Germany
German banks get to grips with a new lending reality
Removal of state guarantees and pressure from shareholders for better returns means German banks can no longer churn out uneconomically priced loans to clients. Now they are starting to introduce sophisticated loan pricing systems, writes Duncan Wood
Basel II package rapporteur named
Alexander Radwan has been named the rapporteur for the package of Basel II legislation winding its way through the European parliament.
The misdirected directive?
Germany's financial regulator, BaFin, tried to steal a march on its European rivals by implementing a new directive that should open the door to asset managers investing in new products and using over-the-counter derivatives. But did it get it wrong?
German banks plan op loss data consortium
A number of German public-sector banks will start pooling operational loss data next year, in a bid to create an op risk loss database that could, they say, eventually include banks from other European countries.
German regulators begin industry dialogue
FRANKFURT - Germany's regulators are about to change the way they interact with the banking industry as they gear up to implement the operational risk portion of Basel II by 2006.
Framework developed for German banks
BONN, GERMANY - Many of Germany's banks have been somewhat slow to prepare their operational risk management framework for the new international bank capital accord, Basel II, and the prospective European Union (EU) Capital Adequacy Directive (Cad).
Landesbanken to offer credit loss database to third parties
Three of Germany's largest Landesbanken and the consultancy BearingPoint are planning to bring a credit loss database (CLD) that they are developing jointly to the market in the second half of this year. The tool is being designed to comply with the new…
US retreat hits European trading
The retreat of US energy firms from energy trading has reportedly hit European volumes hard. But volumes aside, James Ockenden finds that the withdrawal may bring a fundamental change in the market. With additional reporting by Eurof Thomas
Risk management based on stochastic volatility
Risk management approaches that do not incorporate randomly changing volatility tend to under- or overestimate the risk, depending on current market conditions. We show how some popular stochastic volatility models in combination with the hyperbolic…
Judicial stalemate
Germany
The bigger they come…
Germany
Ahead of the green game
Germany
Exchanges gradually gain pace
Germany
S&P says Basel II helping to improve German banking
FRANKFURT – The proposed Basel II bank safety rules, weak operating performance and shareholder value considerations are behind a trend to more efficient capital allocation, prudent cost control and risk-adjusted pricing in German banking, a leading…
Basel II helps German banks focus on risk, says Moody's
A renewed focus on profitability and strategic refocusing among German banks leads Moody's Investors Service to believe that “the country's banks will not undergo a systemic crisis”, the rating agency said in a report on the German banking sector,…
Basel II op risk charge will help tackle concerns, says McDonough
NEW YORK - Banking supervisors believe that a separate capital charge for operational risk under the Basel II capital rules will bolster efforts to find better ways of addressing concern about the operational hazards faced by banks, the world's chief…
Banding together for SME credit risk analytics
Germany's banking associations are taking a leading role in getting the country's fragmented banking sector ready to comply with the Basel II capital Accord. Germany's savings banks association, in particular, says it has internal ratings-based systems…
Key Basel II package expected tomorrow
BASEL – Global banking regulators plan to issue a package of documents on the Basel II bank accord tomorrow, including a key survey seeking information on how the complex, risk-based accord might affect banks around the world.
SAP launches new Basel II functions for mySAP Banking
WALLDORF, GERMANY – German software services provider SAP said it is providing new functions for its mySAP Banking package to help banks meet the requirements of the risk-based Basel II capital accord and new international accounting standards in the…
German focus: Trouble below deck
Despite weathering a number of storms over the past decade, notably reunification and monetary union, the German economy is facing a new threat.
Experts expect to finalise Basel II securitisation issues this week
LONDON – Technical experts expect this week to finalise their proposals for handling the one major issue still outstanding in the complex Basel II accord aimed at making the world’s banking system safer – the technically thorny question of how to treat…
EU wants Cad 3 study to look at bank lending to smaller companies
BRUSSELS – The European Commission said it launched a tender today for a study that would pay particular attention to the consequences for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of proposed new European Union (EU) banking capital rules.