Friday Papers: EU bank regulators overhaul stress tests - other news

Financial Times

* European bank regulators have overhauled their guidelines on industry stress testing; the new guidelines are designed to be applied by regulators day by day.

* Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have burnt through $226bn in capital since the middle of 2007, according to a government report.

* US credit-card losses are falling faster than expected, with the six largest card issuers expected to earn nearly $10bn more in the coming 12 months than predicted, says a study by Moody’s.

* Crédit Agricole reported deepening losses in its international banking business driven by continued woes at its Greek bank; however, profits rose in most of the other businesses, helping to lift net profit to €849m in the six months to the end of June.

* Royal Bank of Canada reported net income of C$1.28bn (US$1.21bn), or 84 cents a share, for the three months to July 31, down from a record C$1.56bn, or C$1.05 a share, a year earlier.

* IKB’s chief executive has warned investors that a controversial investigation into its near-collapse could lead to further lawsuits against the German bank and threaten its existence.

* International banks have used a record amount of Spanish government bonds as collateral to borrow money in the markets this week, sparking hopes that credit problems in the troubled eurozone are easing.

* Germany's GfK consumer research organisation said on Thursday that its consumer climate index had risen in August to its highest since October last year and forecast that it would rise further in September.

* The US SEC has vowed to bring more high-profile enforcement actions against Wall Street over the financial crisis, following last month’s $550m settlement with Goldman Sachs.

* A number of the world’s biggest banks have launched international roadshows promoting the use of the renminbi to corporate customers instead of the dollar for trade deals with China.

* The FTSE All-World index is up by 0.3%; the S&P 500 index gave up opening gains to fall 0.8%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through the 10,000 level to close down 0.7%.