Q: It was in the news recently that the Federal Reserve had called in the Banks for briefings. It appeared to be centred around the issue of private credit and exposures in the system. The last time I recall a scenario where the Banks were called in was during the financial crisis in 2008 and at that time there was a lot of discussion about corporate liquidity and potential mergers as the crisis of confidence unfolded. What is your perspective on this situation?
5i Research Answer:
We don't think the two events are similar. Sometimes there will be meetings like this to get a pulse on industry trends and for information sharing but we do not think it is an emergency scenario. Somtimes these things are done for optics as well, to show that everyone is aware of and 'on top' of the things that are worrying markets.