Europe Economics Focus How vulnerable are Spanish banks to a property crash? The Spanish banking system looks in relatively good health compared to those of some other eurozone economies. Nonetheless, a major adjustment in the domestic property sector could still cause banks... 27th May 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update Bank lending rates add to diverging growth trends Recent divergences in borrowing rates across different countries suggest that the impact of the credit crunch on households and corporates may be hitting some euro-zone economies harder than others. 8th May 2008 · 1 min read
Asia Economics Focus Has Asia really escaped the subprime crisis? The Asian financial system has so far proved to be fairly resilient to the US subprime crisis. Asian exposure to opaque asset-backed securities has been well below that of other (primarily Western)... 7th May 2008 · 1 min read
Global Economics Update Central banks still have a lot more work to do The Bank of England’s Financial Stability Report, published this morning, suggests that the worst of the global financial crisis may now be over. The immediate threat of a full-blown meltdown has... 1st May 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Focus Housing equity withdrawal to grind to a halt As the credit crunch bites and house prices fall, we expect housing (also known as mortgage) equity withdrawal (HEW) to dry up almost completely over the next couple of years. Although only a fraction... 22nd April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update A welcome step, but still much more to do The details of the Bank of England’s latest measures to tackle the problems in the credit markets should ease some of the concerns surrounding the potential risks for taxpayers and possible... 21st April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Bank of England initiative no substitute for further rate cuts Sentiment towards the financial sector has been helped this week by speculation of a new initiative from the Bank of England to free-up the money markets in the UK. However, the acid test is whether... 17th April 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Focus Housing and the credit crunch in Europe There are growing concerns that the credit crunch could trigger a sharp downturn in European housing markets with significant adverse effects on the wider economy. But while euro-zone house price... 17th April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Rate cuts are reducing aggregate mortgage payments The rise in mortgage payments facing borrowers coming off fixed rate mortgages has fuelled talk of monetary policy “pushing on a string”. In fact, the fall in payments of households with tracker or... 16th April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Rate cuts are reducing aggregate mortgage payments The rise in mortgage payments facing borrowers coming off fixed rate mortgages has fuelled talk of monetary policy “pushing on a string”. In fact, the fall in payments of households with tracker or... 16th April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Auction results suggest that Bank has more work to do The relatively subdued demand for today’s Bank of England auction of three month money may not mean that banks do not want extra cash, rather that they are unable to get their hands on it. Either way... 15th April 2008 · 1 min read
Europe Economics Update How worried should we be about German banks? The recent stream of write-downs by German banks might look like a worrying sign that the crisis in financial markets is set to have a devastating impact on the economy. But there are a number of... 8th April 2008 · 1 min read
Emerging Europe Economics Focus How strong are Emerging Europe's banks? We do not expect Emerging Europe to suffer a major banking crisis despite the recent collapse of major Western institutions such as Bear Stearns and Northern Rock. But while there is scope for the... 3rd April 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update Bank's new auctions are no silver bullet The Bank of England’s announcement that it will inject more liquidity into the money markets is a welcome development that should help to bring interbank interest rates down to more normal levels. But... 11th March 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update End of 100%+ LTVs to dent household good sales The popularity of mortgages with loan to value ratios (LTVS) of over 100% appears to have been a strong support to household goods sales over the past year or so. The decline in these products is... 10th March 2008 · 1 min read
UK Economics Update End of 100%+ LTVs to dent household good sales The popularity of mortgages with loan to value ratios (LTVS) of over 100% appears to have been a strong support to household goods sales over the past year or so. The decline in these products is... 10th March 2008 · 1 min read
