Conversation Starter
Eris Exchange Wants You To Name The Platform
Eris Exchange is hosting a naming contest for its trading platform to be deployed on May 18, 2011. The exchange jointly developed an interest rates trading platform powered by Currenex, part of State Street’s eExchange suite of trading technology solutions. It provides trade-matching and request-for-quote functionality. The main offering of the platform will be the trading of interest rate swap futures and options.
Eris Exchange recently named a separate block trade entry facility Eris Block Boxtm. The exchange is looking for an equally compelling brand name for its combined trade engine/RFQ platform. The contest winner will be awarded an Apple iPad 2 (the latest version of the Apple offering). Names must be submitted by Apr. 15 and the contest winner will be circulated by Apr. 25.
The exchange asks that readers of the JLN Interest Rates Newsletter forward word about the contest to friends and colleagues. A summary of the rules and process to enter the contest can be found at www.erisfutures.com/contest. Christopher Rodriguez, chief sales and corporate development officer for Eris adds, "Good luck and thank you for participating."
Lead Stories
IMF cautions that capital flows are fickle, ebbing and flowing with changes in global financial conditions
IMF Video
http://jlne.ws/i1zuj4
Osborne says Portugal crisis vindicates UK deficit plan
BBC
Chancellor George Osborne has said Portugal's need for a financial bailout shows the government was right to prioritise cutting the UK's deficit.
Portugal could not "convince the world" it was able to pay its own debts, he said, while the UK's spending cuts plan had "near universal" support abroad.
http://jlne.ws/iaviUx
Is the Municipal Bond Crisis Over?
By: Lori Spechler, CNBC
Is the municipal crisis over? Was there ever really a crisis? Or was it merely a crisis of confidence spurred in part by Meredith Whitney and her now infamous “60 Minutes” appearance in December 2010.
http://jlne.ws/eVoJuD
Short-Dated Treasurys Rise On As Earthquake Hits Japan
By Min Zeng, WSJ.com
Short-dated Treasurys led a rally in the bond market on Thursday as many investors bought safe assets following a powerful earthquake in Japan. Japans media reported that the northern Japan earthquake measures 7.4 magnitude. Japan was hit last month by the strongest earthquake in more than three centuries that resulted in radiation from a nuclear plant.
http://jlne.ws/fjsyu7
Japan investors net sellers of overseas bonds
By Lisa Twaronite, MarketWatch
Currency strategists remain divided on the yen’s mid- to long-term direction, but weekly Ministry of Finance portfolio-flow data released Thursday gave some fodder to yen bulls.
http://jlne.ws/fTwJaA
SNB no longer accepts TEPCO bonds as repo collateral
Reuters
The Swiss National Bank has excluded Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) bonds from its list of securities that can be used as collateral in its repo operations, the SNB website showed.
http://jlne.ws/gaJjB1
Tokyo Electric bond holders want BOJ to buy more
By Chikafumi Hodo and Hiroyasu Hoshi, Reuters
Bond holders of Tokyo Electric Power Co are calling for the Bank of Japan to expand the scale of its outright corporate bond purchases for the troubled utility giant as credit conditions deteriorate after last month's earthquake.
http://jlne.ws/f6EN7v
Bank of Japan to Offer $12 Billion in Loans Aimed at Earthquake-Hit Region
Bloomberg
The Bank of Japan unveiled a lending program to help companies in areas affected by the nation’s record earthquake, while voicing concern the disaster may depress economic growth in coming months.
http://jlne.ws/gjG7I1
Trichet Says Interest-Rate Increase by ECB Is ‘Warranted’
By Jeff Black and Christian Vits, Bloomberg
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet comments on monetary policy and the region’s sovereign-debt crisis. He made the remarks at a press conference in Frankfurt today after the ECB raised its benchmark interest rate to 1.25 percent from a record low of 1 percent.
http://jlne.ws/fIzG1i
ECB Raises Interest Rates
By Terence Roth
The European Central Bank raised interest rates Thursday for the first time since 2008, but ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet moved to soften expectations that the step would be followed by a rapid series of rate increases to ward off inflation risks.
