在瑞士銀行集團(tuán)(UBS Group AG)收購瑞士信貸集團(tuán)(Credit Suisse Group AG)后,抹去了價值約160億瑞郎(約合173億美元)的高風(fēng)險債券,導(dǎo)致瑞信債券的持有人遭受了歷史性重大損失。
瑞士的金融監(jiān)管機構(gòu)瑞士金融市場監(jiān)督管理局(FINMA)在其網(wǎng)站上的一份聲明中表示,該交易將導(dǎo)致瑞信的額外一級債券(AT1債券)“完全減記”為零,以增加其核心資本。與此同時,該銀行的股東將獲得30億瑞郎。
對于歐洲2,750億美元的AT1債券市場來說,此次債券清零是史上規(guī)模最大的一次,遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過了迄今為止除此之外唯一一次類似的債券減記:2017年,西班牙大眾銀行(Banco Popular SA)的次級債券持有人遭受了13.5億歐元(約合14.4億美元)的損失,當(dāng)時西班牙桑坦德銀行(Banco Santander SA)以1歐元的價格收購了大眾銀行,以免后者破產(chǎn)。在那種情況下,也出現(xiàn)了股權(quán)沖銷。
在典型的減記場景里,在AT1債券持有人面臨虧損前,首先受到?jīng)_擊的往往是股東,瑞信在本周早些時候的投資者報告中也指出了這一點。這也是為什么決定減記該行風(fēng)險最高的債務(wù)不是股東股權(quán)的決策引起了一些AT1債券持有人的強烈反應(yīng)。
“這根本沒有任何道理?!盇quila資產(chǎn)管理公司(Aquila Asset Management AG)的投資組合經(jīng)理帕特里克·考夫曼說,“這將對AT1市場造成全面打擊。你可以引用我的話?!?/p>
考夫曼認(rèn)為,資金應(yīng)該先流向AT1持有人,不用留給股東任何東西,因為“資本結(jié)構(gòu)中的優(yōu)先級需要得到尊重。”
AT1債券持有人
彭博社(Bloomberg)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,太平洋投資管理公司(Pacific Investment Management Co.)、景順控股(Invesco Ltd.)和BlueBay Funds Management Co. SA等資產(chǎn)管理公司均持有瑞信AT1債券。自上次提交監(jiān)管文件以來,他們持有的債券可能已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化或者完全出售。
3月17日,在交易宣布之前,彭博新聞社(Bloomberg News)聯(lián)系了太平洋和BlueBay,但二者均拒絕置評。景順的一名發(fā)言人說,其投資團(tuán)隊正在繼續(xù)關(guān)注事態(tài)發(fā)展。
AT1債券在全球金融危機后被引入歐洲,目的是在銀行出現(xiàn)倒閉跡象時起到減震器的作用。AT1債券的設(shè)計初衷是將損失永久轉(zhuǎn)移給債券持有人,或者在銀行的資本充足率低于預(yù)定水平時轉(zhuǎn)換為股權(quán),從而有效支撐銀行的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表,以便銀行能夠繼續(xù)經(jīng)營。
3月19日,這些債券的價格大幅波動,交易員們罕見地進(jìn)行了周末交易,認(rèn)真權(quán)衡兩種可能情況:要么監(jiān)管機構(gòu)將該銀行部分或整體國有化,可能會完全減計瑞信的AT1債券,要么由瑞銀收購,債券持有人則可能不會遭受損失。
當(dāng)交易最終敲定時,該債券的價格在低至20美分及高至70美分之間大幅波動。在瑞士金融市場監(jiān)督管理局的聲明發(fā)布后,一些交易部門只是簡單地向客戶通報出現(xiàn)了減記的消息。
過去兩周,這些高風(fēng)險歐洲銀行債券(又稱或有可轉(zhuǎn)換債券或CoCo債)的整體市場也大幅下挫,3月17日,AT1平均價格約為面值的80%,為有記錄以來出現(xiàn)的最大折價之一。
手榴彈
對一些投資者而言,由于此類債券存在種種眾所周知的缺陷,瑞銀交易導(dǎo)致其完全減計并不令人意外。
Brandywine全球投資管理公司(Brandywine Global Investment Management)的投資組合經(jīng)理約翰·麥克萊恩稱,AT1債券的持有人知道,他們購買的是高風(fēng)險高收益?zhèn)喈?dāng)于自帶手榴彈。
“防止道德危機蔓延到這部分市場,這絕對是正確的做法?!彼f,“這類債券就是為了這樣的時刻而生。類似于災(zāi)難債券?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:Agatha
在瑞士銀行集團(tuán)(UBS Group AG)收購瑞士信貸集團(tuán)(Credit Suisse Group AG)后,抹去了價值約160億瑞郎(約合173億美元)的高風(fēng)險債券,導(dǎo)致瑞信債券的持有人遭受了歷史性重大損失。
