Bank of America has stolen the crown of Citigroup. The bank, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, motored ahead of the erstwhile number one bank in our list and is now the largest bank in North America and in the world, with Tier 1 capital of $91,065m.
In January, underwriters and issuers were sure innovations in the US FIG hybrid market would prompt a flood of new issues in 2006. Five months on, that flood is a trickle after NAIC classification concerns significantly stalled the infant market, resulting in a stand-off. Kathryn Tully reports.There are a lot of disgruntled bankers, issuers and investors in the US hybrid bond market right now.
The US has watched the rapid development of the covered bond market in Europe and elsewhere from afar. Now, with questions hanging over the country’s giant mortgage-backed securities providers and tempted by insatiable investor appetite, US issuers are about to dip their toes in the water. Michael Marray reports.