Home › Credit Risk › News and Information

News and Information

In this section, CreditPulse will cover newsworthy topics relevant to the credit risk function in a unique manner that increases perspective and includes specific information not found anywhere else.  The information is always accurate and unbiased.

Recent Articles

ING Bank Fined $619 Million For Violating U.S. Sanctions

June 19, 2012

ING Bank became the fourth European bank since 2009, joining Credit Suisse, Lloyds Bank and Barclays, to be fined by U.S. officials for violating U.S. sanctions against Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and other countries.

"Banks that try to skirt U.S. sanctions laws undermine the integrity of our financial system and threaten our national security," said Ronald C. Machen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia who cooperated with the state of New York in the investigation.  Get the details of how ING Bank laundered illegal funds through U.S. banks in this CreditPulse article.

view

Noteworthy 2011: Key Quotes From the Past Year

February 15, 2012

Government interference in the free market has had a profound affect on credit markets and risk much to the dismay of some of the brightest minds in economics and politics.  "A gift to Wall Street that won't stop giving."

"I am convinced that the existence of too big to fail financial institutions poses the greatest risk to the U.S. economy," said Thomas M. Hoenig, then president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in a speech in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2011.

view

Sovereign Debt, Slow Growth Make For a Volatile 2011

January 30, 2012

Credit risks related to sovereign debt is at an all-time high as some of the world's most developed nations and their financial institutions struggle to remain solvent in an era of deleveraging.  "Famine following feast."

The political, economic and financial risk of doing business around the world soared in 2011 as more and more nations, banks and companies grappled with increasingly uncontrollable amounts of debt.  Read what Swiss Bank UBS has to say about the decade ahead in this CreditPulse special report.

view

Increased Bank Stock Volatility Signals Possible Danger

December 16, 2011

Many in the media and financial world seem convinced that the U.S. economy is on the road to recovery, but two scholars point to increased bank stock volatility as a sign of more trouble ahead.  "A bright red warning signal."

In the last half of 2011, the standard deviation percentage, or volatility, of bank stocks in the United States began to increase eclipsing the critical 3 percent mark in a manner remarkably similiar to what occurred in 2008 before the credit crisis.

view

French Banks Lead the Way In Greek Bond Exposure

June 22, 2011

Two French banks are at the top of the list in exposure to Greek bonds, which could expain why France is fighting so hard to maintain European support for Greece and prevent a debt restructuring.  "Investing in euros and selling in drachmas."

In a letter to shareholders in its 2010 annual report, BNP Paribas Chairman Michel Pebereau and CEO Baudouin Prot, offered up a lofty view of the bank's role that goes well beyond regular consumer and commercial lending.  "At BNP Paribas we remain convinced that we play a vital role in society

view

Noteworthy 2010: Key Quotes From The Past Year

December 20, 2010

From massive government bailouts to more cheap money from the Fed to the controversial Finance Reform Bill, 2010 was an unprecedented year in the world of credit risk and credit markets.  CreditPulse puts the year into perspective by reviewing the key quotes from 2010.

In the world of credit, the year 2010 started out with many in business, finance and economics still wondering what happened to cause the credit crisis of 2008 -- a period in which the nations largest banks were on the brink of failure, credit was essentially frozen and GDP plunged -16.4 percent from

view

U.S. Government Takes General Motors Public

December 3, 2010

The U.S. government has reintroduced General Motors to the capital markets in a carefully orchestrated IPO that has infused it with fresh capital, but most of the risk factors that led to the company's failure the first time are still in place.  "Only with a cold, dead hand."

In the GM prospectus filed with the SEC prior to the company's initial public offering (IPO), the very first line reads, "General Motors Company was formed by the United States Department of the Treasury in 2009."  Learn more about GM's risks and its CSI ranking history inside.

view

Financial Reform Bill Passes U.S. Senate

May 28, 2010

The U.S. Senate passed its version of Wall Street reform last week by a vote of 59-39 in a complex 1616-page bill that gives massive new powers to the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC in addition to creating five new oversight bodies. It is unclear if the bill ends "too big to fail."

In late November 2008, the free market was in the process of holding Citigroup, the nations second largest bank, accountable for years of misplaced priorities, poor management and excessive risk taking.  The company's stock had sunk to $3.77 per share even as the shares of other

view

Proposed Legislation Undermines Credit Risk, Threatens Capitalism

November 24, 2009

Massive government bailouts of failed firms such as Citigroup and General Motors have already served to undermine the concept of effective credit risk management, one of the fundamental pillars of capitalism.  Now, some in Washington and Wall Street want to go even further. 

Two weeks ago, Senator Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and long-time influential Democratic senator from the state of Connecticut, circulated a 1,100 page bill that would grant more power to the Federal Reserve and FDIC to bail out more companies.   

view

Economists Warn of U.S. Dollar Weakness

October 12, 2009

David Malpass of Encima Global LLC and former Reagan economic advisor Larry Kudlow of Kudlow & Company are starting to sound the alarms of an increasingly weak U.S. dollar.  Last Thursday, the dollar fell to its lowest point against the world's other major currencies since August 2008.

"No countries have devalued their way into prosperity, while many -- Hong Kong, China, Australia today -- have used stable money to invite capital and jobs," wrote economist David Malpass last week in a lenghthy Wall Street Journal opinion editorial reviewed by CreditPulse.

view