瑞士的金融監(jiān)管機構(gòu)瑞士金融市場監(jiān)督管理局(FINMA)在其網(wǎng)站上的一份聲明中表示,該交易將導(dǎo)致瑞信的額外一級債券(AT1債券)“完全減記”為零,以增加其核心資本。與此同時,該銀行的股東將獲得30億瑞郎。
對于歐洲2,750億美元的AT1債券市場來說,此次債券清零是史上規(guī)模最大的一次,遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過了迄今為止除此之外唯一一次類似的債券減記:2017年,西班牙大眾銀行(Banco Popular SA)的次級債券持有人遭受了13.5億歐元(約合14.4億美元)的損失,當(dāng)時西班牙桑坦德銀行(Banco Santander SA)以1歐元的價格收購了大眾銀行,以免后者破產(chǎn)。在那種情況下,也出現(xiàn)了股權(quán)沖銷。
在典型的減記場景里,在AT1債券持有人面臨虧損前,首先受到?jīng)_擊的往往是股東,瑞信在本周早些時候的投資者報告中也指出了這一點。這也是為什么決定減記該行風(fēng)險最高的債務(wù)不是股東股權(quán)的決策引起了一些AT1債券持有人的強烈反應(yīng)。
“這根本沒有任何道理。”Aquila資產(chǎn)管理公司(Aquila Asset Management AG)的投資組合經(jīng)理帕特里克·考夫曼說,“這將對AT1市場造成全面打擊。你可以引用我的話?!?/p>
考夫曼認(rèn)為,資金應(yīng)該先流向AT1持有人,不用留給股東任何東西,因為“資本結(jié)構(gòu)中的優(yōu)先級需要得到尊重?!?/p>
AT1債券持有人
彭博社(Bloomberg)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示,太平洋投資管理公司(Pacific Investment Management Co.)、景順控股(Invesco Ltd.)和BlueBay Funds Management Co. SA等資產(chǎn)管理公司均持有瑞信AT1債券。自上次提交監(jiān)管文件以來,他們持有的債券可能已經(jīng)發(fā)生了變化或者完全出售。
3月17日,在交易宣布之前,彭博新聞社(Bloomberg News)聯(lián)系了太平洋和BlueBay,但二者均拒絕置評。景順的一名發(fā)言人說,其投資團(tuán)隊正在繼續(xù)關(guān)注事態(tài)發(fā)展。
AT1債券在全球金融危機后被引入歐洲,目的是在銀行出現(xiàn)倒閉跡象時起到減震器的作用。AT1債券的設(shè)計初衷是將損失永久轉(zhuǎn)移給債券持有人,或者在銀行的資本充足率低于預(yù)定水平時轉(zhuǎn)換為股權(quán),從而有效支撐銀行的資產(chǎn)負(fù)債表,以便銀行能夠繼續(xù)經(jīng)營。
3月19日,這些債券的價格大幅波動,交易員們罕見地進(jìn)行了周末交易,認(rèn)真權(quán)衡兩種可能情況:要么監(jiān)管機構(gòu)將該銀行部分或整體國有化,可能會完全減計瑞信的AT1債券,要么由瑞銀收購,債券持有人則可能不會遭受損失。
當(dāng)交易最終敲定時,該債券的價格在低至20美分及高至70美分之間大幅波動。在瑞士金融市場監(jiān)督管理局的聲明發(fā)布后,一些交易部門只是簡單地向客戶通報出現(xiàn)了減記的消息。
過去兩周,這些高風(fēng)險歐洲銀行債券(又稱或有可轉(zhuǎn)換債券或CoCo債)的整體市場也大幅下挫,3月17日,AT1平均價格約為面值的80%,為有記錄以來出現(xiàn)的最大折價之一。
手榴彈
對一些投資者而言,由于此類債券存在種種眾所周知的缺陷,瑞銀交易導(dǎo)致其完全減計并不令人意外。
Brandywine全球投資管理公司(Brandywine Global Investment Management)的投資組合經(jīng)理約翰·麥克萊恩稱,AT1債券的持有人知道,他們購買的是高風(fēng)險高收益?zhèn)?,相?dāng)于自帶手榴彈。
“防止道德危機蔓延到這部分市場,這絕對是正確的做法?!彼f,“這類債券就是為了這樣的時刻而生。類似于災(zāi)難債券。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:Agatha
Holders of Credit Suisse Group AG bonds suffered a historic loss when a takeover by UBS Group AG wiped out about 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.3 billion) worth of risky notes.
