Greensill Capital case damages the UK’s credit standing on the world stage

As published by IREF Online

Introduction

The UK government has cancelled its guarantees to a private lender – Greensill Capital – under the UK’s coronavirus support, without the obligation that was guaranteed having been discharged. This puts a major question mark against the UK’s good faith in its financial dealings: if the UK can do this, what […]

Bank of England bond-buying disaster and the Treasury Select Committee

The TSC has finally started to nail the Bank of England

It has inexplicably fallen below the radar that the Treasury Select Committee on 22nd November finally succeeded in cornering the Bank of England about key features of their bond buying (Quantitative Easing) and selling (Quantitative Tightening).

The upshot is that further questioning, apart from nailing down […]

Treasury Select Committee and Quantitative Easing

The Treasury Select Committee on 22nd November finally succeeded in cornering the Bank of England about key features of their bond buying (Quantitative Easing) and selling (Quantitative Tightening).

The upshot is that further questioning, apart from nailing down one or two details about how the new Bank Levy can be used, can now focus solely on […]

UK inflation is a threat to financial stability – time to conceal that with tried and tested Eurozone techniques

As published on IREF Europe

UK Consumer Price Inflation remained at 8.7% in May. The Bank of England has raised the cost of overnight money to 5% via increases in its Base Rate, and has caused the cost of medium-term money to rise by selling off the bonds that it bought since the Global Financial Crisis […]

Risk-weighting – how to fake up resilience in a banking system

— as published by IREF Europe on 5th April 2023 —

Introduction

How resilient is the global banking system? Are banks’ capital buffers now much larger than they were going into the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/8, as authorities claim?

The buffers – called ‘Common Equity Tier 1’ (or CET1), ‘Tier 1 Capital’, and ‘Total Capital’ – stand […]

Bank Resolution is dead: authorities dare not use it – and instead risk destroying capital markets

— as published by IREF Europe on 29th March 2023 —

The template created after the Global Financial Crisis of 2007/8 to shield taxpayers from direct bailouts of failed banks has already folded – authorities dare not use it.

The template is to put failed banks into ‘resolution’, with retail and small business depositors receiving compensation up […]