The West’s fear of competition is leading for calls to recruit more Secret Policemen to enforce the laws of foreign countries:
Moving money in small increments to avoid reporting requirements is called “smurfing,” after the little blue cartoon characters who as small individuals constitute a larger whole. A record $194 billion exited China in September, according to a Bloomberg gauge estimating capital flows. The Chinese use numerous tactics to transfer money abroad, and smurfing is routine, with some of the cash flowing into overheated property markets in Vancouver, Hong Kong, New York and Sydney.
Now, as Chinese citizens bypass the country’s limit of converting $50,000 a person per year by enlisting friends, relatives and even employees to send out cash on their behalf, banks and regulators around the world are being forced to decide: Is it okay to knowingly allow Chinese citizens to evade their government’s controls if it doesn’t break your own country’s laws?
In Vancouver, a Supreme Court case showed that one lender, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, had assisted such transactions. The case arose when a CIBC financial adviser allowed a wealthy Chinese client to route two deposits of $50,000 through her private accounts to buy a home, leading to the dismissal of the banker for “commingling” her own funds with her client’s.
..
Elsewhere in China, examples include a company that ordered employees to use their accounts to wire money to Canada for private property purchases, according to Christine Duhaime, a Canadian lawyer specializing in financial crime.China’s rules are being “made a mockery of,” she said. “I wouldn’t do it if I ran the banks.”
Coming up next – banks will be put in charge of Canada’s efforts to stamp out Falun Gong. After all, if the Chinese government says something’s the right thing to do, how could it possibly be wrong? Another Bloomberg story illustrates other ways of getting money out of China, for those interested in a new career. However, it’s an an ill wind that blows nobody any good:
The Royal Bank of Canada scrapped an internal limit on mortgage-loan size for immigrants in the spring to tap into surging demand for financing on multi-million-dollar houses from newcomers to Vancouver.
Wealthy buyers, mostly from China, are fuelling a booming mortgage business in Vancouver, where the median price for a detached home in the desirable west side jumped 31 per cent to $2.87-million in the last two years.
RBC, Canada’s largest bank, removed its $1.25-million cap on loans to borrowers with no local credit history in May, said Christine Shisler, the bank’s director of multicultural markets, who works with an immigrant clientele.
“We’re seeing a lot of affluent newcomers looking to buy high purchase-price homes,” she said. “Now we can actually service any mortgage amount.”
Nevertheless, it’s clear that anti-money-laundering laws, foisted on a gullible public on the basis of Fighting Crime and Eliminating Terrorism, are actually being used as a non-tariff impediment to real-estate transactions. So what else is new?
Regulators in six provinces have announced a Finalized Offering Memorandum Exemption:
The following are some of the key investor protection measures included in the offering memorandum exemption:
- •Non-reporting issuers will be required to, among other measures, provide investors with audited annual financial statements and an annual notice describing how the proceeds raised under the offering memorandum exemption were used.
- •Any marketing materials will be required to be incorporated by reference in the offering memorandum so that they are subject to the same liability as the disclosure provided in the offering memorandum in the event of a misrepresentation.
- •Individual investors relying on the offering memorandum exemption will be subject to investment limits in most cases.
- •All investors will be required to sign a risk acknowledgement form.
The offering memorandum exemption was designed to facilitate capital-raising by allowing issuers to solicit investments from a wider range of investors than they would be able to under other prospectus exemptions, provided that certain conditions are met.
Provided all necessary ministerial approvals are obtained, the final amendments will come into force in Ontario on January 13, 2016 and in Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Québec and Saskatchewan on April 30, 2016.
The final amendments do not modify the OM exemption that exists in any CSA jurisdiction other than the participating jurisdictions.
The list of amendments to NI 45-106 notes:
The participating jurisdictions have adopted investment limits for both eligible and non-eligible investors that are individuals (other than those that qualify as accredited investors or under the family, friends and business associates exemption). These limits will not apply to non-individual investors, whether eligible or non-eligible. The final amendments permit a higher investment threshold for eligible investors when a portfolio manager, investment dealer or exempt market dealer has made a positive suitability assessment.
The investment limits will apply to all securities acquired under the OM exemption as follows:
- • in the case of a non-eligible investor that is an individual, the acquisition cost of all securities acquired by the purchaser under the OM exemption in the preceding 12 months cannot exceed $10,000,
- • in the case of an eligible investor that is an individual, the acquisition cost of all securities acquired by the purchaser under the OM exemption in the preceding 12 months cannot exceed $30,000, and
- • in the case of an eligible investor that is an individual and that receives advice from a portfolio manager, investment dealer or exempt market dealer that the investment above $30,000 is suitable, the acquisition cost of all securities acquired by the purchaser under the OM exemption in the preceding 12 months cannot exceed $100,000.
