Ottawa unveils a "bail-in" plan for banks
The Liberal government wants bank shareholders and bondholders to be responsible for bailing out their banks if they fail. But the plan is a long, long way from reality.
Nearly a decade after Wall Street's meltdown wiped out trillions of dollars in value from global markets, Canada and other countries are still trying to implement measures to protect taxpayers from bank bailouts. Ottawa unveiled a so-called "bail-in" plan in Tuesday's federal budget.
Ottawa wants to give regulators authority to convert a bank's long-term debt into shares if the financial institution needs to be recapitalized. The idea is that banks' shareholders and creditors would be on the hook instead of taxpayers.
But legislation has not been introduced, giving the banking community ample time to tweak and delay rules. FULL STORY
Airport investments not without risk
Canada's pension funds have been snapping up stakes in airports, toll roads and shipping ports to bolster their portfolios with assets that are often seen to be safe, steady and cash-gushing over the longer term. But Tuesday's series of deadly explosions at a pair of commuter hubs in Belgium show how owning infrastructure is clearly not without risk. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which manages roughly $155-billion in net assets on behalf of 311,000 working and retired teachers, owns a 39-per-cent interest in the Brussels airport, where two bombs were detonated during the morning rush hour Tuesday. The fund issued a statement to extend its sympathy to the victims and added that it's "in close contact" with the airport and Belgian government officials. FULL STORY
China still shopping in Canada's oil patch
Remember the days of Canada's fears about China taking over the energy industry? It seems now like a quaint misunderstanding of an bygone era. China's still a buyer, though – only on a much smaller scale and at a slower pace. FULL STORY
DAILY DEALS
Fiera Capital Corp. says it has created a joint venture with Toronto-based Aquila Infrastructure Management Inc. to form Fiera Infrastructure Inc. It said the infrastructure platform will have invested and committed capital of about $500-million will bring Fiera Capital's current infrastructure asset portfolio to $1.2-billion. PRESS RELEASE
Taiwan's Foxconn aims to lower its offer for Japan's Sharp Corp by at least around ¥100-billion ($893-million) to account for likely worse than expected annual earnings at the loss-making electronics firm and for newly revealed risks, two sources said on Tuesday. STORY
Some of the biggest shareholders of Deutsche Boerse AG are cautioning management not to overpay for London Stock Exchange Group PLC if a counteroffer emerges, according to people familiar with the matter. STORY
ON THE MOVE
Investment giant IGM Financial Inc. will be getting a new leader this spring as Murray Taylor, co-president and chief executive officer has announced his retirement. STORY
Manulife Financial Corp. announced that Cindy Forbes has been appointed to the newly-created role of chief analytics officer, effective April 1, 2016. PRESS RELEASE
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Cedric Ritchie, the man who transformed Bank of Nova Scotia into a truly international bank, has died. He was 88. STORY
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