In Defense of Credit Writing

Posted on: 15 November 2016

By Alison Trapp

In an age where the short-hand language of Twitter and texts rules, why is formal credit writing still relevant for structured loans and leases? After all, when I have questioned analysts after reading an analysis that lacked depth, nearly every one could answer my questions and then some. They clearly…

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Migration to T+2 Settlement

Posted on: 29 February 2016

By Ken Kapner

Since shortening the US equity cycle in 1995 from T+5 to T+3, there has been a continued analysis and positioning to further shortening the number of business days from trade to settlement. In October 2014, a total of 29 countries, including France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, the UK and…

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Reverse Yankees—A New Type of Bond

Posted on: 8 November 2015

By Alison Trapp

The first six months of 2015 saw the emergence of the “Reverse Yankee” bond market. What exactly is a Reverse Yankee, and what makes it of interest? Simply put, a Reverse Yankee is a bond issued by a US company, usually high grade, outside of the US and denominated in…

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CCAR and DFAST—Do You Pass the Test?

Posted on: 5 November 2015

By Ken Kapner

As President and CEO of GFMI, I travel often and have the opportunity to hear questions from a variety of sources: asset managers, institutional investors, regulators, and bankers. One of the more frequent questions I hear is, “What’s the difference between CCAR and DFAST?” To help answer this question, one…

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Risk and Risk Management Resources

Posted on: 10 June 2015

By Ken Kapner

Here at Global Financial Markets Institute (GFMI) we’ve wrapped up the third quarter already and are preparing for the end-run of 2015. Already, our clients are planning budgets for 2016 and, in response, the team at GFMI are preparing our subject matter experts’ calendars for next year’s financial learning requests.…

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The Federal Reserve Tools

Posted on: 24 April 2015

By Ken Kapner

In GFMI’s latest article, The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present, I touch upon a topic that might be familiar to some, yet still a mystery to others. It seemed a timely topic, since the Fed said in March 2015: “Economic growth moderated (some); there are improvements in the labor…

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Ringing in a New Year Built on Relationships

Posted on: 30 December 2014

By Ken Kapner

It’s natural at this time of year to pause and take a moment to reflect on what we’ve seen, experienced, and accomplished over the past 12 months. As I think back on all that’s occurred with GFMI this year, I keep coming back to the concept of “relationship.” When we…

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Municipal Bonds – 2014 Update

Posted on: 11 December 2014

By Ken Kapner

A glance at some of the financial markets headlines over the past two months will tell you why we’re featuring our second article on municipal bonds within the past two years: Detroit Bankruptcy is Marked by Speed Fed Will Consider Adding Municipal Debt as Quality Asset World Trade Center Tower…

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The Fed and the Quest for Normalization

Posted on: 14 October 2014

By Ken Kapner

It is no secret that the Fed’s, or more specifically, the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC),  asset purchases have created an enormous amount of money in the financial system. Traditionally, pre-crisis, the Fed would simply execute an overnight reverse repo transaction (ON RRP), sometimes known as matched sales, in order…

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