By Steve Slater
LONDON, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Some of Europe’s banks are faced with the unusual problem of holding too much cash as they try to lift sluggish returns, and few will dare to eat into capital until well into 2011 amid an uncertain regulatory outlook.
A jump in profits may have prompted banks like HSBC and Barclays to talk about improving returns for investors, but the financial crisis is too fresh in the memory for regulators and bank bosses.
By Huw Jones
LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) – Global regulators gathering next week to finalise tough new bank capital rules face increased pressure to be more open after the market’s positive response to greater transparency over European bank stress tests.
The Basel Committee of central bankers and supervisors meets on July 14-15 to finesse its Basel III reform.
By Lionel Laurent and Huw Jones
PARIS/LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) – A $1 trillion rescue package to stabilise the euro could bolster European banks’ negotiating power as they attempt to fight stricter regulatory capital requirements they expect will hurt economic growth.
Europe’s lenders are already significant holders of sovereign euro debt and will be relied upon to buy more state-guaranteed debt as part of the rescue package, which is likely to see them push for extra concessions, analysts said.
“What there needs to be is a realisation among politicians that you cannot legislate and regulate the banks’ profitability away and expect them to keep buying your debts,” MF Global bank sector analyst Simon Maughan said.
By Huw Jones
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) – This month could bring overdue progress in a global drive to regulate the financial sector in the European Union and United States, but the acid test for policymakers will be agreeing global bank capital rules.
By Steve Slater, European Banking Correspondent
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) – New rules on bank capital will jolt the industry and could force European lenders to raise more cash and restrain returns, dividends and pay for at least the next two years, analysts and industry sources say.
The impact of the proposals — dubbed Basel III – has been underestimated by investors and banks, and clarity on the new rules could be a shock, several analysts said.
The rules could drive the core Tier 1 ratios — a measure of a bank’s strength — at Lloyds Banking Group and Credit Agricole down to near 4 percent, require Barclays to plug a 17-billion-pound capital gap and hurt HSBC and BNP Paribas harder than peers.
