HSBC Holdings Plc is gauging investor demand for a significant risk transfer tied to a portfolio of about €2 billion ($2.3 billion) of investment-grade corporate loans. The size of the SRT is equivalent to about 10% of the reference portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. A representative for HSBC declined to comment. F...
HSBC Holdings Plc is gauging investor demand for a significant risk transfer tied to a portfolio of about €2 billion ($2.3 billion) of investment-grade corporate loans. The size of the SRT is equivalent to about 10% of the reference portfolio, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. A representative for HSBC declined to comment. Final terms of the potential deal are subject to discussions with investors, the people said. Banks use significant risk transfers as a way to insure loans against default, typically obtaining protection for between 5% and 15% of the loan value. The transactions, which are often structured as credit-linked notes, allow lenders to boost their solvency ratios and reduce their reliance on less shareholder-friendly options like issuing new equity or cutting dividends. They also increase their leeway for new lending, acquisitions or shareholder payouts. Read more: Banking Watchdog Mulls Tighter SRT Disclosure Guidelines HSBC is working on a potential SRT while finalizing a $14 billion takeover of Hang Seng Bank Ltd. , the bank’s biggest acquisition in more than a decade. The purchase would reduce the lender’s common equity tier 1 ratio, a key metric of financial strength, by 125 basis points. The bank paused share buybacks for three quarters as part of the plan to rebuild its capital. The SRT market is set to double in size over the next five years as banks in Europe and the US increase the use of the instruments, according to Man Group estimates . Toronto-Dominion Bank , Erste Group Bank AG and BNP Paribas SA are among banks that are in discussions or have recently completed SRT transactions.
Xu Xianping, a former deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV Xu Xianping, a former deputy director of China’s top economic planner, spent decades climbing from a refinery factory floor to the halls of power where he helped draft the nation’s five-year development plans. On Monday, however, he appeared before millions of televiewers not as a r...
Xu Xianping, a former deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission. Photo: Screenshot from CCTV Xu Xianping, a former deputy director of China’s top economic planner, spent decades climbing from a refinery factory floor to the halls of power where he helped draft the nation’s five-year development plans. On Monday, however, he appeared before millions of televiewers not as a remarkable statesman, but as a cautionary tale. “I thought the ship had docked and the bus had reached the station, so I had no more scruples. I didn’t take the soliciting of favors and seeking of personal gains seriously. The world is truly wonderful — something I only realized after retiring. I let myself go completely,” Xu said, appearing on an anti-graft documentary series co-produced by China’s top graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), and state broadcaster CCTV.