Investor pull to replace regulator push on CoCos: Credit Suisse’s Ervin

After initially embracing CoCos, regulators’ ardour seems to have cooled – with some banks fearing excess caution could limit a promising source of bank capital. But even without a further supervisory push, investor demand for bail-in protection can make CoCos a hit, argues Wilson Ervin

Supervisors are redesigning the international framework for bank capital from the ground up – updating and upgrading nearly every aspect of the old regime. We already have higher capital ratios and more buffer categories, as well as tougher rules for risk-weighted assets and tighter standards on what counts as capital. The work continues – on July 19, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision launched a new consultation paper on extra capital buffers for global systemically important banks (G