UK Unveils A Broad Bank Bailout
The U.K. government unveiled one of the broadest bailouts in the global financial crisis, investing in some of the country's largest financial institutions in an effort to recapitalize the industry, end concerns about the viability of individual institutions and encourage banks to resume lending to consumers and businesses.
The Treasury said it will offer help to U.K. banks in three ways. It will boost their capital by buying up to GBP 50 billion ($87.9 billion) in preference shares, provide a guarantee of around GBP 250 billion for bonds issued by the banks, and provide additional liquidity of at least GBP 200 billion through the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme.
In a statement Wednesday, the Treasury said eight banks -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Barclays PLC, the soon-to-be-combined HBOS PLC and Lloyds TSB Group PLC, Abbey National PLC, Nationwide Building Society, Standard Chartered PLC and HSBC Holdings PLC -- can draw on an aggregate sum of GBP 25 billion in order to boost their Tier 1 capital, a measure of capital against risky assets.
The plan contrasts sharply with the approach taken by the U.S. with its $700 billion financial-markets bailout fund. While the U.S. program is aimed at taking toxic assets off banks' balance sheets, the U.K. plan is aimed at boosting the banks' capital so they can restart the lending that is crucial to economic growth.
'The amount to be issued per institution will be finalized following detailed discussions,' the Treasury said. The government said it will make a further GBP 25 billion available if needed.
The government will take stakes in the banks through the purchase of preference shares, which means it won't have voting rights and won't take an active, day-to-day role in management.
But there will be conditions. 'The government will need to take into account dividend policies and executive compensation packages and will require a full commitment to support lending to small businesses and home buyers,' the Treasury said.
The Treasury also said the Bank of England will make 'at least' GBP 200 billion in funds available to the banks through its Special Liquidity Scheme. The plan, established in April, allows banks to swap illiquid assets such as mortgage-backed securities for Treasury bills, which they can use to raise money.
The government said it also will guarantee new and medium-term debt issuance to help the banks refinance maturing debt. It said the guarantee will be offered 'on appropriate commercial terms' and is likely to cover total debts of GBP 250 billion.
The move represents a gamble for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is facing a tenuous political future as the credit crisis takes a toll on the U.K. economy. Mr. Brown has been harshly criticized for his handling of the early stages of the crisis, which included the first bank run in the U.K. in more than a century.
The government's efforts could prove critical to London's role as a global financial hub rivaling New York. In recent years, London's financial sector has boomed, handling global capital equal to the U.K.'s entire annual economic output. In recent years, Barclays and RBS have built trading operations that rival those of U.S. commercial banks and Wall Street firms.
The U.K. plan would stretch the government's finances at a time when it is already facing a large and growing budget deficit. Economic growth ground to a halt in the second quarter as housing prices dropped and inflation rose to roughly 5% from about 2% at the beginning of the year, and the government is expected to exceed its self-imposed borrowing limits because of the troubled economy.
U.K. officials rushed to finalize a plan on Tuesday after a tough day for U.K. bank stocks. RBS was one of the biggest losers, its shares diving 39% to 90 pence. HBOS fell 42% to 94 pence. Barclays fell 9% to 285 pence, while Lloyds dropped 13% to 225.50 pence.
The government's measures are aimed at propping up a sector that has suffered greatly as the global credit crisis has frozen the credit markets the banks rely on for funding.
Many analysts were doubtful, however, that the U.K. plan would ease a problem at the center of the current crisis: the unwillingness of banks to lend to one another except for extremely short periods. Banks including RBS and HBOS raised large amounts of capital earlier in the year, and they still face funding constraints. Bruno Paulson, a senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein in London, predicted a capital injection would boost investor confidence in the banks, 'but the real issue is whether it will be enough to restore confidence' in the credit markets.
Paul Hannon / Dana Cimilluca / Sara Schaefer Munoz / Carrick Mollenkamp
The Treasury said it will offer help to U.K. banks in three ways. It will boost their capital by buying up to GBP 50 billion ($87.9 billion) in preference shares, provide a guarantee of around GBP 250 billion for bonds issued by the banks, and provide additional liquidity of at least GBP 200 billion through the Bank of England's Special Liquidity Scheme.
In a statement Wednesday, the Treasury said eight banks -- Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, Barclays PLC, the soon-to-be-combined HBOS PLC and Lloyds TSB Group PLC, Abbey National PLC, Nationwide Building Society, Standard Chartered PLC and HSBC Holdings PLC -- can draw on an aggregate sum of GBP 25 billion in order to boost their Tier 1 capital, a measure of capital against risky assets.
The plan contrasts sharply with the approach taken by the U.S. with its $700 billion financial-markets bailout fund. While the U.S. program is aimed at taking toxic assets off banks' balance sheets, the U.K. plan is aimed at boosting the banks' capital so they can restart the lending that is crucial to economic growth.
'The amount to be issued per institution will be finalized following detailed discussions,' the Treasury said. The government said it will make a further GBP 25 billion available if needed.
The government will take stakes in the banks through the purchase of preference shares, which means it won't have voting rights and won't take an active, day-to-day role in management.
But there will be conditions. 'The government will need to take into account dividend policies and executive compensation packages and will require a full commitment to support lending to small businesses and home buyers,' the Treasury said.
The Treasury also said the Bank of England will make 'at least' GBP 200 billion in funds available to the banks through its Special Liquidity Scheme. The plan, established in April, allows banks to swap illiquid assets such as mortgage-backed securities for Treasury bills, which they can use to raise money.
