Error alert! A key formula that underpins bank stability may be acting up (POLITICO)
By Izabella Kaminska · Jun 1, 2023 Protecting their business from interest-rate risk is supposed to be what banks specialize in. But a report from Goldman Sachs suggests the calculation most banks use to manage the process could be way off, due to an overestimation in how resilient their ‘deposit franchises’ are to rising interest […]
The race to govern the Bank of Italy is on (POLITICO)
By Ben Munster · May 30, 2023 ROME — Massive and imposing, Italy’s central bank looms behind a barbed perimeter of black iron and angular palm trees on the via Nazionale, minutes from Rome’s famous ancient heart. Built to project the economic potential of the new Italian state in the late 19th century, its grandeur […]
European financiers fret over US debt ceiling “collateral damage” (POLITICO)
By Ben Munster · May 26, 2023 Panic in Europe? Over a U.S. debt default? Surely not … well, maybe. Just a little. OK, quite a lot, to judge by an awkward exchange at the International Capital Markets Association’s annual bash in Paris on Thursday. “My question,” AXA Investment Management fixed-income chief Hans Stoter told […]
Leaked Lunch with former UBS Libor trader Tom Hayes
In the second episode of Season Two of the Leaked Lunch podcast I sit down with former UBS Libor trader Tom Hayes. He tells me about the shock of his life when he discovered he was being charged with Libor manipulation, the unauthentic deal-making he had to engage in to avoid extradition to the US, […]
What’s at stake as Libor rigging scandal resurfaces? (POLITICO)
By Johanna Treeck, Geoffrey Smith What is the scandal about? A new book alleges that the traders who went to jail after the global financial crisis for conspiring to rig benchmark interest rates were victims of a miscarriage of justice. Author Andrew Verity makes the allegation that the traders were under duress from state agencies […]
Fight against ‘shadow fleet’ shipping Russian oil takes EU into uncharted waters (POLITICO)
By Gabriel Gavin · May 22, 2023 BRUSSELS — The EU wants to crack down on an armada of aging tankers carrying Russian oil around the globe that is raising fears of an environmental disaster while sending cash to the Kremlin. But tackling the so-called shadow fleet is proving harder than expected, and the effort […]
Regulators threaten to rain on Tether’s parade (POLITICO)
By Bjarke Smith-Meyer, Ben Munster · May 19, 2023 BRUSSELS — Few expected Tether, the world’s most prominent stablecoin, to survive the crypto market meltdown. Instead, the issuer of dollar-pegged digital tokens revealed it was thriving by this month posting a first-quarter profit of $1.5 billion that left most of its rivals in its wake. […]
Net zero targets risk doing more harm than good, says Italian cbanker (POLITICO)
By Johanna Treeck · May 12, 2023 FRANKFURT — Net zero targets risk doing more harm than good and should be dropped in favor of more realistic strategies to help the environment, one of Italy’s top central bankers warned. Paolo Angelini, deputy governor at the Bank of Italy, said in an interview with POLITICO that […]
ICYMI: Germany floats subsidies for energy-intensive industries (POLITICO)
By Victor Jack, Gabriel Rinaldi · May 5, 2023 BERLIN — Germany’s Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck on Friday proposed a plan to subsidize electricity costs for struggling energy-intensive industries, hinting at support for EU joint debt to fund the measure bloc-wide if necessary. In a working paper, Habeck’s ministry suggested reimbursing energy-intensive companies […]
ECB needs a new type of bazooka to battle Baltic risk (POLITICO)
By Johanna Treeck · May 5, 2023 FRANKFURT — Russia’s war has pushed borrowing costs for the Baltic states above those of the most indebted eurozone member countries, opening a new chapter in a saga that has been an obsession of policymakers and financial markets since the sovereign debt crisis. This time it’s not out-of-control […]