The SSM and the prudential regime of non-performing loans

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the rapid rise of non-performing loans (NPLs) showed the fragility of the banking system and the lack of harmonized regulatory regime to address the systemic risk of failing banks. The deterioration of NPLs in the balance sheet of credit institutions represents a real concern for the supervisory authorities and constitutes a challenge for regulators and market actors. This chapter examines the supervision of NPLs taking into consideration the architecture of Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the role of European Central Bank (ECB) to monitor non-performing exposures. The new supervisory toolkit implemented in the European Banking Union aims to improve the classification of asset quality and to establish common practices to resolve NPLs. This chapter argues that the intricate structure of the preventive measures to reduce the risk of lending defines a new landscape in the prudential treatment of NPLs

Rescuing failing banks for financial stability: the unintended outcomes of bail-in rules

The regulatory architecture of the EU Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) introduced rules necessary to prevent financial instability and systemic risk contagion. However the restructuring tools for failing banks, namely bail-in, precautionary recapitalisation and resolving plans are largely flexible to allow Member States to adopt domestic policy measures to rescue distressed institutions. This leaves broad discretion to national competent authorities to provide public financial support, a legacy of the bail-out programmes that can undermine the new EU bank insolvency regime

LDEF fiber-composite materials characterization

Degradation of a number of fiber/polymer composites located on the leading and trailing surfaces of LDEF where the atomic oxygen (AO) fluences ranged from 10(exp 22) to 10(exp 4) atoms/cm(sup 2), respectively, was observed and compared. While matrices of the composites on the leading edge generally exhibited considerable degradation and erosion-induced fragmentation, this 'asking' process was confined to the near surface regions because these degraded structures acted as a 'protective blanket' for deeper-lying regions. This finding leads to the conclusion that simple surface coatings can significantly retard AO and other combinations of degrading phenomena in low-Earth orbit. Micrometeoroid and debris particle impacts were not a prominent feature on the fiber composites studied and apparently do not contribute in a significant way to their degradation or alteration in low-Earth orbit

Rethinking financial regulation: an appraisal of regulatory approaches in the UK and EU

This article explores different regulatory approaches that have shaped regulation in the run-up to and aftermath of the 2007-09 global financial crisis. In doing so it seeks to clarify and cast fresh light upon the shifting regulatory and practitioner discourse. This in turn is intended to aid reflection on how these ap- proaches might best be adopted, adapted or synchronised to achieve the aims of financial regulation. The first part of this article examines the approaches from a theoretical perspective, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. The second part of the article analyses regulation in practice, focussing primarily on rules-based regulation and principles-based regulation. As a practical example, the article looks at the MiFID directive – a cornerstone of securities regulation – within the EU and UK jurisdictional context. The article concludes with observations and comments on how these approaches might best be coordinated to achieve the broader regulatory agenda

Intraocular Metastases Secondary to Breast Carcinoma Correlates With Upregulation of Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Expression in the Primary Tumor

To compare estrogen (ER), progesterone (PR), and human epidermal growth factor-2 (HER2) receptor expression in the primary tumor of patients affected by choroidal metastases from breast carcinoma (BC) versus those with extraocular metastases

Addressing the challenges of post-pandemic debt management in the consumer and SME sectors: a proposal for the roles of UK financial regulators

Regulatory actions for short-term debt-relief during the Covid-19 pandemic are facilitating a significant level of indebtedness. We argue that regulators, in leaving the banking sector to manage small business and consumer debtors in ‘tailored arrangements’, risk allowing financial welfare goals to be unmet. Financial welfare goals are important to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) consumer protection objective and give substantive meaning to the long-term financial stability objective of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Although the struggles with debt on the part of small and medium-sized businesses and households are not capable of complete resolution by financial regulators, who are constrained by their statutory mandates, we argue that the PRA and FCA should establish a coordinated supervisory framework of ‘tailored supervision’ for banks’ ‘tailored arrangements’ with their debtors. This proposal allows both regulators to address to an extent the needs of unsophisticated post-pandemic debtors and meet their objectives in a joined-up and holistic manner

P.Oxy. X 1314 Verso: Che Tipo di Esercizio di Scrittura?

Il papiro di cui si offre qui, per la prima volta, un’edizione completa è sempre stato interpretato come un esercizio di scrittura, sin dalla sua prima presentazione come descriptum, corredata da una foto riproduzione del pezzo, nel 1914 all’interno della serie The Oxyrhynchus Papyri a cura di Grenfell e Hunt. Rinvenuto a Ossirinco, non si è invece certi dell’origine del papiro. Il pezzo potrebbe essere stato oggetto di riuso, giacché il testo latino vergato sul verso papirologico risale a un’epoca certamente successiva a quella del testo greco riportato sul recto. Le tracce di scrittura greca, che si trovano nella parte inferiore della superficie del papiro, sono molto lievi, quindi si pensa che, prima di essere riutilizzato, il papiro possa essere stato lavato. Inoltre, guardando alla forma attuale del papiro, il cui margine destro è integro, è ipotizzabile che il pezzo sia frutto di un ritaglio

Digital payments system and market disruption

The traditional banking functions of lending, deposit-taking and payment intermediation are being unbundled in the new frontiers of money that extend from virtual currencies to crypto-assets and from shadow payments to quasi-money. The possibility for digital-centred change in the financial industry is illustrated by distributed ledger technology, of which ‘blockchain’ is the most prominent example of automated decision-making. Other forms of decentralised supply of money, payment services, and funding processes may allow households and businesses to obtain loans and pool risks without having recourse to financial intermediaries. This article examines the alternative provision of access to low-cost zero-friction payments from the perspective of the underbanked. Promoting innovation through alternatives to credit means integrating vulnerable and excluded customers into mainstream financial systems. Blockchain technology backed by a possible modification of the law on the recognition and transfer of property rights might prove instrumental in unlocking the value of the assets possessed by the underbanked or even the unbanked