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Intraday Liquidity – Trap #3. Challenge before agreeing to pay

The sum of the parts may not make the whole Let’s assume you have talked to your Nostro. Yes, they will supply MT910’s and MT900’s and yes, you can agree on a price that is not daylight robbery. Wait! Do not sign-up. A couple of things to check on before you put pen to paper. […]

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Intraday Liquidity – Trap #2

New rules. BCBS 248. Last week, the focus was on meeting requirements and being in line with the principles. This week, how to go about that and what it could cost. Be prepared to be shocked. Once you have understood that dealing with BCBS 248 is about more than just another month-end report, then the […]

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Intraday Liquidity – Trap #1

New rules. BCBS 248. This important tome for the banking regulators Swiss refugium in Basel asks for a lot of things, which are gradually being implemented by the national regulators. Preparing for a course I am giving, I stumbled across several traps that need illuminating. This week: requirements vs. principles. The frequency of the reporting […]

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Reference data perils for the ordinary guy paying his bills

Bill paying. A monthly chore. One that is increasingly online and digital, well at least outside the continental USA where the local Luddites are still wedded to their cheques. A story in a Johannesburg paper inspired this week’s thought. “On guard after typo transfer” was the headline in the Jo’burg times. A local resident made […]

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Bloated. As true of banks as it is of governments.

In 15 years, the Swiss Federal Government’s budget has ballooned from CHF 47 billion to some 67 billion. Since 2000 times have been good and the government has grown like topsy. The same is true at banks; revenues are down and costs are out of whack. Similarities between government bureaucracy and banks. That is this […]

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