Morning Bell

EU ministers strike deal on rules for OTC derivatives clearing
EU finance ministers reached an agreement regarding clearinghouses that deal with over-the-counter derivatives. The officials determined when national decisions to authorise clearinghouses can be overridden by a regional watchdog. "Now we have a delicate compromise, but the fine thing is that we all agree on it," said Margrethe Vestager, Denmark's economy minister. Bloomberg Businessweek(24 Jan.), Reuters(24 Jan.), Financial Times(tiered subscription model)(24 Jan.)

Industry News

Greek creditors seek deal as chaotic default looms
Greek bondholders are striving to draft an agreement after European finance ministers rejected a proposed bond swap between Greece and private creditors. "It's important that all parties recognise how much we have at stake and work together and cooperate to find a solution," said Charles Dallara of the International Institute of Finance, which is representing private bondholders. Reuters(24 Jan.), The Wall Street Journal(25 Jan.)

ECB and dealers discuss buying inflation-linked bonds
The European Central Bank and a group of dealers are discussing the idea of purchasing government inflation-linked bonds, sources said. AFME had organised an initial call last week between the central bank and dealers, but it was delayed because of a technical glitch. "The essence of last Friday's call was to address concerns and the problems surrounding liquidity in market-making euro-zone linkers," one banker said. "It was something we as primary dealers were requesting more than the ECB, but it was happy to hear the feedback." Risk.net (subscription required)(24 Jan.)

European banks and regulators are at odds over capital reserves
European regulators want financial institutions to reduce staff bonuses and tap shareholders to increase capital reserves. Banks, however, would rather write down or sell unprofitable businesses and make balance-sheet adjustments to meet capital requirements. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/DealBook blog(24 Jan.)

Morning Bell

Obama outlines plan to collect fees from banks to help refis
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced a plan to levy fees on major banks to help spur mortgage refinancing for struggling homeowners. "A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that" a mortgage-refinancing plan "won't add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust," the president said. Bloomberg Businessweek(1/25), American Banker (subscription required)(1/24)

Industry News

Banks face regulatory changes and bleak economic outlook
Banks must deal with an onslaught of regulations and a dismal economic outlook. The situation is leading financial institutions to shrink. Financial Times(tiered subscription model)(1/24)

Fitch to disclose grading model for mortgage bonds
Fitch Ratings said it will reveal its grading model for home-loan bonds despite concerns that doing so might allow issuers to exploit vulnerabilities in the system. Meanwhile, Shellpoint Partners co-CEO Saul Sanders said the rating agencies hinder the private mortgage-bond market. Bloomberg(1/24)

Citigroup might further cut spending in securities unit
John Gerspach, chief financial officer at Citigroup, said the company will consider further spending cuts in its Securities and Banking division if revenue doesn't rebound this year. "We are not oblivious to the fact that our cost structure cannot be justified by our current revenue," Gerspach said. "While much of the current difficulty reflects market conditions, we equally have some management and execution challenges." Bloomberg(1/24)

BofA reportedly notifies investment bankers about pay cuts
Bank of America has pay discussions with investment bankers scheduled this week, but executives have already told the firm's investment bankers that their compensation packages will be about 25% less than last year, sources said. "Until things really come back, no one should be expecting compensation like they got in the past," said Jeanne Branthover, a managing director at Boyden Global Executive Search. "There are going to be very strong people who will not be compensated as they expected, and they will keep their ears open to move for more money." Bloomberg(1/24)

Les relations se tendent encore entre l'UE et la Hongrie

L'Europe plombera la croissance mondiale en 2012, selon le FMI

Les propositions de Paris et Berlin pour relancer la croissance

Le programme des institutions européennes en 2012

La réforme européenne des services publics crée des attentes