Articles by Louie Woodall
US banks’ corporate default indicators worsened in Q2
Median probability of default increases 38bp to 1.7% on the quarter
Systemic US banks’ liquidity ratios rebounded in Q2
Aggregate liquid assets increased 15% quarter on quarter
Systemic US banks’ leverage exposures shrank $1.4tn in Q2
On-balance sheet exposures fall on Fed relief
FCM client margin ebbed from record highs over Q2
Goldman Sachs was the only FCM to increase swaps margin significantly
Citi, Goldman, had most winning trading days of top banks in Q2
In aggregate, US G-Sibs racked up 314 profit-making days over the quarter
Market, interest rate risks surged at Commonwealth Bank in H1
Market RWAs jumped 129% over the first half
Goldman’s op RWAs climb $13bn on 1MDB settlement
Bank settled with Malaysian government for $2.5 billion in July
Goldman breached VAR limit 16 times in H1
US dealer also racked up 40 days on which trading profits exceeded $100 million
Internal stress tests of EU banks not up to scratch – ECB
Only one in 10 banks’ internal tests are tougher than supervisor-run programmes
Top banks defer €1.6bn of profits on hard-to-value trades in H1
BNP Paribas set aside €532 million alone in H1
Rising Level 3 assets threaten bank profits
Dealers are relying on in-house models to value large amounts of complex structured products
Trading VAR leapt higher across EU banks in Q2
Average VAR across seven systemic lenders increased 61% quarter-on-quarter
Axa’s solvency ratio continues fall in Q2
French insurer’s core ratio has dropped 18 percentage points year-to-date
Shift out of models nets ING €8bn of sovereign RWA relief
Of standardised approach government debt exposures, 24% had a zero risk-weighting in Q2
Fed’s approach to stressing op risk frustrates banks
Regulator’s stress test results overshoot banks’ numbers, threatening capital plans
Market risks push Allianz’s Solvency II ratio lower in Q2
Whipsawing markets help take three percentage points of the firm’s core solvency ratio
EU banks’ Q1 credit risk estimates show little Covid effect
Probability of defaults for retail exposures edged up only slightly quarter-on-quarter
Corporate, SME loans to take brunt of Covid shock, say EU banks
Though credit outlook has darkened, banks expect to increase lending overall
Natixis’s market RWAs grew 49% over Q2
Average VAR spiked to €18 million over Q2
HSBC trading unit hit by $355m of XVA costs in H1
Wider spreads continued to eat into derivatives values
SocGen’s VAR jumped 54% in Q2
Credit VAR more than doubled to €43 million
NatWest reaps benefits of PRA’s market risk relief
Suspension of capital multiplier contributes to £1.5 billion of RWA savings
Dark Covid outlook pumps up Lloyds’ loan-loss reserves
Base case for 2020 now projects UK GDP to drop 10%
Covid hammered CEE banks’ capital ratios
One-quarter of EU banks have CET1 ratios below 13%