Wall Street Journal (May 24)
A “candid presentation” last week on “Why investors need not worry about climate risk” created an uproar, for which Stuart Kirk has been suspended as HSBC’s global head of responsible investing. At the WSJ, “we understand why banking regulators and businesses that hope to make money off the coming tidal wave of climate regulation might be offended by his truth-telling. But he merely said what many in his industry believe but are too timid to say: Climate change poses a negligible risk to the global economy and bank balance sheets.”
Tags: Banking regulators, Banks, Businesses, Candid, Climate change, Climate regulation, Climate risk, Global economy, HSBC, Investors, Kirk, Money, Negligible risk, Offended, Presentation, Responsible investing, Suspended, Tidal wave, Timid, Truth-telling, Uproar
American Banker (March 21)
“A new Securities and Exchange Commission proposal would require public companies to report climate-related risks across their value chain. That could be especially difficult if it means banks have to account for their borrowers’ emissions.”
Tags: Banks, Climate-related risks, Difficult, Proposal, Public companies, Report, Require, SEC, Value chain
CNBC (March 1)
“A run on Russian banks is underway.” In the wake of “unprecedented sanctions” imposed by the EU and U.S. for the invasion of Ukraine, the ruble “dropped dramatically in Monday’s trading. Lines at ATMs snaked down sidewalks and around buildings in Moscow and at Russian banks in Europe as depositors rushed to withdraw cash.”
Tags: ATMs, Banks, Depositors, EU, Invasion, Lines, Moscow, Ruble, Run, Russia, Sanctions, Trading, U.S., Ukraine, Unprecedented, Withdraw
Reuters (January 24)
Hong Kong’s “status as a global financial hub” is being threatened by its “zero COVID” policy and draconian immigration protocols. With no signs the government will ease restrictions, “more expats are thinking of leaving, and global banks, asset managers and corporate law firms are facing up to many of their staff exiting after annual bonuses are paid out in the first three months of the year.”
Tags: Asset managers, Banks, Draconian, Expats, Financial hub, Hong Kong, Immigration, Restrictions, Staff, Threatened, Zero COVID
Financial Times (June 22)
Wall Street banks “have been at the forefront of the push to convince workers to return to the office.” In the strictest vaccination policy yet, “Morgan Stanley employees and clients who have not received their Covid-19 vaccine will be barred from entering the bank’s New York offices.”
Tags: Banks, Barred, Clients, COVID-19, Employees, Forefront, Morgan Stanley, New York, Office, Return, Strictest, Vaccination policy, Wall Street
Financial Times (July 22)
“As their booming share prices testify, technology groups have been brimming over with new business during the pandemic. For banks, there has been a special tech awakening…. After years of foot-dragging, many have been abandoning their cautious approach to cloud-based services and signing up with gusto to outsource their storage of data and other activities that demand high-intensity computing power.”
Tags: Awakening, Banks, Booming, Cautious, Cloud-based, Data, Foot-dragging, Outsource, Pandemic, Services, Share prices, Storage, Technology
Responsible Investor (June 9)
“Only in finance can a product lose 24% of its value and be celebrated as success. Since traditional benchmarks have lost more than ESG funds since the beginning of the year, ESG is feted by some as a success, a ‘refuge’.” Kudos, however, are not in order. “The rude fact is that, on the whole, ESG risk management frameworks did not prepare us for the inevitability of the pandemic. They did not help investors and banks anticipate the crisis, nor how to navigate it. The pandemic is a failure of mainstream risk management frameworks. Sadly, it is also a failure of ESG risk management frameworks.”
Tags: Banks, Benchmarks, Crisis, ESG funds, Finance, Frameworks, Investors, Pandemic, Refuge, Risk management, Success, Value
Reuters (May 14)
Banks mainly seem to be provisioning for consumer debt, but “bad-debt risks could easily spread beyond consumer finance. Commercial real estate could face a brutal reckoning if white-collar workers in major cities decide not to return to the office when lockdowns lift.” When stimulus measures wind down, it will leave “over-indebted small and medium-sized enterprises vulnerable. Mass unemployment would lead to increased mortgage defaults.”
Tags: Bad debt, Banks, Commercial real estate, Consumer finance, Lockdowns, Mortgage, Office, Over-indebted, Provisioning, Risks, SMEs, Stimulus, Unemployment, Vulnerable, White collar, Workers
American Banker (November 5)
“The closing of three banks in the span of a week should be viewed as a reason to exercise caution — though it is too early to expect a run of failures. Regulators shuttered City National Bank of New Jersey, Louisa Community Bank and Resolute Bank between Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. It had been four years since two banks failed on the same day.”
Barron’s (September 12)
“Be careful what you wish for when calling for zero or negative interest rates, Mr. President.” There’s a downside and the results are not inspiring. “The record of negative rates in the euro zone, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and Japan has been mixed…. While bond yields have fallen below zero, banks been reluctant to impose negative rates on depositors, resulting in a squeeze on their profits.”
Tags: Banks, Bond yields, Denmark, Depositors, Downside, EU, Interest rates, Japan, Negative rates, Sweden, Switzerland, Trump, U.S.
