Posts tagged 'CoCos'

The perpetualisation of debt

Izabella Kaminska joined FT Alphaville in October 2008. Before that she worked as a producer at CNBC, a natural gas reporter at Platts and an associate editor of BP's internal magazine.

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| Jan 31 15:27 | Comment |

FT Alphaville has just returned from the Danish Institute for International Studies’ conference on central banking in Copenhagen.

The theme was “central banks at a crossroads” — which we thought was particularly apt — and discussions ranged from collateral-backed finance and shadow banking to central bank independence. Indeed, many thanks to the DIIS for having us.

But one presentation, we would have to say, stood out more than most; that of Anat Admati, George G.C. Parker professor of finance and economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business, who’s out with a new book this month entitled “The Bankers’ New Clothes“. Read more

A CoCo critique, Lloyds edition

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

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| Jun 18 2012 20:07 | Comment |

It comes from a hedge fund activist par excellence:

That’s a letter (hat-tip to Bloomberg) from Christopher Hohn, managing partner at The Children’s Investment Fund, to British financial regulators questioning “loss absorbency” of contingent capital at the state-backed lender. The FT reports: Read more

The capital monster strikes

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

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| May 25 2012 18:57 | Comment |

The final number will exceed the €14bn Bankia needed to meet government-enforced provisions. The €19bn investment is in addition to an earlier €4.5bn government investment in preference shares which was flipped into equity, giving the state a 45 per cent shareholding two weeks ago. Existing investors face being all but diluted out of the bank unless they take up pre-emption rights to buy new shares.

The same number comes from El Mundo, which adds that two capital increases are planned — one for BFA, Bankia’s very messed-up parent, and for Bankia itself. Read more

A mainly CoCo Spanish banks plan

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

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| May 11 2012 13:50 | Comment |

Also a mandatory increase in real estate loan provisions to 45 per cent.

Selected flashes from Spanish economy minister’s press conference at pixel time… Read more

The CoCo cap – a mere €150bn?

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Jul 20 2011 11:20 | Comment |

The CoCo death spiral is the process by which the expectation of a swathe of bank-issued Contingent Convertible (CoCo) debt converting into equity can exacerbate share price declines.

- We constructed a valuation model calibrated on the CoCos of Lloyds and CS. Read more

Regulators agree extra bank capital protection

Kate is FT AV’s Asia Correspondent. She joined FT Alphaville in mid-2011 after carrying out various roles in the FT’s London office since 2005: interactive editor, companies reporter, and founding editor of the FT’s Energy Source blog.

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| Jun 27 2011 04:45 | Comment |

Central bankers and regulators have agreed to impose an extra capital charge of 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent of risk-adjusted assets on the largest banks in a bid to protect them from the big losses that could trigger another financial meltdown. The FT reports that the deal agreed a smaller increase in capital than central bankers had wanted, in exchange for stricter rules on what can constitute core tier one reserves. About eight banks will have to hold 9.5 per cent of risk-weighted assets as this capital by 2019, while about 20 will have to hold 8 to 9 per cent. The agreement represents a victory for countries like the US and the UK, however Reuters says the deal will disappoint some banks that hoped to use so-called contingent capital or “cocos” to make up the surcharge. Read more

Some big bank trades

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Jun 01 2011 15:00 | Comment |

It’s all change for banks, for sure. But if you’re seeking some trade ideas to cover ‘global’ banking themes like Basel III and CoCos, then Barclays has got you covered.

 Read more

Haldane sips at market-based, simplified CoCo

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Mar 24 2011 09:20 | Comment |

To understand Andrew Haldane’s latest — all you have to do is glance at these charts.

One is regulatory bank capital, the other is a market-based signal of bank solvency: Read more

An explanatory CoCo death spiral

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Mar 08 2011 11:34 | Comment |

Investors are tired of hedging against unrealised tail risks. That much we know.

What happens, though, when that tail risk does emerge and investors rush to hedge the unthinkable, once it’s a bit more thinkable? Please meet the CoCo death spiral. Read more

CoCos at dawn

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Feb 21 2011 08:30 | Comment |

Moody’s on Monday:

For both securities, there is a persistent challenge for investors: how to determine the potential for loss when the triggers resulting in equity conversion are not transparent and allow for significant regulatory discretion. This same difficulty in predicting the loss associated with contingent capital securities is why we have decided not to rate such securities at this point in time. In addition, investors are taking equity risk with the upside limited to the return of principal at redemption or maturity. Read more

Credit Suisse cocos issue deluged

| Feb 18 2011 05:40 | Comment |

Investors on Thursday flocked to the benchmark issue by Credit Suisse of a new financial instrument regarded by regulators as a key tool for rebuilding banks’ capital strength, placing orders of $22bn – 11 times the $2bn on offer, reports the FT. The deluge of orders represented a big vote of confidence in the nascent market for contingent capital bonds, or cocos. Priced with an interest rate of 7.875% the sale is likely to spur other banks to consider cocos, a hybrid form of capital designed to convert into stock at a preset level of financial stress. Credit Suisse’s sale was considered a key test of market sentiment, since it was the first listed bank to offer the bonds in a standalone sale. Read more

Basel III blurs

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Feb 16 2011 10:59 | Comment |

Here’s a capital curio for investors in Credit Suisse’s Monday-announced CoCos issue.

