Badwill accounting

Against the backdrop of recent European bank mergers, it is worthwhile examining the effects of acquisitions on regulatory capital. This is interesting because many European banks trade below book value. Normally, firms that acquire other firms pay a premium over book value to purchase the target firm. This premium is called goodwill. However, with the… Read More Badwill accounting

European Commission slaps Dutch government on the wrist: the end of AT1 coupon tax deductibility?

Just the other day, the Dutch government announced plans to end the favorable tax treatment of CoCo securities. From 1 January 2019 onward, the tax deductibility of the coupon paid on Additional Tier 1 capital instruments will end. [1] See a Google translation of the announcement here. Such a change in tax treatment likely constitutes a Tax… Read More European Commission slaps Dutch government on the wrist: the end of AT1 coupon tax deductibility?

How questionable is the comparability of Basel risk weights in the EU banking sector?

In a couple of weeks’ time, at the FEBS conference in Rome, Stefan Kerbl and Zsofia Döme from the Austrian national bank (OENB), will present a paper on the comparability of Basel risk weights in the EU banking sector. The short story: according to Stefan and Zsofia there are significant differences in the ways European… Read More How questionable is the comparability of Basel risk weights in the EU banking sector?

The European Commission’s proposal to accelerate the reduction of non-performing loans

This week the EC presented concrete steps to tackle non-performing loans, see this page. Ouch One and Ouch Two Two reasons why this is an interesting proposal. First, it forces banks to deduct any provisioning shortfalls directly from Common Equity Tier 1. Ouch! Second, the proposal amends the CRR, which is a Regulation. And we… Read More The European Commission’s proposal to accelerate the reduction of non-performing loans

Double leverage, a regulatory tribulation

Last week, the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) published a consultation paper on group policy and double leverage, in which the PRA wants to limit the risks arising from excessive double leverage. The consultation paper and the associated speech by Sam Woods received some coverage, though the ECM addendum on Non-Performing Loans probably attracted more… Read More Double leverage, a regulatory tribulation