national-regional

Morning Scan: Leveraged Lending on PetSmart Deal; Deal on Derivatives

12/15/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

PetSmart's Debt Financing: That whole thing about regulators cracking down on big banks for providing too much debt-financing in takeover deals? Eh, who cares? Citigroup is one of five banks that's underwriting billions of dollars in in debt to help finance the $8.7 billion private-equity acquisition of retailer PetSmart led by BC Partners. The debt in the PetSmart deal, in the most recent negotiations, equates to more than six times cash flow....

[more]

Morning Scan: Banks Fined for Fighting Over 'Toys'; Medical Bill Woes

12/12/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Conflict of Interest Strikes Again: Toys tend to make children get greedy, and they appear to produce a similar effect on investment banks. Ten firms were fined $43.5 million Thursday over charges they offered up flattering research analysis in an effort to score a piece of the Toys "R" Us initial public offering. Citigroup, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs are among the banks cited by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Wall...

[more]

Morning Scan: Clashes Over Dodd-Frank Change in Budget Bill; Lending Club IPO

12/11/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... Through the Back Door: Democrats are pushing back against the GOP's effort to repeal a Dodd-Frank derivatives rule by slipping the change into the government spending bill slated for a vote today. Analysis in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal suggests that getting rid of the rule would be a bad idea Â-- but not for the obvious reasons. The provision obliges banks to move a small percentage of derivativesÂ...

[more]

Morning Scan: Banks' Stake in Budget Bill; Capital Surcharges' Ripple Effect

12/10/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Break Up or Buckle Up: JPMorgan Chase will be the bank hardest hit by the Federal Reserve's proposed capital surcharges on the country's biggest banks. Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer let slip that JPMorgan faces a $22 billion shortfall to meet the forthcoming capital rule during a question and answer session, as American Banker reported last night. Other banks are apparently at or near the minimum levels, and JPMorgan has until 2019...

[more]

Morning Scan: Deutsche Bank Sued for Tax Fraud; 3% Downpayments Make Comeback

12/09/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Shell Shock: Deutsche Bank is accused of owing the U.S. government more than $190 million in taxes, penalties and interest in a lawsuit filed Monday by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. The allegations against the German lender are pretty complicated, as the New York Times warns its readers. The basic charge is that back in 2000, Deutsche wanted to avoid paying capital gains taxes on the appreciated value of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock it...

[more]

Morning Scan: Banks Don't Want Big Corporate Deposits; New York DFS's Secret Weapon

12/08/14

Wall Street Journal

It's not often you hear about banks turning away deposits, but the paper reports that a number of banks are suggesting corporate clients take their money elsewhere in light of impending liquidity rules that make holding their cash less profitable. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, HSBC and Deutsche Bank are among the lenders that have held this unusual conversation over the past few months, according to the paper. "The change upends one...

[more]

Morning Scan: New York Fed's Ties to Banks Examined; Insurance Deal

12/05/14

Financial Times

The paper takes a somewhat lengthy look at the New York Fed as the institution struggles with the fallout from secretly recorded internal conversations that show it might be too cozy with the banks it regulates. The article uses as its launching point a Nov. 18 event at the New York Fed's headquarters, which was held to celebrate the Fed's 100th anniversary, and which came a few days before Fed officials were excoriated in...

[more]

Morning Scan: CFPB Clashes with Banks on Student Loans; Chicago Fed Prez Leans to 2016

12/04/14

Wall Street Journal

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ombudsman for student loans, Rohit Chapra, is being taken to task by some lenders for how he has used public forums to encourage banks to improve their dealings with consumers on student loans. The problem lenders have is the 32-year-old Chapra favors delivering his message in public forums like blogs and letters, compared to other regulators who use more discreet formats. The paper looks at some of the...

[more]

Morning Scan: BNY Mellon Gives In to Activist; Credit Suisse Appraisal Lawsuit

12/03/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ... BNY Mellon Yields to Trian: If Bank of New York Mellon, which has been around for more than two centuries and safeguards more than $28 trillion in assets, can't stare down an activist investor, who can? The trustee bank BNY Mellon has decided to avoid a proxy fight with activist investor Trian Partners and give the firm a seat on its board. The decision means BNY Mellon won't get bogged down inÂ...

[more]

Morning Scan: Hackers Master Wall St. Jargon; Revolving Door Apologia

12/02/14

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

Wall St. Posers: Hackers have been masquerading as investment bankers and senior executives at pharmaceutical and health care companies as part of a plot to gain access to market-moving information, according to a report from cybersecurity firm FireEye. For more than a year, the cybercriminals have sent phishing emails "written in flawless English and carefully worded to sound as if they were sent by someone with an extensive background in investment banking...

[more]