Articles by Lorenzo Migliorato
Market knee-jerks keep VAR models on their toes
With a return to volatility, increased backtesting exceptions show banks’ algos are stretched
Norinchukin’s repo retreat brings SFT exposures to four-year low
Japanese bank slashes gross SFT assets 54% in Q4, accelerating pullback from repo market to bolster capital
US dealers tally most VAR breaches since mid-2023
Market turmoil in Q4 blindsides models at systemic and regional banks alike
HSBC’s SVAR hits highest in six years on interest rate sensitivity
Lofty readings in the last quarter of 2024 push associated RWAs to $13 billion
French banks’ equity VAR surges to multi-year highs
Volatility pushes fourth quarter readings at BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole and SocGen to levels unseen in recent years
Clients’ share of IRS clearing margin hit record high
Data from CME, Eurex and LCH shows clearing members’ house IM fell in January, pushing client proportion to 67.7%
JP Morgan logs two VAR breaches as trading revenue slumps
Largest trading loss in Q4 reached 262% of the bank’s VAR limit, matching a breach reported at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic
Comerica, Popular and Ally most battered by agency RMBS markdowns
One-fifth of investment’s value eroded as of December 2024
First Citizens doubled pay-fixed interest rate swap book in Q4
Rejig of hedging instruments hints at higher-for-longer rate assumption
UBS blunts Basel III RWA impact, gains time for Credit Suisse integration
Bank secures valuable time to integrate legacy assets and prepare for forthcoming regulatory challenges
US MMFs retrenched to Fed repos as 2024 wrapped up
Allocation needs trump yields, boosting RRP exposure by 125% in December
Valley National cuts CRE exposure amid charge-offs and loan sales
Exposures fall to 362% of total capital, but portfolio keeps deteriorating
US MMFs clear record one-third of repos via FICC
Trades executed through sponsored access hit a $865 billion high at end-2024
Capital One’s CRE charge-offs creep back up
Office property segment pummelled hardest, as charge-off rates increase twelvefold in Q4
US MMFs tilted from repo to cash USTs in November
Outright allocations captured growing share of funds’ record cash pile
Deutsche tops EU lenders in mid-2024 surge for bad CRE loans
German lender worst hit among bloc’s systemic banks as soured exposures rose 153% in 12 months
TD Bank’s annual op loss tab surges 144% amid AML settlement
US plea deal drives bank’s op RWAs to record C$120 billion
Junk-rated CDS clearing rates slid in H1 2024
Shift away from CCPs concentrated in sub-investment grade multi-name products
Default and credit spread risks drive Canadian banks’ FRTB charges
New Basel III disclosures give first glimpse into market risk mix after internal models retirement
RBC’s CVA risk charges swell 42% in first year under FRTB
Bloating RWAs contrast with declines at peers employing new standardised approach
Record share of OTC trades eschews interdealer, CCP channels
More than one-fourth of global notional involves a single dealer and is not cleared, BIS data shows
EU IMA users maintain edge in keeping risk charges compressed
Aggregate market RWAs increased slower in 12 months to June than at banks using SA only
Deutsche misses G-Sib surcharge cut despite EU score benefit
Carve-out of intra-bloc exposure lowers score below 230bp, but 1.5% surcharge remains
Deutsche’s IRC tops €8 billion in four-year high
Ballooning credit-event risk charge contrasts with Q3 drop at BNP Paribas, ING