The RBNZ Financial Stability Report: plus ça change.

Yesterday, the Reserve Bank published its May Financial Stability Report (FSR). It’s always an interesting read, and I guess that RBNZ employees enjoy contributing to this publication. I will not dwell too long on the report, as the message is very Blue Peter: “New Zealand’s financial system is well placed to handle the increasing interest… Read More The RBNZ Financial Stability Report: plus ça change.

What happened to the whipping boy of bank capital?

This week, financial markets were spooked by the write-down of Additional Tier 1 securities of Credit Suisse. Soon after the writedown, a discussion ensued regarding its legitimacy. One camp argues that investors in these securities should have read the instruction manual. See the pointy opinion piece in IFR by Prasad Gollakota, the former co-head of… Read More What happened to the whipping boy of bank capital?

Fresh RBNZ Dashboard data shows New Zealand’s largest banks on track to meet increasing capital ratio requirements

Today’s updated RBNZ Financial Strength Dashboard shows that New Zealand’s largest banks are on track to meet the increasing capital ratio requirements. This after a temporary set-back in the first quarter of the year, when new rules on the calculation of risk weights kicked in. Westpac was particularly hard hit by the new calculations, but… Read More Fresh RBNZ Dashboard data shows New Zealand’s largest banks on track to meet increasing capital ratio requirements

‘Worst Bank Scenario’ a book that should spark a discussion on bank supervision

My review of a fascinating book on swaps, derivatives, and Dutch supervisory shenanigans by Hester Bais and Wink Sabée The book by Hester Bais and Wink Sabée documents poor conduct by banks in the Netherlands during the first decades of the century. Warning: for non-Dutch readers, the book is only in Dutch now, but I… Read More ‘Worst Bank Scenario’ a book that should spark a discussion on bank supervision

The Conversation: “Why now would be a good time for the Reserve Bank to publish stress test results for individual banks”

In my latest post on The Conversation, I argue in favour of disclosure of stress test results of individual banks. The current hot housing market creates fertile ground for speculation about the financial stability of the New Zealand banking system. See the latest addendum to the RBNZ Financial Stability Report, which creates the impression that… Read More The Conversation: “Why now would be a good time for the Reserve Bank to publish stress test results for individual banks”