The government said it also will guarantee new and medium-term debt issuance to help the banks refinance maturing debt. It said the guarantee will be offered 'on appropriate commercial terms' and is likely to cover total debts of GBP 250 billion.
The move represents a gamble for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is facing a tenuous political future as the credit crisis takes a toll on the U.K. economy. Mr. Brown has been harshly criticized for his handling of the early stages of the crisis, which included the first bank run in the U.K. in more than a century.
The government's efforts could prove critical to London's role as a global financial hub rivaling New York. In recent years, London's financial sector has boomed, handling global capital equal to the U.K.'s entire annual economic output. In recent years, Barclays and RBS have built trading operations that rival those of U.S. commercial banks and Wall Street firms.
The U.K. plan would stretch the government's finances at a time when it is already facing a large and growing budget deficit. Economic growth ground to a halt in the second quarter as housing prices dropped and inflation rose to roughly 5% from about 2% at the beginning of the year, and the government is expected to exceed its self-imposed borrowing limits because of the troubled economy.
U.K. officials rushed to finalize a plan on Tuesday after a tough day for U.K. bank stocks. RBS was one of the biggest losers, its shares diving 39% to 90 pence. HBOS fell 42% to 94 pence. Barclays fell 9% to 285 pence, while Lloyds dropped 13% to 225.50 pence.
The government's measures are aimed at propping up a sector that has suffered greatly as the global credit crisis has frozen the credit markets the banks rely on for funding.
Many analysts were doubtful, however, that the U.K. plan would ease a problem at the center of the current crisis: the unwillingness of banks to lend to one another except for extremely short periods. Banks including RBS and HBOS raised large amounts of capital earlier in the year, and they still face funding constraints. Bruno Paulson, a senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein in London, predicted a capital injection would boost investor confidence in the banks, 'but the real issue is whether it will be enough to restore confidence' in the credit markets.
Paul Hannon / Dana Cimilluca / Sara Schaefer Munoz / Carrick Mollenkamp
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英國推出大規模銀行救助計劃
英
國政府日前針對全球金融危機推出一項廣泛的救助計劃，將投資該國部分大型金融機構，為其提供資金幫助，消除人們對金融機構生存能力的擔憂，並鼓勵銀行重新向消費者和企業放貸。英 國財政部(Treasury)稱，將通過三種途徑向銀行業提供幫助：通過買進至多500億英鎊（合879億美元）的優先股來增加銀行資本；為受助銀行發行 的債券提供約2,500億英鎊的擔保；通過英國央行(BOE)的特別流動性計劃(Special Liquidity Scheme)向銀行追加至少2,000億英鎊的資金。
European Pressphoto Agency
英國央行行長抵達唐寧街，參加一個特別金融會議
該計劃與美國7,000億美元金融市場救助計劃的方式截然不同。美國的計劃旨在將不良資產從銀行資產負債表剝離，而英國的計劃則意在增加各銀行的資本，使它們可以重新開始放貸──這對經濟增長至關重要。
財政部說，各家機構所獲資金規模將在詳細的討論之後確定。政府稱在必要的時候將追加250億英鎊的資金。
政府將通過收購優先股持股各銀行，這就意味著政府不會有投票權，也不會在日常管理中扮演積極的角色。
Gordon Brown
財政部還說，英國央行將通過特別流動性計劃向各銀行提供至少2,000億英鎊的資金。4月份確定的這一計劃使得銀行可以用抵押貸款擔保証券等流動性差的資產交換國債，進而可以利用其進行融資。
政府稱還將為新發行的中期債券提供擔保，以便幫助銀行發行新債來替換即將到期的舊債。政府說，擔保將附帶適當的商業條款，很可能涵蓋總計2,500億英鎊的債券。
Alistair Darling
或許事實會表明，政府的努力對倫敦作為與紐約匹敵的全球金融中心的地位至關重要。近年來，倫敦的金融業快速發展，處理的全球資本相當於英國全國的年經濟產值。近年來，巴克萊和蘇格蘭皇家銀行已經建立了足以與美國商業銀行和華爾街金融機構相抗衡的交易業務。
英國的這項救助計劃可能會對政府的財政狀況造成壓力，目前財政已經面臨數額龐大、且不斷增長的預算赤字。隨著房價下滑，通貨膨脹率從年初的約2%上升至約5%，英國經濟增長第二季度陷入停滯，預計英國政府將因陷入困境的經濟而提高自身的信貸額度。
英國銀行類股周二全線大幅下挫，之後英國官員匆忙敲定了這項計劃。蘇格蘭皇家銀行股票跌幅居前，暴跌39%至90便士；HBOS跌42%至94便士；巴克萊跌9%至285便士；萊斯銀行跌13%至225.50便士。
由於全球信貸危機凍結了銀行賴以融資的信貸市場，英國的銀行業受到了嚴重沖擊，政府的措施旨在支撐陷入困境的銀行業。
不 過很多分析師表示懷疑，英國的計劃能否緩解目前危機的核心問題：銀行不願向彼此放貸，除非期限非常短的貸款。包括蘇格蘭皇家銀行和HBOS在內的銀行今年 早些時候籌集了大量資金，但它們仍面臨融資緊張的問題。Sanford Bernstein駐倫敦的高級分析師鮑爾森(Bruno Paulson)預測，注資會增強投資者對銀行的信心，不過真正的問題是，這是否足以讓他們重拾對信貸市場的信心。
Paul Hannon / Dana Cimilluca / Sara Schaefer Munoz / Carrick Mollenkamp
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