Some highlights from Monday’s FTfm.
Banks dash to deal with volatility
Investment banks are reported to be scrambling to create complex volatility-based vehicles to help shield investors from the risk of big market falls
Call for property price falls
Real estate prices in peripheral eurozone countries need to fall to reflect the possibility of a break-up of the currency union, a French bank says. Natixis claims the falls are overdue because the possibility of a two-tier euro is being ignored
Pensions to get access to long-term debt funds
Some in the industry are launching infrastructure funds to tap into market demand for long-term funding sources no longer available from banks
A way through difficulties with activism
There is evidence that fund managers are beginning to move beyond a preoccupation with narrow financial goals given the growth in signatories of the UNPRI. That is all to the good, writes John Plender
Charges go up, returns go down
Fund fees only ever seem to go one way and that is upwards, says Pauline Skypala, who notes that at the same time returns go down and trust goes out of the window. Things only ever seem to get worse for the investor, she says
Reasons not to ban naked sovereign CDS
Prohibiting naked credit default swaps could end up hurting those market participants that regulators want to protect and damaging global debt markets
Europe’s back office nerds at the fore
While the euro area leadership has been mired in indecision, banks have been transferring funds out of Greece. Now new terms should be set for Greek bonds and then bank recapitalisations, and deposit guarantees can be carried out without becoming blank cheques, writes John Dizard