http://jlne.ws/f5vr1T
When Will ECB Raise Rates Next? Here’s Code to Watch
By Brian Blackstone, WSJ.com
The European Central Bank is widely expected to raise its main policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25% at Thursday’s meeting. It hasn’t even delivered that anticipated rate increase (which would be the first in almost three years), and economists are already eyeing the next one.
http://jlne.ws/gHYK4A
Obama: Shutdown would be 'all because of politics'
MSNBC
The Obama administration warned Wednesday that a federal government shutdown would undermine the economic recovery, delay pay to U.S. troops fighting in three wars, slow the processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-guaranteed mortgages during peak home buying season.
http://jlne.ws/h5UH6z
Obama, Boehner Talk About Government Shutdown
By U.S. News Staff
With the threat of a government shutdown looming, President Obama said it's time to put a stop to political games. "It would be inexcusable for us to not be able to take care of last year's business when we are this close simply because of politics," the president said from the White House briefing room Tuesday. "Nobody gets 100 percent of what they want," said Obama. "We have more than met Republicans half way at this point."
http://jlne.ws/grO3P8
Fed Would Stay Open Amid Government Shutdown
By Luca Di Leo, WSJ.com
As the battle over the U.S. budget threatens to leave the government without money starting from Friday, there’s at least one key agency that would not be affected: the Federal Reserve. But its job may be complicated if other parts of the government close.
http://jlne.ws/ijL8jR
Portugal's Finance Minister Says Nation Needs EU Aid
CNBC.com
Portugal's prime minister said Wednesday his country has asked for financing assistance from the European Union due to its high debts and difficulty raising money on international markets.
http://jlne.ws/gLy91f
NY Fed Says Swaps Industry Failed to Meet Clearinghouse Promises
By Matthew Leising, Bloomberg
Wall Street’s largest banks and money managers failed to fulfill commitments made a year ago to enable swaps customers to use clearinghouses to back trades, said New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley. The Fed will respond by creating its own group to compel swaps dealers, hedge funds and clearinghouses to meet regulatory goals, he said in a statement today.
http://jlne.ws/eN8iOM
Canadian, US Clearing Firms To Explore Swap Clearing Link
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Financial clearinghouses in Canada and the U.S. on Tuesday struck an agreement to create new services for handling Canadian swap transactions, in a push to satisfy the nation's Group of 20 commitment to firm up market practices.
http://jlne.ws/hkw5cu
How to lose friends in Washington: Be TARP cop
CNN Money
Until last week, Neil Barofsky was the special investigator of the TARP program, where he says his main job duty was blunting the effects of Treasury's bad decisions.
http://jlne.ws/gYAah9
J.P. Morgan’s Dimon lashes out at Dodd-Frank
By Ronald D. Orol, MarketWatch
Jamie Dimon, chairman and chief executive of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., took another opportunity to bash the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law Tuesday, saying he believes the statute is hurting U.S. economic competitiveness.
http://jlne.ws/eso0up
FDIC fee roils US repo lending market
By Karen Brettell, Reuters
A scarcity of short-term Treasuries roiled debt markets for the third day on Tuesday, with rumors that the Federal Reserve will step in to ease the supply shortage also hurting longer-dated Treasuries.
http://jlne.ws/hgchPU
US pension funds launch director database
By Dan McCrum, WSJ.com
Calpers and Calstrs, the two largest US pension funds by assets, will launch a new step in their campaign to address the failures of corporate governance that led to the financial crisis.
http://jlne.ws/girUGl
Geithner Pushes Congress to Raise Debt Limit
By Damian Paletta, WSJ.com
Without congressional action, the federal government will hit its legal borrowing limit no later than May 16 and could default on its debt by July 8, the Obama administration said Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/gjswIA
Bernanke Opines on Clearinghouses
By Michael Baron, The Street
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept the focus on new regulations surrounding derivatives trading in a speech Monday night in Georgia.
