banks

The UK government this week ruled out any question of agreeing to a currency union with an independent Scotland. So where does this leave Scotland's currency conundrum? And what about the banks? Scotland has two very large banks - RBS and…

My thesis has been that China was the main driver of volatility in emerging markets and that tapering by the Federal Reserve was merely a proximate trigger. I still believe this to be the case. However, increasingly I am becoming concerned…

I got a lot of feedback from my January 5 blog entry because of my argument that the implementation of the reforms proposed in the Third Plenum all but guarantees that growth rates in China will slow down. For that reason I thought it might…

In the wake of the financial crisis, bailouts and cheap money have done much to restore American bank balance sheets. Earnings for banks have returned to pre-crisis levels. But over the medium-term I believe banks’ earnings power will be…

While JPMorgan's Loan to deposit ratio is particularly low, the bank is by no means unique. LTD in the US is at the lows not seen in decades. On an absolute basis the gap between deposits and loans is now at some $2.4 trillion and growing.…

The ECB's dovish forward guidance is clear and does not lack the doubts seen in the UK, or to a less extent, the US. However, in an usual occurrence overnight rates (EONIA) has moved above the refi rate (25 bp), when it should be trading…

Yesterday, after some intense industry pressure, US regulators (OCC, FDIC, SEC, etc.) collectively announced that the bulk of the so-called TruPS CDO securities issued prior to May 19, 2010 will be exempt from the Volcker Rule. Let's take a…

Loan growth in the US continues to slow. Credit expansion is certainly not nearly as bad as what has transpired in the Eurozone, but the slowing trend is unmistakable. The current rate of loan growth is now significantly below the nominal…

By Willem Buiter This post first appeared on Vox Fiscal sustainability has become a hot topic as a result of the European sovereign debt crisis, but it matters in normal times, too. This column argues that financial sector reforms are…

One suspects the reason for the sensitivity within the ranks of the Democratic party water-carriers to the “corporatist” label is that Obamacare is a textbook case. Democrats try to undermine this charge by serving up an example of…