Business News in Brief: In the firing line of the tower of Basel

In other news, Nationalbanken is also concerned by new rules, whilst saying Vestas is concerned is putting it very, very mildly indeed

Ben Hamilton

Dec 8, 2017

Capital requirements for Denmark’s largest banks could increase by up to 83 billion kroner once new rules agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on Thursday are fully phased in – an increase of around a third that will mean they will ultimately have to pass on the cost to their customers.

The business minister, Brian Mikkelsen, has indicated the government will appeal to the EU over the rules agreed by the so-called ‘central bank of central banks’.

“Denmark will put forward in the EU a demand that the Danish financial sector should not be hit unnecessarily hard and we will work for the capital requirements to continue to reflect the actual risks,” he said.

Mikkelsen contends that the new rules will make it far more expensive for Danes to become homeowners.

Central bank wary of new banking rules
Lars Rohde, the head of Nationalbanken, the country’s central bank, has expressed concern about how new bail-in rules for the banking industry could create grey areas if they don’t apply to mortgage lenders as well. The operation of financial conglomerates such as Danske Bank and Nordea, which both own or operate mortgage-lending units, would become “unsustainable”, according to Bloomberg.

Vestas set to lose a bundle in the US
Vestas could lose 50-70 billion kroner in the US over the next five years should the country’s proposed tax reform go ahead. It would prevent foreign companies from making use of tax deductions and most probably lead to thousands of wind turbine projects being dropped across the US – as many as 70 percent of those planned. In 2015, Vestas controlled 73 percent of the market share in the US. In related news, another deal for Vestas in China – this time for 70 MW in Dezhou in Shandong Province – has taken its 2017 order intake in excess of 700 MW.

Pension firms open to more transparency
Two major pension firms, ATP and Danica Pension, have welcomed a Parliament bill to introduce further measures to increase the transparency of pension fund investments. When the seven year plan was passed in November, it was noted that an agreement with the pension providers would be necessary. It is hoped that the new bill will lead to greater investment in Danish companies, whilst also providing pension buyers with a fuller picture of the investment choices made by the companies.