PHILIPPINES: Marcos Says Administration Rejig Could Go Deeper Than Cabinet Level
May-28 07:58
Philippine President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. suggested that the shake-up of his administration might go beyond his Cabinet and reiterated that he was eager to seek reconciliation with the powerful Duterte clan, it cannot come with conditions.
- Politiko reported that the President was looking 'to revive the Office of the Cabinet Secretary - a position he abolished upon taking office in 2022 - as part of his sweeping Cabinet overhaul'. He was reportedly planning to offer the job to ex-Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos.
- The report notes that an interim appointee might head the Office until the expiry of a one-year ban on appointing losing election candidates, which currently blocks Abalos from taking the role.
- Separately, a source told Politiko that Marcos could oust his close aide and current Special Assistant Anton Lagdameo for his role in the disappointing performance of Marcos-backed senatorial slate in the recent mid-term elections.
- This comes after Marcos told reporters on the margins of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia this week that the ongoing performance review might be carried out 'not only at the Cabinet level, but even deeper.'
- Meanwhile, Marcos expressed his opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, who now appears to have the numbers to kill the motion in the Senate, with a recent Pulse Asia survey suggesting it was supported by just 28% of Filipinos.
- On a potential reconciliation with the Dutertes, Marcos said that it should not come with any conditions, pushing back against suggestions that he should facilitate the return of his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who remains in ICC custody in the Hague.
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STIR: SFRM5 Blocked
Apr-28 07:58
Latest block trade lodged at 08:47:06 London/03:47:06 NY:
- SFRM5 1K lots blocked at 95.885, looks like a seller.
SWAPS: German ASWs A Little Narrower As Bonds Struggle
Apr-28 07:55
The weakness in outright bonds/uptick in European equities leaves German ASWs narrower early this week.
- Spreads vs. 3-month Euribor are 0.2-0.9bp narrower on the day, with Schatz leading the narrowing.
- However, the Schatz spread has failed to breach Friday’s low, while longer dated variants have traded through their respective Friday lows.
- Zooming out, a slightly more conducive risk tone has started to counter the widening theme seen in the second half of March/early April.
- A reminder that early March saw fresh cycle lows for long-dated spreads, following the German “whatever it takes” fiscal moment.
- That was before a lack of an immediate ramp up in issuance and the well-documented increase in global trade/U.S. policy uncertainty weighed on wider risk sentiment, helping drag ASWs away from lows.
- The impending, meaningful uptick in German issuance should continue to play into long end ASW spread dynamics over the medium-term (it should move back to the fore in H225/H126), although positioning and swings in broader risk appetite need to be accounted for as well.
SNB: Tweak to Threshold Factor is Neutral for MonPol Stance
Apr-28 07:49
SNB adjusts the remuneration of sight deposits, lowering the threshold factor from 20 to 18, effective as of 1st June 2025.
- This is considered neutral for monetary policy purposes, as it offsets increases to minimum reserve requirements.
Full SNB release here.
- What this effectively means is that more sight deposits are remunerated at a discount to the the SNB policy rate (rather than at the policy rate).
- The SNB is conducting this move in order to ensure monpol remains effective and the transmission mechanism isn't hampered by minimum reserve requirements rising (which they're expected to continue to do over the coming three years).
- The move follows recent previous adjustments to reduce the threshold factor that were implemented in October 2024 and February 2025.
- As such, no notable response in EUR/CHF, still below the overnight high of 0.9438.
