(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own)

By George Hay

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Britain’s new bank
capital tsar is all bark and no bite. Back in November, the Bank
of England’s Financial Policy Committee warned that UK lenders
could be looking at a 50 billion pound capital hole. On May 22
it emerged that Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) and Royal Bank of
Scotland (RBS.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) won’t actually need to raise any new capital at
all. It’s not a great start for the new regulatory framework.

(The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions
expressed are their own)

By Peter Thal Larsen and George Hay

HONG KONG/LONDON, May 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Britain’s
principled approach to banks’ holdings of sovereign debt could
have a perverse outcome. The watchdog has taken the sensible
step of demanding that lenders expect big losses if government
bonds default. That helps fix one of the biggest flaws in
measuring bank capital. But pan-European rules mean that risky
euro zone debt is excluded from the precautions.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own)

By George Hay

LONDON, May 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L: Quote , Profile , Research )
has taken another baby step towards becoming a real bank. The UK
supermarket chain confirmed on May 8 that it would buy out
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) from their 50:50 joint venture,
but continued to shy away from offering the main products that
banks offer – current accounts and mortgages. The apparent
timidity could be a holding strategy.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own)

By George Hay

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Barclays (BARC.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) is
under the spotlight after Deutsche Bank’s (DBKGn.DE: Quote , Profile , Research ) capital
U-turn. Having trumpeted an organic capital strategy since being
appointed co-chief executives of the German bank last year,
Juergen Fitschen and Anshu Jain finally opted for a 3 billion
pound equity placing to bolster capital. Barclays new boss
Antony Jenkins doesn’t look immune to a similar volte face.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own)

By George Hay

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Justin Welby’s
sermon on UK banks is welcome, but flawed. Britain’s new
Archbishop of Canterbury has called for a big UK bank to be
split up. Welby’s financial literacy means his views are, to an
unusual degree, worth listening to. Sadly, the time for penance
for the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) is probably
already past.

(Updates share prices in Context)

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are his own)

By George Hay

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Cypriot depositors
will be spitting tacks. Greece’s two largest banks, National
Bank of Greece (NBGr.AT: Quote , Profile , Research ) and Eurobank (EFGr.AT: Quote , Profile , Research ), need 15.6
billion euros of capital between them. They have been struggling
to attract private funds. But instead of suffering a
Cypriot-style scalping in the form of a proper bail-in, they
will be kept whole. What gives?