It’s probably not a surprise that a transition from the Basel II to Basel III regulatory regimes might create some scope for capital confusion. But here’s a concrete example picked out by Cannacord Genuity banking analyst, Cormac Leech. Tier 1 common equity ratios under the supposedly-stricter Basel III could end up being bigger than the ratios under Basel II definitions for some banks during the transitional period. Read more

Credit Suisse plans $7bn cocos issue

| Feb 15 2011 04:15 | Comment |

Credit Suisse is planning a $7bn-plus issue of new financial instruments that have been hailed by regulators as a key plank in the rebuilding of banks’ capital strength, reports the FT. The sale of new contingent convertible – or coco – bonds will be a critical test of investor appetite for the instruments, which convert to equity at a pre-agreed level of financial stress. The sale however excludes US investors due to regulatory restrictions, and many traditional fixed-income managers have said they cannot hold cocos as their mandates exclude equity-linked instruments. Lex hails Credit Suisse’s move as “a small step towards a safer global banking system” and urges the US to “take note”. FT Alphaville meanwhile notes that finding investors for cocos is “always the key”. Read more

Moody’s to operate on bank debt uplifts

| Feb 14 2011 16:22 | Comment |

Proponents of CoCos, bridge banks and bail-ins rejoice!

Moody’s announced Monday that it was analysing the impact of new resolution tools on its rating of subordinated bank debt. As surely you must know, since the financial crisis governments have shifted slowly away from full creditor protection and towards a bit of burdensharing. Read more

Credit Suisse places $6.2bn in contingent capital

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

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| Feb 14 2011 10:29 | Comment |

Credit Suisse has announced that it will issue $6.2bn of contingent capital notes, debt that will convert into equity at a certain trigger point, reports FT Alphaville. Qatar Holding LLC and Saudi Arabian conglomerate, the Olayan Group, two of the Swiss bank’s biggest investors, will receive some notes in exchange of existing hybrid debt issued by Credit Suisse. Only Swiss regulators have so far explicitly backed cocos, in plans to make Credit Suisse and UBS issue billions of dollars worth of the bonds by 2019 to provide an extra capital buffer, the FT reports, noting that the sale will be watched closely by the market for signs of interest in the products. Read more

Credit Suisse’s $6.2bn Swiss finish

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Feb 14 2011 08:36 | Comment |

Credit Suisse says it just gave the latent CoCo market a $6.2bn shot in the arm.

On Monday morning the Swiss bank announced it would issue Chf 6bn ($6.2bn) of Contingent Convertible securities — or debt that will convert into equity once a certain trigger is reached. In this case the trigger is if Credit Suisse’s reported Basel III common equity Tier 1 ratio falls below 7 per cent, or if the Swiss regulator thinks that the bank requires public support. The CoCos therefore look like they satisfy both Finma and Basel’s ideas of when CoCos should convert. Qatar Holding LLC and Saudi Arabian conglomerate, the Olayan Group, are the investors in the new CoCo issue. Read more

An accounting boost for CoCos

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Feb 07 2011 15:05 | Comment |

How regulators can build a market for reasonably-cheap-to-issue Contingent Convertible capital, by Barclays: Step 1) Eliminate mark-to-market accounting to ensure that asset price swings never result in a CoCo trigger being reached…

… Oh, wait… Read more

Banks eye up Barclays’ CoCos

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

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| Jan 31 2011 09:16 | Comment |

Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are weighing whether to follow Barclays as it pushes ahead with a plan to pay bonuses with innovative bonds, dubbed cocos, the FT reports. According to several banks present at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the idea of using contingent convertible notes as a remuneration tool is gaining ground. One senior US executive said: “Regulators in the US haven’t yet said cocos are fantastic. But if that happens, then I do think it could be an interesting idea.” The FDIC and other regulators have until summer 2012 to publish a report on how contingent capital should be used within the US financial system. Read more

Banks weigh Barclays’ cocos plan

| Jan 31 2011 04:33 | Comment |

Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are considering whether to follow Barclays as it pushes ahead with a plan to pay bonuses with innovative bonds, dubbed cocos, reports the FT. According to several banks present at last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the idea of using contingent convertible notes – which convert into equity when the issuer reaches a crisis trigger point — as a remuneration tool is gaining ground. The FT reported recently that, pending regulatory approval, Barclays aimed to unveil the coco bonus plan next month. European regulators, particularly in Switzerland, look favourably on cocos as a way to boost capital. Read more

Barclays causes stir with cocos plan

| Jan 25 2011 04:46 | Comment |

Bankers in New York and London were on Monday night still digesting news that Barclays is planning to pay a large portion of bonuses in the form of debt that converts into equity if the bank gets into trouble, reports the FT. But while the UK bank may be the first to adopt a pay system that includes issuing so-called “contingent convertible” or “coco” bonds as part of employees’ bonuses, it is unlikely to be the last, say remuneration experts. Cocos are essentially bonds with a preset trigger point, such as a bank’s capital levels or another measure of financial stress. Like a normal bond, they pay an annual coupon but if the trigger point is reached, they automatically convert into a form of equity. Read more

CoCo Killers [updated]

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Jan 14 2011 08:32 | Comment |

CoCo *pops.* Curtains for CoCos. And so on.

