FirstFT: Global regulators aim for tougher banking rules

Global regulators are consider stricter rules for small banks and forcing all lenders to prepare for faster runs on deposits after the recent financial turmoil rattled confidence in banks and rattled markets on both sides of the Atlantic.

Policymakers gathered in Washington for the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank last week told the Financial Times that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which sets global standards, focuses on the problems revealed by the demise of Silicon Valley Bank.

That could mean forcing mid-sized lenders such as SVB and the now-defunct Signature Bank to comply with Basel capital and liquidity rules, people briefed on the talks told the FT. Currently, the rules only apply to “internationally active” banks in the United States – a group limited to the largest institutions. No deadline has been set for these changes.

The Bank of England is also considering a major overhaul of its deposit guarantee scheme after the collapse of SVB, billions of pounds were withdrawn overnight from the bankrupt lender’s UK branch.

People briefed on the BoE’s thinking said reforms could include increasing the amount covered for businesses and requiring banks to pre-fund the system more to ensure faster access to liquidity when a lender runs out. collapses.

Here’s what I’ll be keeping an eye on today:

• Earnings: Retail broker Charles Schwab is the latest financial services firm to report earnings.

• Monetary Policy: Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to deliver a speech in Virginia.

• SpaceX: Elon Musk’s company should make its first attempt launch Starshipthe most powerful rocket ever launched into space.

Today we’re launching One Must-Read, a new newsletter that features a remarkable piece of journalism every day of the week. If you haven’t done so already, register here.

Five other top stories

1. A Delaware judge delayed the start of the Fox News-Dominion Voting Systems trial by a day, raising expectations for a last-minute settlement. The $1.6 billion libel trial was due to start today, but in a statement last night, Judge Eric Davis said the trial would now start tomorrow. Read more about the lawsuit here.

2. China’s new home prices rose at the fastest pace in 21 months in March, the last example of how fast the world’s second largest economy is recovering following the end of the zero-Covid policy. The latest upbeat data comes ahead of first-quarter GDP, which is due out tomorrow.

3. Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in “bloody and chaotic fighting” in Sudan between the army and a rival paramilitary group. The UN, US, EU, Russia and China have urged both sides to end the clashes that erupted on Saturday. Learn more about efforts to broker peace.

4. Merck has agreed to buy San Diago-based Prometheus Biosciences for $10.8 billion as an American drugmaker strengthens its pipeline in anticipation of a possible loss of exclusivity on its top-selling cancer drug later that decade.

5. G7 countries have committed to “accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels to achieve net zero in energy systems by 2050” following their summit in the Japanese city of Sapporo yesterday. The agreement was reached after weeks of arduous negotiations and claims that the world’s most advanced economies were backtracking on their climate targets because of the war in Ukraine.

Monday’s interview

Mohammed Alardhi, who fulfilled his dream of becoming a pilot and became the head of Oman’s air force, sees a connection between his teenage need for speed and his current role as executive chairman of Investcorp, the growing Bahrain-based investment manager. . “Pushing boundaries – that’s what I always try to do,” the 61-year-old told business reporter Andrew Hill. Read the full interview.

We also read. . .

• Military briefing: As the first phase of the Ukrainian Spring Counteroffensive approaches, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

• American immigration: THE return of migratory dynamism could mean good things for US growth and the fight against inflation, writes Rana Foroohar.

• Gates Foundation: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation makes an unusual investment in a French biotech start-up experimental cancer trial.

Card of the day

US President Joe Biden’s vast subsidies under the Chips Act and the Inflation Reduction Act are beginning to bear fruit. Investments committed in the production of semiconductors and clean technologies since August are almost double in 2021 and nearly 20 times that of 2019, according to FT analysis.

Take a break from the news

As cheap flights lose their appeal, the sleeper train is reborn as an environmental and romantic alternative. Find out more in the Weekend tryout.

Additional contributions from Tee Zhuo and Annie Jonas