http://jlne.ws/hh5IjD
Central bank’s tools cannot fix food inflation
By Javier Blas, Financial Times
As agricultural commodity prices continue to rise – with corn matching on Monday the record set during the 2008 food crisis – central bankers face an uncomfortable choice: to tighten monetary policy in response to food and energy inflation or to bank on the surge being just a temporary problem and focus on much lower core inflation.
http://jlne.ws/haSVGW
Fed Help Kept Banks Afloat, Until It Didn’t
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM and JO CRAVEN McGINTY, NY Times
WASHINGTON — During the frenetic months of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve stretched the limits of its legal authority by lending money to more than 100 banks that subsequently failed.
http://jlne.ws/hk7Kr1
US banks lose risk-free profits to new levy
By Michael Mackenzie in New York, Financial Times
The introduction of a new insurance charge on overnight borrowing by banks in the US has led to the collapse of a profitable arbitrage opportunity that financial groups have used to rebuild their balance sheets after the financial crisis, traders say.
http://jlne.ws/f0fntw
Fed's Bernanke says clearinghouses pose risks too
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, Reuters
Regulators must step up oversight of clearinghouses now that derivatives markets are becoming increasingly reliant on them, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/e2M3TS
Fed's Lockhart says U.S. inflation to stay low
Reuters
U.S. inflation is likely to remain low for now, but policymakers will keep a close eye on potentially self-fulfilling consumer expectations for higher prices, a top Federal Reserve official said on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/huArOG
CFTC’s O’Malia Says Swap Rules Will Fail Without Transparency
Bloomberg
U.S. derivatives rules being crafted under the Dodd-Frank Act will fail if they let buyers and sellers trade in markets without price transparency, Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Scott O’Malia said.
http://jlne.ws/gDfzcN
Businesses, lawmakers urge CFTC to tap the brakes
Reuters
The U.S. futures regulator
must swallow its pride and ask Congress for a delay in
implementing derivatives regulations, some lawmakers and
businesses said on Thursday as they criticized the agency for
moving too fast.
http://jlne.ws/fB3sVx
US unemployment rate falls to new two-year low of 8.8%
Reuters
The US unemployment rate fell to a new two-year low in March of 8.8%, from 8.9% in February. It was the fourth monthly fall in a row. The unemployment rate has fallen by a percentage point during the last four months.
http://jlne.ws/egcnfQ
Fed Inflation Project: TIPS data show increase in deflation probabilities but they remain low
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Prices of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) with similar maturity dates in 2015 can be used to measure probabilities of a net decline in the consumer price index over the five-year period starting in early 2010.
http://jlne.ws/dKQrV7
Pimco Chief Takes Bearish Stance in Turbulent World
By KEVIN ROOSE, NY Times
Mohamed A. El-Erian is not easily unnerved. But Mr. El-Erian, the chief executive and co-chief investment officer of Pimco, the world’s largest bond fund manager, has been taking some extra precautions lately in the face of a topsy-turvy geopolitical climate.
http://jlne.ws/dYKiHB
Fed Let Brokers Turn Junk to Cash at Height of Financial Crisis
By Matthew Leising, Bloomberg
At the height of the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve allowed the world’s largest banks to turn more than $118 billion in junk bonds, defaulted debt, securities of unknown ratings and stocks into cash.
http://jlne.ws/hjsaz2
Exchanges, Clearing Houses & MTFs
Robert Druskin Named Chairman of DTCC
Press Release
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) Board of Directors announced today that Robert Druskin has been appointed Chairman of the Board, effective April 18, 2011.
http://jlne.ws/hjI5CT
LCH.Clearnet boosts Portugal bond margin fees
By William L. Watts, MarketWatch
Clearing firm LCH.Clearnet on Thursday increased the margin requirement for long positions in Portuguese sovereign bonds, a move that makes it more expensive to trade the securities.
http://jlne.ws/hR1IG3
LCH.Clearnet raises margin on Irish bonds
Market Watch
Clearing house LCH.Clearnet on Friday said it had raised its margin requirement on Irish government bonds to 45% from 35% on long positions effective Friday. The move, which makes it more expensive to trade Irish bonds, was made in accordance with the firm's sovereign credit risk framework and in response to the widening yield spread between 10-year Irish government debt ...
