Recent comments in /f/wallstreetbets

Brokenthoughts2 t1_jcxjk7d wrote

Although this is not entirely true as contingent convertible bonds have specific covenants which allow them to be completely written off at certain trigger activation scenarios. Senior corporate bonds in perpetuity or junior subordinated bonds with fixed maturity usually don’t have such covenants and consequently are still impervious to such precedence.

Legally FINMA would never take such an action if they didn’t have a strong argument for the inevitable lawsuit that is to be followed. ‘Yes Bank’ in India is one such example where they wrote off AT1 bonds in their entirety before shareholders and had a high court ruling against their favour so not all hope is lost. Although, Credit Suisse is quite clear on their bond prospectus so their future ruling could go anywhere. But in principle, I agree that bondholders even if they’re CoCos should be given precedence over shareholders and FINMA’s stance may have something to do with Credit Suisse’s own management incentive.

Disclaimer: I personally have invested into high-yield bond funds and this news is definitely devastating for these specific funds and ipso facto my own portfolio.

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SeemoarAlpha t1_jcxhxm8 wrote

These CEO's of which you speak, may have shit on themselves if they want to end up at another bank. The problem is that by disrespecting the capitalization stack whereby bond holders had precedent over equity holder, a convention that had been a given for over 100 years, it will now make it harder for Banks to build a capital base by issuing bonds. This in turn will either make lending more expensive for borrowers or reduce the profitability for banks going forward. This was a terrible precedent.

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