Basel III

With zero interest rates, the government has locked savers into a trap from which it is difficult to escape, but it is to its advantage, since it can finance its budget deficit at a lower cost. How does it do this? We must begin by asking the question: Why do banks and insurers buy debt that brings them little or nothing in return?

Faced with the coronavirus crisis, the central banks went into "open bar" mode: in the United States, the Federal Reserve announced on March 3 an injection of $1.5 trillion coupled with a cut in its key rate to zero, while the European Central Bank followed with the announcement on March 19 of a €750 billion emergency plan. And it is clear that they can go beyond that, from now on it is "no limit".

Will the date of March 29, 2019 remain in the history of gold? Certainly, because it marks the resurgence of precious metals in the banking and financial system.

There is a new alert out for banks and this time, it’s coming from a regulating agency worried of their capacity to weather an eventual next crisis. The alert was sounded by the FSB (Financial Stability Board), the G20’s organism in charge of financial regulation.

Even if its goals are laudable, a tough regulation always generates perverse effects. Such is the case with Basel III, and it’s a shame, because it’s the solidity of our banks that is concerned.

Incredibly, banks’ wishes have come true in the very first week of 2013 ! Should we rejoice ? Well, not really, because one of the main dispositions of Basel III, where prudential norms of the world banking sector are being discussed, has been emptied of its substance. The crisis of 2008 has show...