January 31, 2018

If you want your sovereigns to have easier access to credit than your entrepreneurs, then you are not thinking on your grandchildren.

Sir, with respect to sovereign bond-backed securities you opine “bank regulation should be reformed to treat SBBS as favourably as national bonds in capital requirements — indeed, more favourably, since SBBS would make it less destabilising to have banks hold equity against concentrations of their own government’s bonds” “A rare chance to create a pan-eurozone safe asset” January 31.

What? Instead of a 0% risk weighting, these bonds collateralized with loans to sovereigns, should now have even a minus something risk weight percentage? So that banks can earn even higher expected returns on equity when lending to sovereigns? So that banks will lend even less to entrepreneurs. Sir, as a grandfather, let me tell you, that is a shameful proposition.

Defending the SBBS you argue: “the monetary union enjoys a well-deserved streak of growth”. Holy moly, what “well-deserved streak of growth” is that? Do you refer to that growth that has been financed by quantitative easing and by the low interest rates that makes it impossible for pension funds to live up to its offers? Come on! It is a totally undeserved growth… and one that will be very hard to repay.

You opine one should “create a truly pan-eurozone benchmark safe asset… the SBBS”

Sir, when you save, by investing in a bond, you should want the debtor invest your money well, so as to be able to repay you well. A eurozone SBBS seems here to be a bond designed so that no sovereign would have to repay it, and therefore no sovereign would be required to invest it well. Would you like your pension fund to invest in such SBBS with ultra low interest rates? 

And you also opine that “if issued in sufficient quantities, SBBS could help end the danger at the heart of the eurozone crisis: the “doom loop” between sovereign and bank debt. Banks holding senior SBBS would be safe from sovereign risk”

Sir, again, for the umpteenth time, that “doom loop” was created, in 1988, when regulators in their risk weighted capital requirements for bank assigned the sovereign a risk weight of 0% and the unrated citizens, those who form the backbone of any sovereign, a risk weight of 100%. And then I believe you said nothing about that!

@PerKurowski