Eyes Wide Shut: Did Bank Capital Grow under RBNZ’s Governor Orr?

And what does it mean for one bank in particular? Last week, audit firm KPMG published its quarterly Financial Institutions Performance Survey (or FIPS). It featured the deteriorating profitability of New Zealand’s banks. Bad news of course, and the New Zealand financial press quickly jumped on the survey. Radio New Zealand printed a headline sporting… Read More Eyes Wide Shut: Did Bank Capital Grow under RBNZ’s Governor Orr?

When will the RBNZ admit its capital ratio definitions are bent? (And copy APRA’s plan to straighten them?)

Once in a while I meet bankers and bank regulators, sometimes over a cup of coffee, sometimes over a glass of Pinot Noir. In fact, I will attend an event with RBNZ’s Adrian Orr tomorrow. He will speak at the brand new PwC centre in Wellington. When it comes to bank capital, the narrative shared… Read More When will the RBNZ admit its capital ratio definitions are bent? (And copy APRA’s plan to straighten them?)

FYI some documentation on the Leverage Ratio for EU banks

My post on EU leverage ratios yesterday attracted some comments on twitter, which may haven been triggered by misunderstandings. The CRR offers a short and clear summary of the Leverage Ratio definition in Article 429.1: “The leverage ratio shall be calculated as an institution’s capital measure divided by that institution’s total exposure measure and shall… Read More FYI some documentation on the Leverage Ratio for EU banks

Five years after the first Basel III coco issuance, the Netherlands “gets” CoCos.

Uh oh, Jeroen Dijsselbloem form the Netherlands got into rough water this week: Dutch newspaper NRC had a nice scoop that showed how he relied on ING word smiths for writing a tax rule that renders bank capital instruments (CoCos) tax deductible, see full freedom of information documentation here. How bad is this? End 2013,… Read More Five years after the first Basel III coco issuance, the Netherlands “gets” CoCos.