Europe Economics Update Is the ECB doing more than we think? Recent changes to the ECB’s bank lending operations and the news that national central banks may lend to the IMF have raised hopes that support for the region’s most troubled economies is being... 13th December 2011 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Update NPLs are likely to rise sharply in Vietnam The government in Vietnam has moved to restructure some of the country’s banks. This comes after a surge in lending in recent years, which has contributed to a rise in bad debt. The non-performing... 13th December 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Russia: banking squeeze intensifies amidst political unrest The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has cut the amount of funds it provides via its overnight repo auctions to the lowest level in almost two months in an attempt to shore up the ruble against a backdrop... 12th December 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update How would a crisis in Europe hit Latin American banks? 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Chart Pack Entering another deep recession Hopes that euro-zone policymakers will hatch a new “grand plan” to save the euro-zone may have grown, but evidence is mounting that the region is on the cusp of another deep recession. In November... 8th December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Italian prospects remain grim Recent euro-zone developments may have brought Italy back from the brink again. But Italy will still need years of financial assistance from the rest of the region and to go through years of severe... 7th December 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Financing risk, not Islamist win, is the greatest threat in Egypt Although the official results from Egypt’s first round of elections have not yet been released, it is almost certain that the Freedom and Justice party (the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood)... 1st December 2011 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Euro-zone Monetary Indicators Monitor (Nov.) The latest monetary data have revealed rising strains in the banking sector as the euro-zone’s debt crisis has deepened. While the ECB has continued to provide banks with liquidity, it has stopped... 28th November 2011 · 1 min read
Latin America Economics Update Brazilian banks tighten the screw The relative resilience of Brazilian credit growth when measured in annual terms masks the fact that lending growth has slowed fairly sharply when measured on a month-on-month basis. Industry has... 24th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Western support for CEE banks starts to wane Austria’s decision to restrict lending by its banks to subsidiaries in Emerging Europe reflects a broader shift in sentiment on the part of Western banks away from supporting units further east. This... 23rd November 2011 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Little cause for cheer on Northern Rock sale The unprofitable sale of Northern Rock should dent any hopes that the Government will be able to sell profitably its remaining stakes in the other nationalised banks in the near future. 17th November 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update UAE banks better placed to weather a fresh global crisis The UAE’s banks are better prepared to face the fallout of the euro-zone debt crisis than they were during the financial crisis of 2008. However, lending to the private sector is unlikely to return to... 17th November 2011 · 1 min read
Middle East & North Africa Economics Update Raising deposit rates is not enough to support the Egyptian pound The decision by privately-owned banks in Egypt to raise deposit rates by around two percentage points may slow the rate of dollarization of resident accounts, which could help the central bank in its... 15th November 2011 · 1 min read
US Economics Update Monetary Indicators Monitor (Oct.) The growth rate of money has levelled out over the past couple of months, with our reconstructed measure of the broad M3 aggregate expanding by about 5% over the past year. 14th November 2011 · 1 min read
China Data Response Lending and Broad Money (Oct.) Today’s data show that net new lending rebounded last month, while growth in broad money fell slightly. We expect credit controls to be eased officially soon and therefore see lending picking up... 11th November 2011 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Update Banking sector risks revisited Fears are mounting over the exposure of Emerging Europe’s banks to the deepening crisis in the euro-zone. Our view remains unchanged from that which we put forward earlier this year: the big risk to... 10th November 2011 · 1 min read
