Polo Rocha is a Washington D.C.-based reporter who covers consumer finance and national banking trends. He previously covered the Federal Reserve at S&P Global Market Intelligence and state politics at WisPolitics.com. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is pursuing a master's in finance degree at Johns Hopkins University.
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The BSBY interest rate benchmark was originally envisioned as a successor to the once-ubiquitous Libor rate. But it failed to gain much traction, and Bloomberg now plans to shut it down next year.
By Polo RochaNovember 27 -
Concerns about large unrealized losses on bond investments have receded since the spring banking crisis, but the paper losses have started growing again in recent months. The worries today are less about banks' survival — and more about how much their margins will get squeezed.
By Polo RochaSeptember 12 -
The Federal Reserve took action against a small bank in southern Illinois whose exposures to interest rate changes left it with negative equity last year. The enforcement action comes as regulators review their oversight practices following Silicon Valley Bank's failure.
By Polo RochaMay 5 -
First Republic Bank was shuttered by regulators early Monday, and all its deposits and most of its assets were acquired by JPMorgan. San Francisco-based First Republic was undone by low-rate mortgages it made to its wealthy customers as well as by the fallout from last month's banking crisis.
By Polo RochaMay 1 -
The decrease in long-term interest rates this year has helped banks' bond portfolios recover a bit. Some of them may consider restructuring their securities portfolios in the short run, and longer-term changes are also possible as the fallout from last month's crisis continues.
By Polo RochaApril 12 -
Shares in Silicon Valley Bank's parent company plunged 60% after executives announced they would sell a large bond portfolio at a big loss. The market "seems to be pricing in greater liquidity needs" than the bank currently anticipates, one analyst said.
By Polo RochaMarch 9 -
Significantly fewer households expected to be in worse shape in the coming year than was the case last summer, according to a December survey. The results are a positive sign for banks at the start of earnings season.
By Polo RochaJanuary 9 -
The chances of an economic slowdown are rising as the Federal Reserve is poised to take further steps to tame inflation, say the heads of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.
By Polo RochaMay 4