Banks

Jamie Dimon makes anxiety a feature not a bug

13 Oct 2023

JPMorgan’s boss is again fretting about the future: interest rates, regulation, war. Yet his bank’s latest results confirm it’s doing just fine. Income is growing faster, and expenses slower, than expected. Dimon can afford to spread the dread; most rivals don’t have the luxury.

Microsoft becomes unwitting fiscal honeypot

12 Oct 2023

A $29 bln back-tax bill amounts to 40% of the tech firm’s yearly earnings. It’s also enough to fund a new round of Ukraine aid, two years of tax collection or a decade of substance abuse treatment. Uncle Sam may lose the fight, but when budgets are tight there’s more to play for.

Staley-Epstein probe goes too easy on Barclays

12 Oct 2023

A UK watchdog fined the bank’s old boss $2 mln for ‘misleading statements’ over his ties to the late sex offender. Barclays escapes blame despite naïvely taking Jes Staley’s account on faith. The troubling message is that boards needn’t challenge scandal-hit CEOs too hard.

Smaller banks pose big problems for regulators

12 Oct 2023

Britain’s Metro Bank came close to the brink, while several US regional players failed earlier in 2023. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists debate whether watchdogs have the right tools to deal with such situations, and whether they’re brave enough to use them.

Wall Street prepares to dish economic dirt on US

12 Oct 2023

JPMorgan and fellow mega-lenders have an unequaled view into the minds and wallets of American consumers and companies. While third-quarter earnings will reflect individual struggles – notably at laggard Citi – what they say about the country’s fortunes deserves equal attention.

China’s timid bank buying sends rescue signals

12 Oct 2023

The state is raising its stakes in its Big Four lenders. It might shore up market sentiment and improve Beijing’s position to tackle financial risk in property and local governments. The intervention so far is less bold than its failed moves in 2015 but looks more prudent.

Metro deal is a model of sorts for bank watchdogs

9 Oct 2023

The UK lender’s self-help plan refinances 350 mln pounds of debt that regulators force it to have. Arguably those rules caused the recent panic, but they also act as an early warning system. US supervisors mulling a similar approach may see enough positives to press ahead.

Buyout firms catch second-hand shopping fever

5 Oct 2023

Despite a 31% fall in fundraising across the industry since 2021, Goldman amassed $15 bln just to go thrifting for private equity portfolios. Such deals generally produce steadier returns, but a rush of bargain-hunters could boost valuations, making financial upcycling riskier.

Metro Bank’s fortunes depend on its bondholders

5 Oct 2023

The ailing UK banking upstart urgently needs more capital. One option is to buy back bonds worth 600 mln pounds that trade far below face value. Given the threat of regulators wiping them out, holders may prefer to sell. That would also give Metro more time to find a new owner.

CFPB opponents gamble with US financial stability

3 Oct 2023

The 12-year-old consumer finance watchdog has amassed powerful enemies, partly because of combative boss Rohit Chopra. But a Supreme Court challenge to its funding threatens other regulators like the Fed too. Making crisis-fighting departments beg Congress for cash is dangerous.

Jeffrey Epstein leaves small mark on Wall Street

27 Sep 2023

JPMorgan will fork out another $75 mln to settle claims over its ex-client, winding down the sordid mess for financiers. The sex offender cost two industry CEOs their jobs, while banks now monitor such reputational risks more closely. The effects are likely to fade soon, however.

Capital Calls: UBS Russia risk

27 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Swiss bank’s value fell by $3 bln after Bloomberg reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse over possible compliance failures.

Hong Kong bankers play an anxious waiting game

26 Sep 2023

Fewer IPOs in the city mean firms such as UBS and Bank of America are more willing to handle middling transactions like Tuhu’s $150 mln offer. But as big deals stir in New York and beyond, the downsizing increasingly will look like an awkward stopgap for Wall Street.

Uncle Sam risks recession by a thousand cuts

22 Sep 2023

A government stoppage would shave a sliver from US economic expansion. Restarting student loan payments will have a similar effect. Add striking autoworkers, high oil prices and costly mortgages, and 0.8% growth forecast for the fourth quarter and 0.5% in early 2024 look shaky.

UBS bondholders tee up risky goldfish impression

20 Sep 2023

The $84 bln bank may issue contingent convertible bonds, months after a state-led takeover of Credit Suisse burned the defunct lender’s debt. Market prices suggest it may not pay a big penalty for Switzerland’s sins. That invites bank overseers to burn other CoCos in future.

How Ukraine’s banks can survive another war

19 Sep 2023

The country’s former central bank Governor Valeria Gontareva explains on The Exchange podcast how the radical steps implemented in 2014 helped Ukrainian lenders withstand the Russian invasion and kept the financial system afloat, and why Ukraine needs to keep reforming.

SocGen chief gives investors risky cold shower

18 Sep 2023

The 19 bln euro French bank’s new CEO Slawomir Krupa wants his bank to run with lower costs by 2026. Société Générale’s below-par valuation might then recover. But lowly growth forecasts in the meantime make this an unappetising blend of thin gruel today, with only future hope.

Guest view: Bank balance sheets hide climate risks

15 Sep 2023

While regulators fret about lenders’ exposure to higher interest rates, the dangers from global warming are building in the shadows. Unless banks reset their financial statements, investors and the planet will be worse off, writes Natasha Landell-Mills of Sarasin & Partners.

Lazard’s new CEO dares to evoke Bruce Wasserstein

14 Sep 2023

Peter Orszag aims to double revenue to about $5 bln by 2030 while delivering at least a 10% annual shareholder return. The firm’s recent history suggests the plan is bold. But it’s as good a time as any to heed the advice its former boss famously gave clients: “Dare to be great.”

Capital Calls: Citi shakeup

13 Sep 2023

Concise views on global finance: Boss Jane Fraser is restructuring divisions and slashing jobs, calling the moves the most “consequential changes” to how the mega-bank has been organized in 20 years. Given its tortured history, that's a big claim to live up to.