http://jlne.ws/fdaGHs
ELX Announces Strong First Quarter; Sets Multiple Monthly and Quarterly Volume and Market Share Records
http://jlne.ws/dFl0rS
NYSE Liffe U.S. Eurodollar Futures Volume Tops 100,000
First time over the 100K mark.
http://jlne.ws/g32TIA
Exchanges, NASDAQ and ICE bid to scuttle Deutsche Borse Points and Figures
Posted by Jeff Carter, StockTwits
This morning, the anti-climactic bid from NASDAQ($NDAQ)+ICE ($ICE) hit the street. Virtually everyone knew they were going to make a bid, the question was how much. This is a very different situation than Sprecher’s surprise attack on the CME-CBOT($CME) tie up years ago.
http://jlne.ws/glQyUE
Firms & Banks
Banks Gain Edge in Talks on Foreclosure Penalties as Fed, Agencies Settle
By Dakin Campbell, Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and fellow mortgage servicers are more likely to dodge a threatened $20 billion in penalties for faulty foreclosures after U.S. agencies cut ahead of the states by signing deals without fines.
http://jlne.ws/fsn7ba
Lehman Creditors, With Goldman, Said to Draft Competing Plan
BusinessWeek
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. creditors including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. have drafted a payment plan that would compete with the defunct bank's $61 billion proposal, taking back money that Lehman sought to give to bondholders, said two people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/gJOPgE
Investment banking jobs to expand most in Singapore, survey says
The Edge Singapore
Banking and hedge fund employees expect that Singapore will beat London and New York in terms of adding new financial services jobs, according to a survey from recruitment company Astbury Marsden. Over the next 12 months, the city-state will add the most employees, according to 37% of respondents, compared with 22% for London, 19% picking Shanghai and just 1% choosing New York, according an e ...
http://jlne.ws/ez102k
Cantor Fitzgerald Hires Seasoned Veteran Mark Goldman As Head of European Fixed Income Sales
Business Wire
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading global financial services firm, announced today the appointment of Mark Goldman as Head of European Fixed Income Sales, former Managing Director of Fixed Income Sales and Trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities. The appointment of Mr. Goldman is a continued step in the strategic expansion of the firm's European business. Commenting on the ...
http://jlne.ws/eFmPoL
Ex-Banc of America Muni Derivatives Trader Pleads Guilty
Financial Planning.com
WASHINGTON - A former municipal derivatives trading desk manager at Banc of America Securities LLC has pleaded guilty to one criminal count of engaging in a conspiracy to falsify bank records in connection with a scheme to rig bids and pay kickbacks for investment agreements and other financial contracts in the muni market.
http://jlne.ws/e2Iw6W
AIG reorganizes biggest unit
Reuters
American International Group reorganized its biggest unit and charged derivatives veteran Peter Hancock with turning around the struggling property and casualty business.
http://jlne.ws/hVWhyG
Citigroup Reverse Split Bemoaned by Traders
TheStreet.com
Wall Street traders predict that Citigroup 's 1-for-10 reverse stock split will be bad news, causing a dive in trading volumes that will hit the bottom lines of some brokers. "I think Citigroup volume will be down over 90 percent," said Eric Noll, The Nasdaq OMX executive vice president of transaction services at the Security Traders Association of New York Conference on ...
http://jlne.ws/i0Lwat
Regulators
SIFMA Statement on SEC, FINRA, Exchanges Limit Up-Limit Down Proposal
Press Release
SIFMA today released the following statement from Randy Snook, executive vice president, in response to a proposal establishing a new limit up-limit down mechanism for stock exchanges to curb unusual volatility in the equity markets. This mechanism would replace the existing single stock circuit breaker pilot program regime that was put in place as a result of the May 6, 2010 Flash Crash. “Reducing extreme volatility in our markets is essential to restoring and maintaining investor confidence, which in turn sows the seeds for greater capital formation, capital investment, economic growth and job creation. We applaud the SEC, FINRA and the exchanges for working diligently on finding solutions that will address volatility in our markets without hampering proper market function and efficiency. SIFMA and our member firms look forward to reviewing the proposal and providing substantive comments as necessary to further aid the development of these mechanisms that will undoubtedly help restore investor confidence.”
