How Covid-19 sent a shiver through bank balance sheets

28 May 2020Bankscounterparty credit risk, credit valuation adjustment, Federal Reserve, mortgage-backed securities, quantitative easing, stress VaR, Value-at-riskNick Dunbar

In value-at-risk models, counterparty exposure and securities holdings, the impact of the pandemic appears across bank balance sheets

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The adventures of CECL in banking land

27 May 2020BanksAccounting, CECL, corporate loans, IFRS 9, loan loss provisions, retail loansNick Dunbar

Should accounting be independent of bank supervision? The arrival of IFRS 9 provisioning at the height of the Covid-19 crisis has exposed a three way tussle between auditors, regulators and bank management.

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US banks face yield curve stress test

9 March 2020BanksBank of America, Goldman Sachs, interest rates, JP Morgan, mortgage-backed securitiesNick Dunbar

The Covid-19 pandemic is driving bond yields to record lows. Meanwhile, the exposure of large US banks to falling rates has been amplified by regulatory changes and ballooning securities portfolios.

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Goldman deploys slimmed-down model in retail push

17 December 2019BanksApple Inc, Basel rules, Goldman Sachs, qualifying revolving exposures, retail loansNick Dunbar

Goldman Sachs is venturing into consumer lending, with the help of Apple Card. Part of the strategy involves dramatic changes to the bank’s risk models

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How JP Morgan broke the repo market

17 December 2019BanksFederal Reserve, JP Morgan, money market funds, repo lendingNick Dunbar

The Fed relied on JP Morgan to lend out cash into the repo market. But that was before the too-big-to-fail giant made a pivot out of cash into securities.

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BNP Paribas piles on the senior tranches

8 October 2019BanksCLOs, credit ratings, securitisationNick Dunbar

The French banking giant more than doubled its securitisation exposure in the past 12 months, filings show. Does the ballooning CLO portfolio pose a risk?

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What happened in bank risk last year?

29 March 2019BanksNick Dunbar

Dismantling Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan’s Steinhoff fallout and the return of securitisation

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Handicapping Goldman’s 1MDB liabilities

30 January 2019BanksGoldman Sachs, operational riskNick Dunbar

The 1MDB scandal may result in a record legal settlement for Goldman Sachs. Risky Finance visualises the expected loss and explores how life-changing it might be for Goldman.

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Collins wedge pushes internal credit models towards irrelevance

2 November 2018BanksBasel rules, Dodd-Frank Act, Federal Reserve, JP Morgan, PNC Financial, Wells FargoNick Dunbar

The Collins amendment has become a binding capital constraint for the biggest US banks. Does this support the Fed’s argument for rolling back the advanced approaches provisions of Dodd-Frank?

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