FED: SLR Proposal Would Ease Rules For Large Banks (2/2)
Jun-25 18:31
MNI's Policy Team summarizes the SLR issue and the proposal in the bullet points below (the Fed Board memo with the proposal is in this PDF).
- "The eSLR requires the biggest banks to hold capital against relatively safe assets as a backstop to risk-based capital requirements. As reserves and Treasury holdings in the banking system have skyrocketed over the past decade, the SLR has had the unintended consequence of disincentivizing dealers from engaging in Treasury market making.
- "The proposal would see a significant reduction in capital requirements at the bank level and increase the risk that a global systemically important bank would fail or not be able to undergo an orderly resolution, Barr and Kugler said. It would reduce tier 1 capital requirements by 27% at GSIBs' depository institution subsidiaries, resulting in a USD210 billion decline in bank capital, as well as reduce total loss absorbing capacity by 5% or USD73 billion, and long-term debt requirements by 16% or USD132 billion.
- "For U.S. GSIBs, the proposal replaces the 2% eSLR buffer with half of the GSIB’s method 1 surcharge to restore the leverage requirement. This approach would significantly reduce the likelihood of the eSLR becoming binding under stress conditions for the largest banks and would more closely align it with the Basel leverage ratio standard, the Fed said.
- "For GSIB bank subsidiaries, the proposal also replaces the 3% eSLR buffer with half of the GSIB’s method 1 surcharge, enabling the largest banks to allocate capital more efficiently within their organizations, including to their affiliated broker-dealers, the Fed said."
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COMMODITIES: Crude Steady As Reversal Signals Remain In Play, Gold Edges Lower
May-26 17:41
- Crude erased earlier gains to be little changed on the day, as more optimism towards US-Iran negotiations and an expected OPEC+ supply hike from July offset support from a delay in US tariffs on EU imports.
- WTI Jul 25 is broadly unchanged at $61.6/bbl.
- OPEC+’s seemingly hard-line approach to punishing its overproducing members risks plunging crude into a full-blown price war, Bloomberg said.
- For WTI futures, the recovery since Apr 9 appears corrective. The medium-term bearish technical theme remains intact, with key support and the bear trigger at that Apr 9 low, at $54.33.
- For bulls, key resistance to watch is $62.66, the 50-day EMA, a clear break of which would open $65.82, the Apr 4 high.
- Meanwhile, spot gold has fallen by 0.5% to $3,342/oz, leaving the yellow metal just below Friday’s two-week high of $3,365.9.
- Amid some signs of progress in US trade negotiations, Bloomberg reports that physically backed gold ETF’s have seen five straight weeks of outflows since peaking at the highest in more than a year in mid-April.
- Medium-term trend signals for gold remain bullish, however, with moving average studies in a bull-mode position, highlighting a dominant uptrend.
- A continuation higher would open $3,435.6 next, the May 7 high. Key support and the bear trigger has been defined at $3,121.0, the May 15 low.
FOREX: USD Set To Finish Off Of Worst Levels
May-26 15:04
The USD has underperformed many of its G10 FX peers for much of the day, with ongoing policy uncertainty continuing to provide headwinds for the greenback after President Trump delayed the timeline for the imposition of 50% tariffs on the EU following a conversation with EC President Von Der Leyen.
- The BBDXY registered a fresh ’25 low, piercing the Dec ’23 low in the process. Bears will look to force a break of the ’23 closing low (1,200.41) next.
- A reminder that liquidity was thinned by the U.S. & UK public holidays.
- EUR/USD extended the recent bullish move, trading as high as 1.1419 before fading back to 1.1380. Next resistance of note seen at the 76.4% retracement of the Apr 21 - May 12 bear leg (1.1453).
- GBP/USD topped out at 1.3593 before a pullback to 1.3560. The 1.382 projection of the Feb 28 - Apr 3 - 7 price swing (1.3605) presents the next upside area of note.
- USD/JPY has recovered from the lowest levels registered in May (142.23 printed in Tokyo trade), with the wider risk reaction to the delay of the tariffs on the EU providing some counter. Spot last deals at 142.80 after reaching 143.08, with bears remaining in technical control. A move through today’s lows would expose the 76.4% retracement of the Apr 22 - May 12 bull leg (141.96). Bulls need to retake the 20-day EMA (144.66) to start turning the tide in their favour.
- Risk proxy FX (AUD, NZD, NOK & SEK) outperformed for much of the session on the U.S.-EU tariff relief but also faded from best levels against the USD.
- Note that AUD/USD cleared next resistance at 0.6515 before fading back to 0.6500.
- U.S. consumer confidence & durable goods data headlines on Tuesday, complimented by Fedspeak from Kashkari & Barkin and ECB speak from Villeroy & Nagel.
US TSYS: TY Closes Opening Gap Lower
May-26 14:51
Tsy futures have closed the gap lower seen at the Asia open, with the contract last flat at 110-02+.
- This comes with e-minis and crude oil futures moving away from session highs, helping counter the sell off that was driven by Trump delaying the imposition of the 50% tariff on the EU.
- The contract’s technical bear cycle that started in early May remains intact.
- Initial support and resistance located at 109-13 & 110-21+, respectively.
- A reminder that activity ahs been limited by the presence of the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S., with cash Tsys closed and futures set to close early (13:00 NY/18:00 London).
- Roll activity has synthetically boosted volumes, latest completion estimates provided below:
- TU: 56.2%
- FV: 54.5%
- TY: 56.2%
- UXY: 44.3%
- US: 57.9%
- WN: 59.9%
- Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari underscored the need for the central bank to remain on hold for “a while” over the weekend, given the macro uncertainty evident at present.
- Fed Funds futures show ~46.5bp of cuts through December vs. ~48bp late on Friday.
- Durable goods and consumer confidence data headline the U.S. calendar on Tuesday, with comments from Fed’s Kashkari & Barkin also slated. Elsewhere, the Treasury will sell 2-Year paper.
