Dimon rolls trading dice with excess capital

13 June 2024Banks, Risk Commentarybank capital, Basel rules, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, JP Morgan, share buybacks, Stress tests, tradingNick Dunbar

The Fed softened its stress tests, which freed up bank capital, then came the Basel Endgame which would eat it all up again. Now, with the Endgame in doubt, JP Morgan has deployed its excess capital in trading bets

Leviathans of the S&P 500

7 June 2024Stocksartificial intelligence, equity indices, S&P 500, technologyNick Dunbar

The top-heaviness of the S&P 500 index has a quality all of its own, with tech companies rivalling nation states

Private credit helps drives surge in bank securitisation exposures

23 May 2024BanksCLOs, collateralised loan obligations, leveraged loans, private credit, securitisationNick Dunbar

Banks are originating, sponsoring and investing in CLOs are an accelerating pace

The Unaccountability Machine

17 May 2024Book Reviewscybernetics, economics, information theory, managementNick Dunbar

Could a forgotten management theory from the 1970s solve today’s economic malaise? A review of the book by Dan Davies

How CoCo bonds became indispensable for banks

9 May 2024BanksAT1, bank capital, Basel rules, CoCo bonds, corporate bonds, Credit SuisseNick Dunbar

A year on from Credit Suisse, AT1 securities remain an essential part of bank Tier 1 capital, as our corporate bond tool preview shows

The rise of the leveraged brokers

24 April 2024Insurancehigh yield bonds, insurance brokers, M&A, mergers & acquisitionsNick Dunbar

Private equity has come to dominate capital markets by means of debt-fuelled acquisitions. As a case study, we explore junk-rated insurance brokers using the Risky Finance corporate bond tool

UK motor finance scandal reawakens ghost of PPI

11 April 2024BanksBarclays, Lloyds Banking Group, mis-selling, motor finance, NatWest Group, operational riskNick Dunbar

Our banking tool shows how payment protection insurance was a ‘slow burn’ op risk event that eventually cost UK banks $60bn. Could something similar happen with motor finance?

Smoke, mirrors and net interest margins

2 April 2024BanksAccounting, Barclays, derivatives, hedging, HSBCNick Dunbar

UK banks use accounting tricks and derivatives to boost their net interest margins, and HSBC is under pressure to follow suit.

The self-fulfilling prophecy of public sector pensions

22 March 2024Pensions, Risk Commentaryeducation, pensions, public policy, schoolsNick Dunbar

How costly are unfunded public sector defined benefit pensions? The question looms large in the economic future of the UK.

HSBC’s overvalued Chinese bank

12 March 2024BanksAccounting, China, HSBCNick Dunbar

Experts say HSBC’s BoCom stake is overvalued by $12 bn. Risky Finance trawled through ten years of data to understand the giant’s accounting controversy.