Majors using capital valuations as a 'marketing tool'
Morgij Analytics has again weighed into the debate over recent claims by the major banks that there is no need for them to hold more capital. Morgij Analytics commissioned John Watson of Margate Financial Research to undertake an analysis of these claims made in the banks' second round submissions to the Murray inquiry. The results led Graham Andersen, CEO of Morgij Analytics, to conclude that the banks' assertions don't stack up on the evidence available. "Indeed, it is almost impossible for the level of certainty on international harmonisation that is asserted to hold true given differences in measurement on regional jurisdictional opacity," Andersen said.He noted that the PWC report to the Murray Inquiry, made on behalf of the Australian Bankers Association, stated its inability to produce results on harmonisation with any certainty, and highlighted that the calculation and valuation of capital ratios of banks "requires judgement about risk, and so often a high degree of subjectivity is also involved.""For the CBA, in its submission, to then recommend that Australian banks should only report these self-calculated harmonised international ratios, in essence as a marketing tool for Australia' major banks, stands on quick sand," Andersen said. Morgij also co-opted comments by new APRA chairman Wayne Byers, made last week, in which he warned that the risk weighted calculations of global banks led to "doubts about the reliability of risk measurement" and the "resulting ratios lack credibility as a reliable measure of financial strength" and so "the future of internal models in the regulatory framework is somewhat in the balance."