Top Headlines

Saudis Risk Draining Financial Assets in 5 Years, IMF Says – Bloomberg Saudi Arabia may run out of financial assets needed to support spending within five years amid the drop in oil prices if the government maintains current policies, the International Monetary Fund said.

Carney, Bailey, Defend SMR Changes – Profit & Loss Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Prudential Regulatory Authority head, Andrew Bailey, have defended proposed changes to the UK’s Senior Manager Regime.

Day One of Trading on Trudeau Shows New PM’s Optimism Contagious – Bloomberg The Canadian dollar rallied with equities as a victory for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party spurred optimism that increased spending will help lift economic growth.

Lending Conditions for Euro Zone Companies Ease on ECB Stimulus – Reuters Credit standards for euro zone companies eased more than expected in the third quarter of 2015 as banks awash with central bank money competed for customers, a European Central Bank survey showed on Tuesday.

Banks say New Rules will Double Capital Needed to Cover Securitised Debt – Reuters Banks will have to double the amount of capital they hold to cover possible default on their pooled-debt under planned new global rules, potentially hampering the EU’s drive to boost market-based financing for the economy.

Jackson Named Head of BoE’s FX Division – FX Week (subscription) The UK’s central bank appoints Rebecca Jackson as the new head of foreign exchange. Rebecca Jackson has been appointed as head of the Bank of England’s (BoE) foreign exchange division, replacing Michael Cross who left in July after six years in the role.

Hedge Fund Assets Decline by Biggest Amount Since Financial Crisis – New York Times For years, the hedge fund industry attracted billions of dollars as investors searched for higher returns. But over several rocky months, managers reversed their gains for the year, investors headed for the exit and some firms shut down.

Blockchain Coming to Wall Street – Markets Media Large financial institutions are rarely first movers on any new technology, and predictably, institutional interest in bitcoin remains somewhat tepid. But that may be starting to change.

 

 

Regulatory News

Ninth Meeting of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Asia The Hong Kong Monetary Authority hosted the ninth meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Regional Consultative Group for Asia in Hong Kong SAR.

EBA’s Limited Powers, Budget Might Slow Harmonisation – Central Banking Publications (subscription) The European Banking Authority’s vision of regulatory harmonisation might be hampered by limited legal powers and a lack of resources.

Crédit Agricole to Pay $787 Million for Sanctions Violations – New York Times Crédit Agricole, the big French bank suspected of transferring billions of dollars on behalf of Iran and other countries, has agreed to pay $787 million to resolve an array of investigations, state and federal authorities announced on Tuesday.

 

 

Company News

Former First VP of Federal Reserve Bank of New York Joins LCH.Clearnet Board – Profit & Loss LCH.Clearnet Group announces that Christine Cumming has been appointed to the board of directors of LCH.Clearnet LLC, the Group’s US-based entity. Cumming will serve as an independent non-executive director and as a member of the Risk Committee

Credit Suisse to Launch $6.3 Billion Capital Increase – Wall Street Journal (subscription) Swiss bank delivers set of disappointing third-quarter results.

Citadel First Non-Bank Member of SwapClear – Profit & Loss Citadel Securities (Europe) has become the first non-bank clearing member of LCH.Clearnet’s SwapClear.

Ferrari IPO Prices at Top of Range – Wall Street Journal (subscription) Fiat Chrysler sold about 10% of the luxury car maker in the offering.

 

 

Market Savvy  

US Softens its Stance on China’s Currency Policy – Profit & Loss The US Treasury department has softened its tone with regards to China’s currency policy in its latest semi-annual report on currencies.

Growth Currencies Weaken after Chinese Stocks Fall Sharply – Reuters Commodity-linked currencies like the Australian and New Zealand dollars fell on Wednesday as Chinese stocks slid, while trade data from Japan raised the specter of a recession enveloping the world’s third-largest economy.

 

 

Press Releases

CFTC Orders BNP Paribas Securities Corp. to Pay a $140,000 Penalty to Settle Charges of Improper Investment of Customer Segregated Funds – CFTC The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order instituting and simultaneously settling charges against BNP Paribas Securities Corp.

 

 

Industry Events