Despite the plunge in Asian financial stocks this week on concerns over exposure to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Asian banks will have limited risk from their holdings of securities issued by the US mortgage firms, Moody’s Investors Service said yesterday.
“While some regional banks and insurers hold substantial amounts of paper issued or guaranteed by either of the two institutions, the risk of interim mark-to-market income statement losses is low and of actual principal or interest payment loss miniscule,” Deborah Schuler, a Moody’s senior vice president, said in a statement yesterday.
“In addition, possible foreign exchange-driven losses, given the decline in the US dollar and the fact that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities are US dollar-denominated, are mitigated by offsetting exposures at the banks,” she said.
Schuler’s statement came as the ratings agency released its latest report, Fannie and Freddie Threat to Asian Banks and Insurers Exaggerated.
The report follows a drop in investor confidence amid concerns that the problems at the two US companies could delay the recovery of the financial sector.
In Taiwan, the main bourse’s finance and insurance sub-index fell 7.82 percent this week, compared with a drop of 5.93 percent on the benchmark TAIEX.
With the exception of Australian and South Korean banks, Schuler said, most banks and insurance companies in the Asia-Pacific region are both liquid and sufficiently capitalized to cope with any loss-making investment securities.
FORCED LABOR: Customs officials have seized a 11.8 tonne shipment of products made from human hair on suspicion they were produced by people facing human rights abuses Federal authorities in New York City on Wednesday seized a shipment of weaves and other beauty accessories suspected to be made out of human hair taken from people locked inside a Chinese internment camp. US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) officials said that 11.8 tonnes of hair products worth an estimated US$800,000 were in the shipment. “The production of these goods constitutes a very serious human rights violation, and the detention order is intended to send a clear and direct message to all entities seeking to do business with the United States that illicit and inhumane practices will not be tolerated in
JUST QUESTIONS: Expelled reporter Ai Kezhu said that every member of Southeast Television had complied with the law and had not appeared on any talk shows Two Chinese reporters yesterday left Taiwan after the government revoked their accreditation and ordered them to leave amid a probe into allegations that several Chinese media outlets have set up studios and produced political talk shows in Taiwan. The two reporters — Ai Kezhu (艾珂竹) and Lu Qiang (盧薔) — worked for Fujian Province-based Southeast Television and arrived in Taiwan in December last year. The Mainland Affairs Council has launched an investigation after local media reported that Chinese broadcasters — including China Central Television, Southeast Television and FJTV — had set up studios in Taipei and produced political talk shows. Council Deputy Minister
UPTICK IN NUMBERS: The Taipei deputy mayor said the city has services to assist new immigrants, but has established an office specifically to help those from Hong Kong The Taiwan-Hong Kong Services and Exchanges Office today officially opens, where it is to provide humanitarian assistance to Hong Kongers, after Beijing yesterday passed a controversial national security law for the territory. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed dismay over China’s passage of the law, saying that Beijing has broken its pledge to allow Hong Kong to maintain a high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years following its handover from the UK. “I feel extremely disappointed [about the law’s passage], which means China did not keep its promise to Hong Kong,” Tsai said in Taipei. Beijing’s “broken promise” also
‘BASELESS ACCUSATIONS’: Ker Chien-ming said it was not possible to drop Chen Chu’s nomination, while KMT lawmakers accused their DPP rivals of ‘homicidal behavior’ The Legislative Yuan is to vote on President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) nominations for the Control Yuan on July 17 after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators regained access to the legislative chamber yesterday after it was occupied by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers for about 19 hours. The Legislative Yuan had been scheduled to meet yesterday morning to discuss its planned extraordinary session, but more than 20 KMT lawmakers on Sunday afternoon broke into the main chamber and occupied the legislative speaker’s podium to protest Tsai’s nomination of former Presidential Office secretary-general Chen Chu (陳菊) to be Control Yuan president. The KMT caucus
RSS