William Webster
Dealing With Uncertainty - Part 1
Three types of stress test If you run a Google search for “stress testing” you will find over 900m results and one near the top is from...
top of page
Barbican Consulting Limited
William Webster
May 6, 20204 min read
Net Interest Income
Should we target net interest income? For many banks and building societies Net Interest Income (NII) is a substantial part of...
60
William Webster
Feb 16, 20203 min read
Legacy Assets
Legacy business - something you wish you didn't have The balance sheets of building societies often contain legacy assets. That’s...
30
William Webster
Nov 29, 20172 min read
The cost of divorce
When two parties separate there’s often a settlement involved. Normally this is an up-front payment and may include ongoing maintenance....
30
William Webster
Oct 23, 20172 min read
T - Charge
Drive in London and you can pay £21.50 for the privilege. That's the effect of the new T-charge. The mayor tells us it will cost...
50
William Webster
Sep 25, 20172 min read
10,000 hours or (at best) a waste of time?
In 2008 Malcolm Gladwell talked about 10,000 hours of practice in the sense that the more you do the better you become. This has a...
40
William Webster
Aug 22, 20171 min read
Events happen
During the summer regulators have been busy. Latest musings highlight the risks that threaten. A perennial theme seems to be the housing...
20
William Webster
Jul 4, 20172 min read
How much?
How much should I invest in stocks? How much should we hold in liquidity? These similar questions arise from different sources. One...
20
William Webster
Jun 6, 20172 min read
The wealth effect
To be an equity investor (active or passive) you must be an optimist. You believe that the future will be better and with this income and...
20
William Webster
May 14, 20171 min read
Going North
According the FT on 27/4/17 local councils are borrowing from the Treasury at about 2.5% to fund real estate yielding around 8%. The net...
50
William Webster
Apr 6, 20171 min read
Racing cert.
Reinvestment of interest is the cornerstone of successful long term investment. Einstein recognised compounding as the eighth wonder of...
20
William Webster
Mar 13, 20171 min read
Inconsistent appetite
Last week I was discussing liquidity and market risk with two different banks. On reflection, it’s apparent that the way we set risk...
60
William Webster
Feb 17, 20171 min read
We could do more
In this low rate environment pension liabilities have ballooned and companies have opted to close final salary schemes. Many private...
40
William Webster
Jan 19, 20171 min read
Bank multipliers
US bank stocks are indicating that the new administration may scale back the regulatory onslaught that followed 2008. Could this make...
60
William Webster
Dec 15, 20161 min read
Let's be clear
What do the following two examples have in common? Example 1: If a 25-year-old saves £1,000 for retirement in 40 years’ time how much...
70
William Webster
Nov 19, 20161 min read
Man meets machine
If you have tried any of the following you could be in for a nasty surprise. Things are not as smooth as advertised. Opening an account...
40
William Webster
Oct 24, 20161 min read
A political measure
Just before the big vote few people expected the UK to opt out of the EU. If you believe that markets are, by and large efficient, the...
30
William Webster
Sep 20, 20161 min read
Carry on
Traders know that being long means when the market goes up or sideways they win. This forms the basis for carry trades. That’s winning...
20
William Webster
Aug 31, 20161 min read
Review time
Back in 1997 Gordon Brown announced that the Bank of England would have freedom to control monetary policy. It was heralded as a move...
40
William Webster
Jul 31, 20161 min read
FX - more than a rate
Many banks completely avoid foreign exchange risk. They borrow and lend in the same currency. Any customer trades are immediately offset....
70
bottom of page