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• BCBS and the Basel II Accord - 18 February 2010

Created in 1974 by the G10 nations, and meeting four times each year, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) consists of representatives from 27 countries who gather to formulate and analyze broad-based standards and guidelines for efficient and transparent banking supervision. The name of the committee is taken from the name of the city in Switzerland that hosts committee meetings. For the recommendations to carry any weight, each member country needs to implement these standards through its national system, and while adjustments may need to be made to suit local circumstances, the core values of these recommendations should remain as a solid foundation. This will ensures that the purpose of the committee in supporting the implementation of common approaches and standards for banking by member countries will be realized.

• Personal Savings; Bank Failures; Week Ahead on Wall Street - 29 June 2009

Both the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 slipped on Friday ending on a low for the second week running, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite managed to notch up a small gain for the week. The rally which had been spurred on by speculation that the U.S. economy is beginning to stabilize, was pushed off track by recent economic reports indicating the road to recovery may still be some way off. A Commerce Department report released on Friday revealed that personal income had surged, however, savings had done the same. This is seen as a sign that investors are choosing to sit out the recession, rather than to spend at the present time. Savings in relation to income rose from 5.6 percent in April to 6.9 percent in May. Bearing in mind that economic growth is largely dependent on consumer spending, economist see the mounting personal savings rate as a cause of concern.

• Bank Credit Rating Cuts Ahead of Regulator Overhaul - 18 June 2009

Fears that the recession may drag on longer than anticipated, made investors nervous and impacted negatively on Wall Street at the beginning of the week. A tech rally on Wednesday boosted the Nasdaq composite index with a gain of 0.7 percent. However, news of credit rating cuts for US banks caused financials to slide, dragging the Dow Jones industrial average with it, ending the day with a 0.1 percent loss, with a similar loss being recorded by the Standard & Poor's 500.

• Wall Street Sees Burst of Investor Confidence Ahead of Stress Test Results - 7 may 2009

While the much-awaited bank "stress test" results are only due out after close of business on Thursday, investors have been responding with zeal to speculation, rumors and leaked information since markets opened on Monday morning. Despite the fact that most of the "information" doing the rounds indicates that anywhere between ten and fourteen of the banks being scrutinized are likely to be instructed by the government to raise capital, shares of all nineteen participants jumped on Monday. At least a dozen increased by more than 10 percent, with even the worst performer, Morgan Stanley, gaining 4.7 percent.

• Financial Sector Continues to Drive Markets as Investors Wait for Stress Test Results - 23 April 2009

Investor confidence was dealt a blow on Wednesday bringing the Wall Street rally to an end when Morgan Stanley’s dismal results revived concerns about the stability of the banking sector and the economy in general. Having posted its second straight quarterly loss and slashed its dividend, citing the deteriorating commercial real estate as a negative factor, Morgan Stanley slid nine percent closing at $22.44.

• Investors Anxious for Details of Bank Bailouts and Economic Recovery Plan - 23 February 2009

Following the unveiling of a bank bailout plan two weeks ago which left many questions unanswered, financial stocks as well as the broader US market have taken a beating. The ability of banks to remain afloat in a recession, which is likely to continue for some time, remains a primary concern among the majority of stock market traders. Speculation that the government may be obliged to nationalize embattled banks served to push investor anxiety levels up a notch, negatively impacting on stock market performance last week with the Dow closing on Friday at its lowest ebb since October 2002 and the S&P500 ending the week just 18 points shy of an eleven year low.

• A Stock on Which You Can Bank - 21 April 2008

Adversity is part of our business heritage. Think of how your ancestors lived. Go back to the days of the World Wars. Imagine raising children during the Great Depression. Reflect on the humiliation of return from Vietnam. Rejoice in all the props we share for financial planning today.

• The Basel II Solution to Sub-Prime and Related Financial Planning (Part 2) - 1 February 2008

The Basel II Solution to Sub-Prime and Related Financial Planning (Part 1)

It does not end there. Banks have sold sub-prime debts to each other. Each of these transactions gave a second set of professional banker personnel, new opportunities to apply Basel norms to what their peers had done. Gross violations of risk management guidelines were overlooked every time bankers traded sub-prime loans. The losers of this round were investors with stocks in the financial sector. There is a strong moral case for investors whose funds have been used to discount sub-prime loans, to be compensated for negligence in observing Basel norms. The US Federal Reserve is party to this mess because it waited all the way until November 2007 before even getting banks to agree to adhere to the Basel II norms.