Halister News

(Bloomberg) -- Fed’s raising its threshold for when deals are exempt from systemic risk review is bullish for small bank M&A, Cowen’s Jaret Seiberg writes in note. However, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance, consumer enforcement remain obstacles.

• Cites Fed’s order in People’s United Financials merger with Suffolk Bancorp, which eliminates need for systemic risk analysis if resulting bank has
• Compass Point’s Isaac Boltansky writes Fed’s shift lifts a hurdle in regional, community bank M&A process, signaling regulatory environment for consolidation is improving
  • BSA/AML reviews still present obstacles, though there’s growing effort to streamline BSA; cites The Clearing House (TCH) report highlighting problems with BSA/AML regime, BNA story suggesting Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) will review BSA
  • Any softening should be viewed as positive for bank M&A
• KBW’s Brian Gardner writes this type of change may be the kind of easing banks are likely to see as Trump administration fills positions at regulatory agencies
  • Regulators may use discretion to alter supervisory regimes, while changes to existing rules, which would require formal notice, comments procedures, may be less common than some investors expect
• Related:
  • March 16, Fed approves PBCT, SCNB deal
  • March 13, Trump Team May Encourage Bank M&A by Easing Compliance: Cowen

To contact the reporter on this story: Felice Maranz in New York at fmaranz@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Arie Shapira at ashapira3@bloomberg.net Will Daley

(Bloomberg) -- The Swedish National Debt Office (NDO) may want to maintain its borrowing presence abroad as the government’s proposal to reduce the Riksbank’s FX reserve otherwise means that FX borrowing will cease, SEB strategists including Johan Javeus write in note.

• Estimate that to keep its foreign market presence at a sufficient level the NDO would need to have about SEK 30-50b in FX borrowing
  • Would entail an equivalent reduction in SEK denominated borrowing, or 5-8% of the outstanding SEK denominated nominal government debt; will make the scarcity of Swedish government bonds even more pronounced going forward
  • Second scenario is if NDO decides to stop borrowing abroad altogether; would not change the outlook for the size of SEK-denominated government debt
  • Third scenario is if NDO is allowed to borrow the FX abroad and place it in U.S. Treasuries, mimicking what the Riksbank has been doing so far; less likely as it will not give any savings on the borrowing costs for Swedish tax payers which was one reason to reduce the FX reserves in the first place
• Earlier: Swedish Riksbank ordered to return foreign currency reserves

(Bloomberg) -- Following are forecasts for today’s U.S. economic releases as compiled by Bloomberg News:

• Ind. Prod. 0.2% m/m; range -0.2% to 0.6% (74 estimates)
• Cap. Util. 75.5%; range 75% to 75.8% (53 estimates)
• Manu. Prod. 0.5% m/m; range -0.1% to 0.8% (23 estimates)
• • February’s headline could be depressed by "negative impact" of this year’s milder-than-usual winter on utility output: Bloomberg Intelligence
  • In January, utility output dropped by the most in 11 years

First Word newswire: NH BFW

(Bloomberg) -- Internet players such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple interested in banking sector, will enter sector “strongly” sooner than later, BBVA Chairman Francisco Gonzalez says.

• Gonzalez speaks at AGM in Bilbao
• Internet cos “probably stay on the margins of the industry because they don’t want to be regulated, but its a question of time for them to break-in to the sector in one way or another”
• A lot of banks in the world, startups will dissapear, Gonzalez says
• BBVA Chairman sees Mexico economy growing 1% in 2017
• Mexico medium-long term potential “huge”
• BBVA sees Turkey growing 2.5% in 2017
• Turkey’s political situation complex, “we hope it will normalize gradually”
• BBVA confident with its investment in Turkey in short, long term

(Bloomberg) --The bonds have maturies spanning from three to 30 years, the German company says in a statement on Friday.

• “This successful bond issue enables us to finance our latest acquisition projects at very favorable conditions and to optimize our maturity profile,” Siemens CFO Ralf Thomas says in statement
• The placement is Siemen’s second largest ever and closed on Thursday

--CHAD THOMAS