Late on Thursday the Basel Committee released its final (and curt) rules on loss-absorbing bank capital, including the mandate that all Tier 1 and Tier 2 instruments are able either to be written off or converted into equity at the behest of regulators. Read more

Buffering up at the Bank of England

| Dec 17 2010 08:15 | Comment |

The Bank of England can always be expected to bang on about banks’ financial health. But with the eurozone slowly imploding on its doorstep and — as the FT notes, with the global financial crisis still vivid in the memory, the Bank “was never likely to show signs of complacency” in its latest Financial Stability Report, issued on Friday.

Not surprisingly, the Bank’s twice-yearly report warns of the severe stresses faced by the European financial system in recent months and also expresses concern about the many other risks to financial stability in the UK and around the world. Read more

Not convinced by CoCos? How about COERCs?

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Dec 14 2010 15:49 | Comment |

Forget CoCos.

Those squirrely Contingent Convertibles — bonds which would automatically convert into equity once a bank’s capital ratio falls below a certain trigger — are still riddled with question marks. In particular, who will buy something which is often described as having all the upside of bonds and all the downside of equity? Read more

Credit Suisse plans early coco issue

| Dec 13 2010 03:43 | Comment |

Credit Suisse plans to begin issuing billions of dollars in contingent-capital bonds, or cocos, in the next year to help shore up the bank’s capital ahead of new Swiss regulations, reports the FT. Brady Dougan, chief executive since 2007, also defended Credit Suisse’s decision to award one-off payments to about 400 senior employees whose bonuses had been slashed to avoid a 50% supertax on bonuses over £25,000 ($39,500) in the UK, arguing the payments were needed to retain valued staff. While Credit Suisse has until 2019 to meet new contingent capital rules, Dougan told the FT he would aim to issue so-called “coco” bonds soon to assure investors and regulators that there was adequate demand for the debt. Read more

S&P reluctantly sees $1,000bn two-tiered CoCo market

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Dec 09 2010 12:16 | Comment |

For markets — a $1,000bn bowl of steaming hot CoCos.

A slightly passive-aggressive report is out from Standard & Poor’s on Thursday — all about FT Alphaville’s favourite topic, CoCos. These are bank bonds that will automatically convert into equity once a certain trigger (like financials’ capital ratios falling below a certain level) and which are a centrepiece of recent financial reform efforts. Read more

Will rate CoCo bonds for food

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Nov 09 2010 11:56 | Comment |

Has Fitch Ratings just given the hybrid capital market one big boost?

On Monday the rating agency quietly issued an 800-word statement outlining why it “expects to be able to rate new generation bank hybrid securities” — which, conveniently enough, was also the title of the piece. It reads, as Gary Jenkins over at Evolution notes, “as much as a solicitation for business as an explanation” as to why their rating methodology will work for things like Contingent Convertibles (CoCos). Read more

European bank bail-ins will cost +87 basis points

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Oct 25 2010 08:30 | Comment |

Regulators may be considering European bank bail-ins — or forcing creditors to share the losses of failed banks — but how do investors actually feel about such measures?

(So what, you might scoff — who cares what those spoiled bondholders think? But remember regulators need to balance burdensharing with banks’ future funding costs, if they want to encourage them to lend. So it is worthwhile to ask, though you should expect a certain degree of brinkmanship involved in their responses). Read more

BarCap’s CoCo comeback

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Oct 15 2010 08:39 | Comment |

Not contingent convertibles but contingent re-convertibles. CoReCos? Re-CoCos?

Barclays Capital is, according to a report by Reuters Breakingviews, working on contingent capital that would help it meet forthcoming regulatory demands without having to issue new equity. But intriguingly, the bank has spurned the ‘traditional’ CoCo idea, going instead for something new: ‘step down, step up’ bonds. Read more

CoCos can cost – your bonus

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Oct 08 2010 09:18 | Comment |

Here’s a data point for those skeptical of CoCo capital’s saving graces.

(CoCos, or contingent convertible capital, are a kind of convertible bond that automatically switch into equity once certain capital or bailout triggers are breached.) Read more

That’s a big bowl of (Swiss bank) CoCos

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

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| Oct 04 2010 11:58 | Comment |

Presenting the Credit Suisse cuckoo-for-CoCos roadshow…

[July 22 Q2 2010 earnings call transcript] We are encouraged by what seems to be an increased consensus among policymakers on contingent capital securities, as a key element of future capital structures. Read more

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