capital

Evidently there is now a considerable debate out there about the famous (or should that be infamous) CEBS stress tests. Methodologically all sorts of weaknesses have been identified, but in many cases these are decidedly beside the point.…

After a long and rather tense wait, the initial response to the publication of the European bank stress tests was always going to be something of an anti-climax. Indeed the results should hardly have comes as a surprise to anyone It is…

Some reports suggest that the stress that European banks may be tested for include a 17% loss on Greek bonds and a 3% loss on Spanish bonds  German bunds and possibly French bonds will not be stressed--that is to say the stress test…

There are several noteworthy developments from China.   The first, while still a bit sketchy, seems the most promising.  President Hu seemed to signal an acceleration of infrastructure construction in the western part of…

Below is a partial list of May 2010 FDIC enforcement decisions and orders. I have only included cease-and-desist orders, prompt corrective action notices and termination of insurance orders as these are the signs of banking system distress.…

Paul Krugman has it right when he says this: I hold no brief for weak financial regulation in America. But it’s a bad sign that Germans still think of this as a made-in-America crisis. The truth is that the European housing bubble was…

Stress tests on European banks have emerged as a key talking point. The criteria is not clear, though European officials are apparently telling anyone who is interested that the these tests are more robust than the previous tests conducted…

Because the European Union will stress-test its 25 largest banks, it makes sense to compile a comprehensive list of Europe's largest banks.

This morning David Rosenberg noted: We also received the U.S. consumer credit data for April yesterday afternoon and the $1.0bln rise in total outstanding should be viewed in the context of the sharp revision in March (to now show a…

When was the last time an unsustainable economic situation was solved without a crisis?  Seriously, that's a question. I can't think of one.  The way I see it, politicians are always focused on the short-term and that invariably…