May 10, 2013

Bernanke gave a speech of note titled Monitoring the Financial System:

A fair summary is that, while the shadow banking sector is smaller today than before the crisis and some of its least stable components have either disappeared or been reformed, regulators and the private sector need to address remaining vulnerabilities. For example, although money market funds were strengthened by reforms undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2010, the possibility of a run on these funds remains–for instance, if a fund should “break the buck,” or report a net asset value below 99.5 cents, as the Reserve Primary Fund did in 2008. The risk is increased by the fact that the Treasury no longer has the power to guarantee investors’ holdings in money funds, an authority that was critical for stopping the 2008 run. In November 2012, the FSOC proposed for public comment some alternative approaches for the reform of money funds. The SEC is currently considering these and other possible steps.

In light of the current low interest rate environment, we are watching particularly closely for instances of “reaching for yield” and other forms of excessive risk-taking, which may affect asset prices and their relationships with fundamentals. It is worth emphasizing that looking for historically unusual patterns or relationships in asset prices can be useful even if you believe that asset markets are generally efficient in setting prices. For the purpose of safeguarding financial stability, we are less concerned about whether a given asset price is justified in some average sense than in the possibility of a sharp move. Asset prices that are far from historically normal levels would seem to be more susceptible to such destabilizing moves.

From a financial stability perspective, however, the assessment of asset valuations is only the first step of the analysis. Also to be considered are factors such as the leverage and degree of maturity mismatch being used by the holders of the asset, the liquidity of the asset, and the sensitivity of the asset’s value to changes in broad financial conditions. Differences in these factors help explain why the correction in equity markets in 2000 and 2001 did not induce widespread systemic disruptions, while the collapse in house prices and in the quality of mortgage credit during the 2007-09 crisis had much more far-reaching effects: The losses from the stock market declines in 2000 and 2001 were widely diffused, while mortgage losses were concentrated–and, through various financial instruments, amplified–in critical parts of the financial system, resulting ultimately in panic, asset fire sales, and the collapse of credit markets.

It was a mildly negative day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerpetualPremiums down 5bp, FixedResets off 2bp and DeemedRetractibles flat. Volatility was ho-hum. Volume was low.

HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices
These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices

Values are provisional and are finalized monthly
Index Mean
Current
Yield
(at bid)
Median
YTW
Median
Average
Trading
Value
Median
Mod Dur
(YTW)
Issues Day’s Perf. Index Value
Ratchet 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.3711 % 2,580.1
FixedFloater 3.91 % 3.14 % 33,480 18.81 1 -0.6953 % 4,199.1
Floater 2.70 % 2.92 % 83,424 19.91 4 -0.3711 % 2,785.9
OpRet 4.81 % -1.07 % 66,310 0.14 5 -0.0106 % 2,612.6
SplitShare 4.79 % 4.25 % 109,762 4.07 5 0.2492 % 2,969.9
Interest-Bearing 0.00 % 0.00 % 0 0.00 0 -0.0106 % 2,389.0
Perpetual-Premium 5.21 % 2.25 % 92,420 0.43 31 -0.0469 % 2,380.9
Perpetual-Discount 4.86 % 4.89 % 198,272 15.61 4 -0.1016 % 2,679.1
FixedReset 4.87 % 2.60 % 255,045 3.37 81 -0.0237 % 2,522.9
Deemed-Retractible 4.87 % 3.29 % 134,443 0.94 44 0.0046 % 2,460.8
Performance Highlights
Issue Index Change Notes
CU.PR.E Perpetual-Premium -1.27 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2021-09-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.41
Bid-YTW : 4.08 %
CU.PR.C FixedReset -1.26 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-06-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 2.34 %
IAG.PR.F Deemed-Retractible 1.06 % YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2015-03-31
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.63
Bid-YTW : 4.71 %
Volume Highlights
Issue Index Shares
Traded
Notes
TD.PR.K FixedReset 52,627 RBC crossed 40,000 at 26.30.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-07-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.30
Bid-YTW : 2.09 %
ENB.PR.N FixedReset 50,133 Scotia crossed 25,000 at 26.18.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2018-12-01
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.09
Bid-YTW : 3.30 %
BNS.PR.Z FixedReset 42,181 RBC crossed 30.000 at 25.30.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.28
Bid-YTW : 2.86 %
BMO.PR.Q FixedReset 40,220 RBC crossed 30,000 at 25.50.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2022-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.45
Bid-YTW : 2.76 %
TD.PR.G FixedReset 38,891 RBC crossed 25,000 at 26.00.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-04-30
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.01
Bid-YTW : 2.20 %
BAM.PR.T FixedReset 34,208 Scotia crossed 24,800 at 25.95.
YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-10
Maturity Price : 23.54
Evaluated at bid price : 25.92
Bid-YTW : 3.48 %
There were 21 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares.
Wide Spread Highlights
Issue Index Quote Data and Yield Notes
TCA.PR.Y Perpetual-Premium Quote: 51.01 – 51.50
Spot Rate : 0.4900
Average : 0.3486

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2014-03-05
Maturity Price : 50.00
Evaluated at bid price : 51.01
Bid-YTW : 3.24 %

MFC.PR.A OpRet Quote: 25.53 – 25.87
Spot Rate : 0.3400
Average : 0.2163

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-19
Maturity Price : 25.50
Evaluated at bid price : 25.53
Bid-YTW : -1.07 %

MFC.PR.F FixedReset Quote: 25.10 – 25.48
Spot Rate : 0.3800
Average : 0.2634

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Hard Maturity
Maturity Date : 2025-01-31
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 25.10
Bid-YTW : 3.04 %

TD.PR.Q Deemed-Retractible Quote: 26.60 – 26.84
Spot Rate : 0.2400
Average : 0.1411

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2013-06-09
Maturity Price : 26.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.60
Bid-YTW : -19.60 %

BAM.PR.N Perpetual-Discount Quote: 24.50 – 24.75
Spot Rate : 0.2500
Average : 0.1538

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Limit Maturity
Maturity Date : 2043-05-10
Maturity Price : 24.21
Evaluated at bid price : 24.50
Bid-YTW : 4.89 %

NA.PR.Q FixedReset Quote: 26.55 – 26.80
Spot Rate : 0.2500
Average : 0.1717

YTW SCENARIO
Maturity Type : Call
Maturity Date : 2017-11-15
Maturity Price : 25.00
Evaluated at bid price : 26.55
Bid-YTW : 2.34 %

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