Visualising the high yield swoon

18 August 2016Credit, MarketsHigh yield - US, high yield bonds, Markit iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield index, oil & gas, regulationNick Dunbar

Did junk bond investors overreact?

The Taser and the choke lead: How the Fed restrains big banks

9 August 2016FinancialsCCAR, Dodd-Frank Act, Federal Reserve, JP Morgan, operational risk, operational RWAs, regulation, Stress testsNick Dunbar

Operational risk capital for US banks is the highest in the world but the Fed resists formally testing op risk in its stress tests. One reason might be that the Fed would have to explain why the charges need to be so high.

Visualising the high yield swoon

9 June 2016Credit, MarketsHigh yield - US, high yield bonds, oil & gas, regulationNick Dunbar

Were regulatory warnings about bond market herding borne out in the high yield sell off and rebound?

Steel and the pusillanimous pension rule

4 May 2016News topics, Pensionspensions, regulation, steelNick Dunbar

How pension policy cowardice helped doom Britain’s steel industry. Tata’s decision to write off the value of its UK steelmaking business and seek a quick sale, while keeping its Dutch business, is really a story about pension regulation.

Autogeddon

1 October 2015Industrials, News topicsBasel rules, carmakers, emissions, regulation, VolkswagenNick Dunbar

Just over two years ago, I took a train from Berlin to Wolfsburg, to visit a senior executive at Volkswagen. From the station platform the famous chimneys of VW's vast car plant loomed up. Inside the gate, the company's vehicles were everywhere, catching the sun like a metallic sea. It crossed my mind that it…

Unravelling LOBOs

8 July 2015Municipal Financebanking, derivatives, LOBOs, local government, regulationNick Dunbar

A few weeks ago, I was with Channel 4 Dispatches reporter Antony Barnett speaking to Sheffield Labour MP Clive Betts. We were on a park bench in some gardens next to the Houses of Parliament and we briefed Betts about our findings on Lender Option Borrower Option (LOBO) loans to UK councils – findings that were seen by a Channel 4 audience of over 1 million last Monday.