it wasn’t spotted by regulators before.”
Monte Paschi sought a 4.1 billion-euro bailout in February, its second in four years, as its capital shortfall widened. The bank has lost 33 percent of its market value since Jan. 17, when Bloomberg News first reported the lender’s use of derivatives, which had never been fully disclosed to shareholders.
Shares Climb
The stock rose as much as 4.6 percent in Milan trading today and was 2.8 percent higher at 19.63 euro cents as of 1:45 p.m., valuing the bank at 2.3 billion euros.
Monte Paschi has said Nomura’s transaction, and a similar derivative designed by Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG, “should never have been put together.” The two firms “were perfectly aware of the context, the illicit objectives” of Monte Paschi’s former executives, the company said in a report released March 29. Lawyers for the three former Monte Paschi executives didn’t immediately answer their mobile phones.
Rob Davies, a spokesman for Nomura in London, declined to comment. The bank isn’t under probe, according to prosecutors. Sayeed, 59, said he denied any allegation of wrongdoing against him. Ricci didn’t return a call and an e-mail seeking comment. Deutsche Bank said Monte Paschi’s claims were “entirely without merit” and that the lender would defend itself vigorously.
Government Bonds
As part of the deal with Nomura, Monte Paschi bought Italian government bonds using a loan from the Tokyo-based bank. It swapped the fixed-rate interest payments on the bonds with a floating rate and guaranteed the credit risk on the bonds, effectively making a bet on the future value of Italian government bonds. As those securities tumbled during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, Monte Paschi was forced to post additional margin at a cost of 173 million euros, the bank said.
About 1.7 billion euros of the assets to be seized is margin pledged by Monte Paschi to Nomura, prosecutors said. The Siena prosecutor has frozen payments on the contract, said a person with direct knowledge of the probe, who asked not to be identified because the probe is continuing.
The finance police and the Bank of Italy are working jointly on the asset seizure, a police official said, declining to be identified in line with policy. A spokeswoman for the central bank couldn’t immediately be reached.
By Elisa Martinuzzi & Sergio Di Pasquale - Apr 16, 2013 12:48 PM GMT+0100
Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
Siena prosecutors are seizing assets from Nomura Holdings Inc. as part of their probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s use of derivatives to hide losses.Italian prosecutors are seizing about 1.8 billion euros ($2.4 billion) of assets from Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) as part of a probe into Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s use of derivatives to hide losses.
Sadeq Sayeed, Nomura’s former European head, and Raffaele Ricci, a managing director in fixed-income sales, have also been put under probe for colluding to obstruct regulators and making false statements, prosecutors in Siena, where the bank is based, said in a statement today. They are also sequestering 14.4 million euros of assets from three of the Italian lender’s former managers who are already under probe, including Chairman Giuseppe Mussari, General Manager Antonio Vigni and finance chief Gianluca Baldassarri.
The seizures are linked to allegations of fraud and usury, prosecutors said. Monte Paschi has claimed Nomura colluded with its former managers to devise one of two derivatives in 2008 and 2009 that hid total losses of much as 557 million euros. Nomura reaped at least 88 million euros from the transaction, dubbed Alexandria, according to Italian lender.
“The amount in question is unprecedented,” said Andrea Castaldo, a criminal lawyer and professor at the University of Salerno, Italy who isn’t involved in the case. “The allegation of usury raises concern as to why it wasn’t spotted by regulators before.”
Monte Paschi sought a 4.1 billion-euro bailout in February, its second in four years, as its capital shortfall widened. The bank has lost 33 percent of its market value since Jan. 17, when Bloomberg News first reported the lender’s use of derivatives, which had never been fully disclosed to shareholders.
Shares Climb
The stock rose as much as 4.6 percent in Milan trading today and was 2.8 percent higher at 19.63 euro cents as of 1:45 p.m., valuing the bank at 2.3 billion euros.
Monte Paschi has said Nomura’s transaction, and a similar derivative designed by Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG, “should never have been put together.” The two firms “were perfectly aware of the context, the illicit objectives” of Monte Paschi’s former executives, the company said in a report released March 29. Lawyers for the three former Monte Paschi executives didn’t immediately answer their mobile phones.
Rob Davies, a spokesman for Nomura in London, declined to comment. The bank isn’t under probe, according to prosecutors. Sayeed, 59, said he denied any allegation of wrongdoing against him. Ricci didn’t return a call and an e-mail seeking comment. Deutsche Bank said Monte Paschi’s claims were “entirely without merit” and that the lender would defend itself vigorously.
Government Bonds
As part of the deal with Nomura, Monte Paschi bought Italian government bonds using a loan from the Tokyo-based bank. It swapped the fixed-rate interest payments on the bonds with a floating rate and guaranteed the credit risk on the bonds, effectively making a bet on the future value of Italian government bonds. As those securities tumbled during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, Monte Paschi was forced to post additional margin at a cost of 173 million euros, the bank said.
About 1.7 billion euros of the assets to be seized is margin pledged by Monte Paschi to Nomura, prosecutors said. The Siena prosecutor has frozen payments on the contract, said a person with direct knowledge of the probe, who asked not to be identified because the probe is continuing.
The finance police and the Bank of Italy are working jointly on the asset seizure, a police official said, declining to be identified in line with policy. A spokeswoman for the central bank couldn’t immediately be reached.
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