Subprime
FDIC's Bair calls for mortgage transparency
Sheila Bair, the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the body responsible for deposit insurance in the US, has called for a return to common sense and back-to-basics lending standards.
Assessing Australian asset-backed commercial paper
The reason for the superior performance of the Australian asset-backed commercial paper market compared with the United States lies in the specification of conduits, a Reserve Bank of Australia paper finds.
Carney point finger at China in first speech
Mark Carney, in his first speech as governor of the Bank of Canada, said that China is partly responsible for the subprime disaster that has dragged North America into a slump and disturbed financial markets around the world.
Reserve managers look to derivatives
A survey by Central Banking Publications, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland, has found that central bank reserve managers are still searching for yield after the recent credit turmoil, and that over half of those surveyed see derivatives as an…
Emerging markets set to suffer, says IMF head
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has said that the turmoil in the US subprime market will affect emerging market growth.
Compliance key for subprime solution
The Federal Reserve's planned rule to aid subprime homeowners must be effectively enforced if it is to be successful, said Randall Kroszner, the governor of the Federal Reserve responsible for supervision.
Poor growth will curb inflation: Fed's Pianalto
The impact of the housing crisis on the rest of the United States economy will help dampen price hikes, says Sandra Pianalto, the president of the Cleveland Federal Reserve.
Merrill reports $8.6 billion loss for 2007
Merrill Lynch, an investment bank, on Thursday reported $11.5 billion-worth of subprime-related writedowns for the fourth quarter of 2007, taking its losses for last year to $8.6 billion. The bank recorded losses for the fourth quarter alone of 2007 was …
IMF to review central bank response to turmoil
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is set to investigate the reaction of leading central banks to the interbank turmoil that hit markets in the wake of the subprime crisis.
GIC and Kuwaiti SWF invest in Citi
Citi, the world's biggest bank, revealed on Tuesday that the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and the Kuwait Investment Authority were part of a group of investors involved in a $12.5 billion capital injection.
Greenspan joins Paulson & Co
Alan Greenspan, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, is set to advise Paulson & Co, a hedge fund which made billions last year from betting against the United States housing market.
Fund manager knocks Bank's role in Rock saga
Philip Richards, the chief executive of RAB Capital, one of two hedge funds that are the biggest shareholders in Northern Rock, the beleaguered mortgage lender, attacked the Bank of England and its governor, Mervyn King, for its handling of the credit…
Kuwait SWF set to make move on Wall Street
The Kuwait Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, may be about to invest billions in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, two of the biggest casualties of the subprime crisis.
Fed ready to act on worsening outlook: Bernanke
The Federal Reserve looks set to cut rates further after its chairman, Ben Bernanke, said central bank policy would look to counter the increasing risk of an economic slowdown.
Fed's Rosengren calls for banks to declare losses
Banks must fully disclose their losses to limit the damage of the subprime fallout, says Eric Rosengren, the president of the Boston Fed.
Interbank rates plummet as year-end passes
Pressure on the banking industry eased on Wednesday with spreads between money market and central banks' benchmark interest rates narrowing as the end-of-year liquidity panic passed. The falls indicate that the central banks' efforts to alleviate some of…
Regulators can't ensure clarity, only encourage it
In the wake of the credit crisis, central bankers and other financial regulators should use their clout to back the standardisation of financial instruments rather than trying to legislate for transparency, says Claire Jones, the editor of Central Bank…
Federal Reserve hardens rules on subprime lending
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday issued a set of proposals for firmer regulations on subprime lending practices aimed at protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive home mortgage lending and advertising.
IMF's Kato adds voice to calls for transparency
Investors need greater transparency of the on- and off- balance sheet exposures of financial institutions, as well as of the interrelationships between asset managers, and special purpose vehicles, said Takatoshi Kato, a deputy managing director of the…
Imbalances to gradually decline despite turmoil
The unwinding of global imbalances is still likely to continue gradually in spite of the increased risks posed by the recent financial turmoil, says John Lipsky, the first deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
BoE's Paul Tucker on global credit crunch
Paul Tucker, executive director for markets at the Bank of England and a member of the monetary policy committee, at a speech on Thursday, analysed the difficulties facing central banks in correctly diagnosing changes in credit conditions and asset…
UBS reveals $10 billion subprime loss
UBS, a bank, said on Monday that it would write down $10 billion-worth of subprime losses, the second largest amount revealed so far. The bank also said it could make a loss for the financial year because of its subprime liabilities.
Price fall the main cause of subprime delinquency
A fall in house prices has been the single biggest contributor to the rise in subprime delinquency levels, research published by the San Francisco Federal Reserve finds.
Subprime aftermath risks exacerbating imbalances
Financial market turbulence, together with a significant slowdown in the United States, could lead to and be exacerbated by a disorderly resolution of global current account imbalances, says the Bank of Canada's latest Financial System Review.