http://jlne.ws/hGMO6d
IMF Global Financial Stability Report: Durable Financial Stability
The Global Financial Stability Report provides semiannual assessments of global financial markets and addresses emerging market financing in a global context.
http://jlne.ws/es8pCx
IMF calls for banks to pay more to cover risk
By Chris Giles and Megan Murphy, FT.com
The world’s largest and most important banks should pay additional fees to address the risk that any liquidity shortfall in their institutions causes wider damage to the financial system, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/gBLgld
IMF urges US budget include Fannie, Freddie costs
By Emily Kaiser, Reuters
The United States should include in its budget the cost of mortgage loan guarantees and other housing supports, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday in a rare criticism of its biggest shareholder.
http://jlne.ws/hRUWmW
IMF: Financial Cycles: What? How? When?
This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of financial cycles using a large database covering 21 advanced countries over the period 1960:1-2007:4. Specifically, we analyze cycles in credit, house prices, and equity prices. We report three main results. First, financial cycles tend to be long and severe, especially those in housing and equity markets. Second, they are highly synchronized within countries, particularly credit and house price cycles. The extent of synchronization of financial cycles across countries is high as well, mainly for credit and equity
cycles, and has been increasing over time. Third financial cycles accentuate each other and become magnified, especially during coincident downturns in credit and housing markets. Moreover, globally synchronized downturns tend to be associated with more prolonged and costly episodes, especially for credit and equity cycles. We discuss how these findings can guide future research on various aspects of financial market developments.
http://jlne.ws/hna8oK
Speech By U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke On Clearinghouses, Financial Stability, And Financial Reform
Press Release
I am pleased to speak once again at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Financial Markets Conference. This year's conference covers an interesting mix of topics bearing on the vital ongoing global debate on how best to prevent and respond to financial crises...
http://jlne.ws/fGjttu
Lacker Says Fed May Need to Tighten Policy Later This Year
By Steve Matthews, Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said the U.S. central bank may need to tighten monetary policy later this year in response to a growing economy and rising inflation.
http://jlne.ws/fM9D7M
Lacker says Fed should consider reducing bond buys
By Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, Reuters
The Federal Reserve should think about trimming its $600 billion bond-buying stimulus as the economy shows signs of improvement and hints of inflation, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/gY1GZh
Fed's Dudley would be surprised if QE2 uncompleted
Reuters
It would be a "surprise" if the U.S. Federal Reserve did not complete its $600 billion in bond purchases, though the benefits of doing more have fallen, a top Fed official said on Friday.
http://jlne.ws/eHiWAp
Libya-Owned Bank Drew at Least $5 Billion in Loans From Fed
Bloomberg
Arab Banking Corp., a lender part- owned by the Central Bank of Libya, used a branch in New York to borrow at least $5 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve as credit markets seized up in 2008 and 2009.
http://jlne.ws/gvPIoo
Bank of China New York Branch Among August 2007 Fed Borrowers
By Jody Shenn, Bloomberg
The New York branch of Bank of China Ltd. was the second-largest borrower from the Federal Reserve’s discount window during a nine-day period in August 2007 as subprime-mortgage defaults first roiled broader markets.
http://jlne.ws/gQd814
ISDA Announces Annual Determinations Committees Outcome
Press Release
NEW YORK, Thursday, March 31, 2011 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced the outcome of the annual process to determine members of ISDA's five regional Determinations Committees, which together comprise the global decision-making structure around events in the credit default swaps (CDS) industry.
http://jlne.ws/iiYXUf
N.Y. Fed's derivatives club decried by U.S. pension plans
Providence Business News
WASHINGTON - A private derivatives regulatory group led by the New York Federal Reserve may weaken rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act, two associations representing large corporate pension plans said.