The deal will trigger a “complete write-down” of the bank’s additional tier 1 bonds in order to increase core capital, Swiss financial regulator FINMA said in a statement on its website. Meanwhile, the bank’s shareholders are set to receive 3 billion francs.
The bond wipe out is the biggest loss yet for Europe’s $275 billion AT1 market, far eclipsing the only other write-down to date of this type of security: a €1.35 billion ($1.44 billion) loss suffered by junior bondholders of Spanish lender Banco Popular SA back in 2017, when it was absorbed by Banco Santander SA for one euro to avoid a collapse. In that instance, the equity was also written off.
In a typical writedown scenario, shareholders are the first to take a hit before AT1 bonds face losses, as Credit Suisse also guided in a presentation to investors earlier this week. That’s why the decision to write down the bank’s riskiest debt — rather than its shareholders — provoked a furious response from some of Credit Suisse’s AT1 bondholders.
“This just makes no sense,” said Patrik Kauffmann, a portfolio manager at Aquila Asset Management AG. “This will be a total blow to the AT1 market. You can quote me on that.”
Kauffmann believes that money should have gone to AT1 holders instead, leaving nothing for shareholders, as “seniority in the capital structure need to be respected.”
AT1 bondholders
Pacific Investment Management Co., Invesco Ltd. and BlueBay Funds Management Co. SA were among the many asset managers holding Credit Suisse AT1 notes, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Their holdings may have changed or been sold entirely since their last regulatory filings.
Pimco and BlueBay declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg News on March 17, before the deal was announced. A spokeswoman for Invesco said that its investment teams are continuing to monitor developments.
AT1 bonds were introduced in Europe after the global financial crisis to serve as shock absorbers when banks start to fail. They are designed to impose permanent losses on bondholders or be converted into equity if a bank’s capital ratios fall below a predetermined level, effectively propping up its balance sheet and allowing it to stay in business.
Prices on those bonds fluctuated wildly as traders gathered for a rare weekend session on March 19 to weigh two scenarios: either the regulator would nationalize part or the whole bank, possibly writing off Credit Suisse’s AT1 bonds entirely, or a UBS buyout with potentially no losses for bondholders.
Prices oscillated between 20 cents on the dollar to as high as 70 cents when the deal was finalized. Following the FINMA announcement, some trading desks simply updated their clients that a write-down had occurred.
The broader market for those risky European bank bonds, also known as contingent convertibles or CoCos, has also tumbled in the past two weeks, with the average AT1 indicated at a price of about 80% of face value on March 17, one of the steepest discounts on record.
Hand grenades
For some investors, the fact the UBS deal rendered the notes worthless came as no surprise, given their well-known downsides.
Holders of AT1s knew they were buying high-yield risk with a hand grenade attached to it, according to John McClain, portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management.
“It’s absolutely the right thing to do to prevent moral hazard from creeping into that part of the market,” he said. “Those bonds were created for moments like this. Similar to catastrophe bonds.”