UK Commercial Property Data Response Lending to commercial property (Apr.14) Net commercial property lending flows were negative again in April. But April’s fall was the smallest since June last year. Indeed, there is little doubt that a gradual improvement in credit... 2nd June 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Apr.) April’s euro-zone monetary data highlighted the fragile nature of the region’s banks and should spur the ECB to ease policy further at its meeting next week. 28th May 2014 · 1 min read
China Economics Update A positive step on local government debt Allowing local governments to issue bonds is a key step towards boosting transparency and encouraging stronger oversight over fiscal spending. But a broader rebalancing of the revenues and spending... 22nd May 2014 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack NPL ratio remains low but is set to climb Rising non-performing loans (NPLs) at Chinese banks have been making headlines recently. So far the increase has not been much to get excited about. Official data suggest the NPL ratio has barely... 21st May 2014 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Weekly Is a credit bubble building in the Philippines? The surge in credit that has been going on across much of Emerging Asia since the global financial crisis has been getting some well-deserved media attention recently. But while we have been flagging... 19th May 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Focus Is Japan’s private sector ready to releverage? A key aim of the BoJ’s QQE programme is to lower real interest rates in a bid to encourage firms and households to borrow and spend more and thereby eliminate the spare capacity that underpins... 16th May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Markets Economics Update Which EMs will benefit from China’s rebalancing? China’s economy is likely to slow over the coming years, as it rebalances toward a more sustainablegrowth model. But that won’t necessarily be bad news for all of the EM world. In fact, strong... 15th May 2014 · 1 min read
Japan Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Apr.14) The latest Senior Loan Officer survey showed that banks expect household loan demand to weaken sharply in the second quarter. Borrowing is highly likely to slow now that the consumption tax hike has... 14th May 2014 · 1 min read
China Data Response Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Apr.) In the face of calls for stimulus, China’s government appears comfortable with a continued slowdown in credit growth. 12th May 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Weekly Banks lending more freely The rapid expansion in bank loans since the turn of the year is a sure sign that the economic outlook is brighter than the stagnation in first-quarter GDP growth suggested. Loans to businesses are... 12th May 2014 · 1 min read
UK Economics Chart Pack Recovery robust but housing market concerns build The last month’s data has provided further evidence that the UK economy is enjoying a ‘Goldilocks’ scenario of solid, but not excessive, growth and low inflation. The latest PMI surveys suggest that... 8th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Have the ECB's contingencies been met? The latest economic data have left the ECB’s two “contingencies” for further policy action – a worsening of the medium-term inflation outlook and an unwarranted tightening of the money markets –... 7th May 2014 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Fed's survey points to strong growth in business loans The Fed's latest Senior Loan Officer Survey illustrates the remarkable divergence between bank loans to businesses, which have increased by nearly 9% over the past year, and bank residential mortgages... 5th May 2014 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Weekly Beefed-up stress tests will be no quick fix The euro-zone’s upcoming bank stress tests are likely to be more effective than the region’s earlier attempts. But the euro-zone financial system will heal only slowly, remaining a drag on the... 5th May 2014 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update IMF approves Ukraine deal, but enormous challenges remain The approval by the IMF of its $17bn financial support package for Ukraine is likely to ease concerns that the economy could suffer a near-term crisis, but severe challenges remain. The short-term... 1st May 2014 · 1 min read
UK Commercial Property Data Response Lending to commercial property (Mar.14) The run of negative, net commercial property lending flows extended to 28 months in March. But we suspect that, within the net figure, gross new lending by banks and building societies will be slowly... 1st May 2014 · 1 min read