http://jlne.ws/eM8jVq
Goldman Sachs Borrowed From Fed Window Five Times, Data Show
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) tapped the Federal Reserve 's discount window at least five times since September 2008, according to central bank data that contradict an executive's testimony last year.
http://jlne.ws/fD8ikT
Dexia Drew Most From Discount Window During Record Week in 2008
By Bradley Keoun
Dexia SA, the largest lender to local governments in Belgium, borrowed more than any other bank from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s discount window during the week in October 2008 when use of the program surged to a record.
http://jlne.ws/fLoxCR
OTC
Icap’s swap platform exceeds expectations
By Masa Serdarevic in London, Financial Times
Icap said its newly-launched euro-denominated interest rate swaps platform had exceeded its expectations after a third of its total trades in the product last month were transacted on the platform. The interdealer broker launched iSwap six months ago in response to regulatory pressure from Brussels and Washington in the wake of the financial crisis to have more financial products traded on electronic platforms and passed through clearing houses.
http://jlne.ws/dJlsvI
Global News
Bank of Israel may try to ease shekel: B. of A. Emerging Markets Report
By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
What’s a central bank in a fast-growing country with a strengthening currency to do? “The Bank of Israel has a familiar dilemma,” wrote Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts in a report Thursday. The bank can raise interest rates to fight inflation, but if it does that, it’s likely to attract more investment into — and thus strengthen — the shekel, which hurts the country’s exporters.
http://jlne.ws/dI9b1n
Portugal Set to Start Talks on Bailout as Spain Threat Eases
By Joao Lima, Jim Silver and Anabela Reis, Bloomberg
Portugal is set to start hammering out a bailout package that may total 75 billion euros ($107 billion) as it becomes the third euro-region country to seek European Union aid.
http://jlne.ws/g0312Z
Portugal Not Discussing EU Aid, Can Meet Financing Needs
WSJ.com
Portugal said Wednesday that it can meet all its financing needs and hasn't asked for any aid from the European Union, but soaring funding costs increased doubts that the government could make it through June without external aid.
http://jlne.ws/e9NP9s
Portuguese banks downgraded ahead of debt sale
By Peter Wise in Lisbon, Financial Times
Moody’s has cut the credit ratings of seven Portuguese banks, citing their weakened financial strength as the country faces the increasing likelihood of an international bail-out.
http://jlne.ws/gZLgMG
Moody’s adds to pressure on Portugal
By Peter Wise and David Oakley, FT.com
Portugal’s cost of borrowing soared to more than 10 per cent for the first time since the launch of the euro, following a political crisis that has pushed the country to the brink of an international bail-out. The jump in yields – for the 12th day in a row – was sparked by Moody’s decision to cut the country’s sovereign rating by one notch from A to Baa1.
http://jlne.ws/dHijjl
Beijing's Waning Interest in Rate Increases
By Tom Orlik, WSJ.com
Holiday rate increases in China no longer take anyone by surprise. Today's 0.25 percentage point increase in the one year deposit and lending rates is the fourth since the tightening cycle kicked off in October last year. As the third increase on a public holiday, it also gives market participants a chance to digest the news before itchy trading fingers send the Shanghai Composite Index into freefall.
http://jlne.ws/g8v6F6
UK banking climate makes the US look attractive
By John Plender - Financial Times
A rift is opening up between the United States and Europe on the issue of bank capital ratios. For the big US banks, which have successfully deployed their notorious lobbying power to dilute re-regulation after the financial crisis, the new Basel III capital regime now appears a manageable threat.
http://jlne.ws/f5kCGH
Spain’s Bankia to set up ‘bad bank’
By Victor Mallet in Madrid - Financial Times
Bankia, the nascent Spanish retail bank comprised of Caja Madrid and six other savings banks, will establish a “bad bank” for impaired assets to ease its stock market listing later this year.
