Barbican Consulting Blog

Over twenty years ago I recall having a discussion with fellow dealers about how big our risk limits should be. We concluded that it was straight forward. The risk limits ought to be based on how much the bank could … Continue reading →

I was recently asked about covered bonds. This was timely since the Treasury has just published a review of the UK’s regulatory framework for covered bonds. It appears that covered bonds are now seen by regulators as part of the … Continue reading →

If you have been working in or around treasury for the last two or three decades you will have seen some remarkable changes. One that is striking is how and where you come across complexity. At first complexity arose with … Continue reading →

In the UK, Bank rate is 0.50% this is the lowest it has ever been since records began over 300 years ago. According to many economists this is the worst economic period since the 1930s. Wages haven’t kept up with … Continue reading →

When I see board risk packs there is more on liquidity, market and credit risk than ever before. That’s a good thing, it promotes discussion. One of the key ingredients is the ability to look forwards rather than backwards. Indeed … Continue reading →

Two banks I visited this week had contrasting views on the need for graduates in their financial markets division. Both banks were large Europeans and it makes the comparison interesting. The first bank had hired very few graduates in the … Continue reading →

Last year the FSA published the new sourcebook for building societies. There were 5 treasury approaches and 3 credit risk approaches. You compared what you did with what was expected and then waited. Now we are getting the response. In … Continue reading →

Hold bank senior debt and you may be in for a surprise. Continue reading →