Receiving Wide Coverage ...
Unveiled: The Federal Reserve proposed stricter liquidity rules for the biggest U.S. banks on Thursday. (American Banker's Donna Borak breaks down the proposal's specifics here.) The Journal notes the proposed rules, which will be open for public comment for 90 days and would go into full effect in 2017, are "unlikely to cause major changes at U.S. banks, which have largely improved their funding positions since the 2008 financial crisis." But the Times suggests the liquidity rule "could dent the profits of banks, particularly Wall Street firms that rely on huge amounts of short-term market borrowing" and also warns that additional measures to reduce risk at the big banks should be expected. The FT notes "at times, the U.S. has been tougher on standards than regulators in Europe."
B of A Job Cuts: Bank of America is planning to cut thousands of mortgage jobs due to a slump in refinancing and a shrinking portfolio of delinquent loans and foreclosures. The bank cut 1,200 jobs this week and will cut an additional 2,800 in the fourth quarter. The slowdown in mortgage refinancing has also led to job cuts at Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Wall Street Journal, Financial Times
JPM Smorgasbord: JPMorgan Chase is still having a hard time escaping the negative press. In the latest round of articles, anonymice tell the Journal that a criminal case stemming from the bank's relationship with Bernie Madoff could trigger a review of its banking charter. The OCC "is required to hold a hearing about whether to revoke a bank's charter in the event of a criminal money-laundering conviction," the paper reports. "Such a review is optional if a bank violates a law requiring it to report any suspicious activity or cash transactions. It isn't clear which of those scenarios, if any, might apply" to JPM, should federal prosecutors file a case against it. Elsewhere, those who thought mentions of former Countrywide executive Rebecca Mairone's employment at JPM was laying it on thick will love (or, perhaps, hate) this FT column pointing out that the House of Morgan owns the gun Aaron Burr used to shoot Alexander Hamilton. "That firearm struck me as strangely relevant to today's Wall Street," columnist Gary Silverman explains. "I think the weapon
is a symbol of one of [Jamie] Dimon's biggest underlying problems: the vast wellsprings of weirdness that sit beneath some of our more august financial institutions." Finally, those looking for even more fodder for the ongoing "JPM: Justified or Political Payback?" debate can check out this segment on Jon Stewart's Daily Show.
Wall Street Journal
Highly rated issuers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bank of Nova Scotia, sold more than $12 billion in bonds on Thursday. "Corporate-bond issuance is on track to set a record high this year, as low rates make borrowing attractive to companies and a growing economy makes the bonds of prosperous firms attractive to investors," the paper notes.
Financial Times
Credit Suisse has named senior fixed-income banker Garrett Curran chief executive of its U.K. operations.
Under a plan announced by its governor Mark Carney on Thursday, the Bank of England "would extend more liquidity to struggling financial institutions, bringing it in line with the Federal Reserve and the ECB."
New York Times
Dealbook profiles a program at George Washington University School of Business aimed at helping more women secure spots as corporate directors. Readers of American Banker's most recent Women in Banking issue will recall a lack of female directors persists on bank board.