http://jlne.ws/g4ZvJG
Europe clears the way for ABN Amro to restructure
The Scotsman: Business
The European Commission yesterday said it had approved restructuring plans for Dutch state-owned bank ABN Amro subject to a ban on acquisitions and a condition that it achieve
http://jlne.ws/edWR1L
Kardan unit buys Bulgarian bank
Globes Online
The acquisition of the bank is part of Kardan's recently published strategy of strengthening its holdings in Bulgaria and Romania.
http://jlne.ws/edCvqD
HSBC spreads its wings to Mont Kiara
Business Times
KUALA LUMPUR: HSBC Amanah will open two more Islamic banking branches this year, raising its network to 10.
http://jlne.ws/hsyK8W
Abu Dhabi bank hires GS, Merrill for RHB Capital stake sale
The Edge
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank ADCB.AD, which is considering selling its 25-percent stake in Malaysia's RHB Capital, hired Goldman Sachs and BOA-Merrill Lynch as advisors, its chief executive said.
http://jlne.ws/i1ufdo
Australian Treasurer disposed to reject ASX-SGX merger proposal
Press Release
Singapore Exchange (SGX) has today been notified by the Foreign Investment Review Board that the Australian Treasurer is disposed to reject the proposed merger between ASX and SGX as contrary to Australia’s national interest.
http://jlne.ws/fy5tDt
Bank of Ireland Will Sell $4.3 Billion Portion of Project-Finance Business
Bloomberg
Bank of Ireland Plc, the country's largest bank, hired Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) to sell an almost 3 billion-euro ($4.3 billion) portion of its project finance business.
http://jlne.ws/hVS0cO
S and P cuts Ireland; Fitch in downgrade threat
By Carmel Crimmins and Conor Humphries, Reuters
Standard and Poor's stripped Ireland of its last major 'A' rating on Friday, citing future risks to bondholders, but the 1 notch cut and stable outlook was less severe than feared and gave the thumbs up to the state's bank bill.
http://jlne.ws/ga6mzf
Ireland to Push for Better Bailout Terms
BY EAMON QUINN, WSJ.com
Ireland will launch a "coordinated diplomatic drive" with the European Union for a better deal on its international bailout package, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore said Sunday, but without specifying what savings he hoped to secure.
http://jlne.ws/e5KYr5
Santander UK hires Charlotte Hogg as head of retail bank
Guardian Unlimited
Santander, the family-run Spanish bank, has turned to a female scion of one of Britain's most blue-blooded political dynasties to head its UK high street banking business. Charlotte Hogg, the daughter of the former Tory minister Douglas Hogg, Viscount Hailsham, and ...
http://jlne.ws/f9qwga
How Libya's Central Bank got a $35B U.S. Bailout
Time Magazine
Among the names of banks that got tens of billions in loans from the Fed in order to stay afloat was at least one few expected: The Central Bank of Lybia.
http://jlne.ws/hmRnvF
Key political risks to watch in Peru
By Terry Wade, Reuters
A tight presidential election, drug violence, strikes by miners and environmental disputes are all points to watch in Peru -- one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
http://jlne.ws/h19Ff4
Poland’s hawks prepare for action
FT.com
Increasingly hawkish statements from Poland’s interest rate-setting Monetary Policy Council have analysts convinced that Poland is in for another rate hike on Tuesday as the central bank resumes its tightening policy.
http://jlne.ws/dO4GvN
Vitro's Defaulted Bonds Soaring in Precedent-Setting Case: Mexico Credit
By Thomas Black, Bloomberg
Defaulted bonds issued by Vitro SAB, Mexico’s biggest glassmaker, are surging to a 2 1/2-year high as investors try to stave off an unprecedented bid by the company to take control of the creditors’ group...Traders are betting bondholders will win a case that will set a precedent on whether companies can dictate terms of their restructuring. A Vitro victory would curb demand for Mexican corporate debt.
http://jlne.ws/eBX8Ad
Nigerian interbank rates rise
Reuters
Nigerian interbank lending rates rose to an average of 10.58 percent this week from 10.41 percent last week after big cash outflows to foreign exchange purchases drained liquidity from the system, traders said on Friday.
http://jlne.ws/e0K8y3
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