Ben Bschor

iflr.com — The Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive requires liabilities issued by European banks but governed by non-EU law to include a term about the contractual recognition of bail-in. This has raised concern among banks. Insiders warn that in some cases, such as revolvers or certain MTN programmes, issuers might have to adjust existing terms to comply with the new rules when they come into effect next year.

Reg Cap Analytics (Euromoney) — TLAC – total loss absorbing capacity – is the Basel Committee’s answer to the too-big-too-fail problem: the biggest global banks will be required to hold significant amounts of loss absorbing capital, to be bailed in during resolution. But the draft TLAC propsal clashes with EU rules, most importantly the so-called no-creditor-worse-off (NCWO) principle. European bank debt market participants are trying to work out whether a new TLAC eligible debt instrument is feasible, and what it could look like. A new instrument needs to overcome numerous hurdles, the trickiest of which is the positioning of existing subordinated tier 2 instruments in the insolvency hierarchy.

Reg Cap Analytics (Euromoney) — Recent comments by a European Banking Authority official received wide attention from issuers of and investors in bank regulatory capital, known as AT1. By saying that pillar 2 capital requirements sit below pillar 1 in the capital stack, the official implied that dividend payment restrictions will hit banks even earlier than previously thought. Banks and their investors had for a while asked for a breakdown of the capital stack. But even after the apparent clarification, there are more questions than answers.

Financial Times — BHP has left the regulatory probe running on its abandoned bid for Rio because of UK takeover rules, even though a decision could limit its options in future.

hoganlovells.com — This article was published by law firm Hogan & Hartson, (now Hogan Lovells) in the "Antitrust and Competition Insight" client brief. The EC would like to take a tougher approach towards Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). The issue was first raised by the EC president in a speech addressing Europe’s response to globalisation. “Sovereign Wealth Funds,” he said at the time, “need a common European approach.”

TelecomFinance — In 2013, phone network providers discovered a new type of instrument to address their financing needs: hybrids bonds. This article explains what attracts the telcos' interest.

TelecomFinance — Interview with the European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes about price regulation, functional separation, and the harmonisation of spectrum across the EU