I’m not sure whether there are any possible implications for Malachite Aggressive Preferred Fund, but you can bet I’ll be asking my lawyer! Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP comments:
The OM Exemption reflects a balancing of interests: issuers are provided with the opportunity to tap into a larger pool of investors, but must have in place the financial and human resources to prepare an offering memorandum and produce audited annual financial statements. For non-reporting issuers, the OM Exemption can best be thought of as a stepping stone to becoming a public company.
One impediment for non-reporting issuers is that the offering memorandum and marketing materials filed with the Ontario Securities Commission will be publicly filed and therefore available to all of the issuer’s employees, customers, suppliers and competitors. In addition, small, early-stage issuers may not find the OM Exemption attractive due to the costs associated with preparing an offering memorandum and audited financial statements, ongoing disclosure obligations and potentially being designated as a market participant.
Reporting issuers, particularly junior issuers, may find the OM Exemption to be a cheaper and less time-consuming alternative to a prospectus offering.
The OM Exemption does not limit or affect the availability to issuers of other prospectus exemptions, such as the accredited investor or minimum amount exemptions.
Time will tell whether the OM Exemption is adopted and accepted by the capital markets. Although using the OM Exemption could help smaller issuers tap into a larger market, it comes at a cost that may be too high for some issuers to entertain.
I’ll be most interested in reading a comparison between this regime and the SEC’s crowdfunding initiative discussed on October 30; if anybody sees such a thing, be sure to let me know!
It would seem that the Fed’s proposed rules on ‘bail-in’ capital (discussed October 30) may well have the intended effect, according to S&P:
- •Following the release last week of the Federal Reserve’s notice of proposed rulemaking, Standard & Poor’s is reviewing the resolution regime for U.S. banks to consider its effectiveness and impact on our ratings.
- •We expect the outcome of the review will be that extraordinary government support will no longer be factored into the ratings on the eight U.S. global systemically important banks (GSIBs) and that this will result in lower ratings on these banks’ nonoperating holding companies (NOHCs). As a result, we are placing on CreditWatch with negative implications our NOHC ratings on the U.S. GSIBs: Bank of America Corp., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, State Street Corp., The Goldman Sachs Group, and Wells Fargo & Co.
- •But, due to the construct of the U.S. resolution regime, in which NOHC creditors could ultimately provide capital support to the operating entity, we are taking no negative actions on these banks’ operating entities, and, on certain banks taking positive rating actions, despite
the likely removal of extraordinary government support.- •As part of our review of the U.S. resolution regime, we are also
reviewing our current treatment of nondeferrable subordinated debt (NDSD) in the U.S. and considering whether it can absorb losses in advance of an entity’s nonviability or as part of a resolution without senior unsecured creditors being in default. A change in our treatment of NDSD would extend to all rated U.S. banks, and not just the GSIBs, but would have
limited ratings impact
It was a mixed day for the Canadian preferred share market, with PerptualDiscounts off 10bp, FixedResets down 71bp and DeemedRetractibles gaining 1bp. MFC FixedResets were prominent on the bad side of a lengthy Performance Highlights table. Volume was a touch on the low side.
For as long as the FixedReset market is so violently unsettled, I’ll keep publishing updates of the more interesting and meaningful series of FixedResets’ Implied Volatilities. This doesn’t include Enbridge because although Enbridge has a large number of issues outstanding, all of which are quite liquid, the range of Issue Reset Spreads is too small for decent conclusions. The low is 212bp (ENB.PR.H; second-lowest is ENB.PR.D at 237bp) and the high is a mere 268 for ENB.PF.G.
Remember that all rich /cheap assessments are:
» based on Implied Volatility Theory only
» are relative only to other FixedResets from the same issuer
» assume constant GOC-5 yield
» assume constant Implied Volatility
» assume constant spread
Here’s TRP:
Click for Big
TRP.PR.B, which resets 2020-6-30 at +128, is bid at 12.90 to be $0.54 rich, while TRP.PR.C, resetting 2016-1-30 at +154, is $0.52 cheap at its bid price of 13.31.
Click for Big
Most expensive is MFC.PR.N, resetting at +230bp on 2020-3-19, bid at 20.07 to be 0.63 rich, while MFC.PR.I resetting at +286bp on 2017-9-19, is bid at 21.28 to be 0.42 cheap.
Click for Big
The cheapest issue relative to its peers is BAM.PR.R, resetting at +230bp on 2016-6-30, bid at 16.26 to be $1.27 cheap. BAM.PF.G, resetting at +284bp on 2020-6-30 is bid at 21.01 and appears to be $0.70 rich.
Click for Big
FTS.PR.K, with a spread of +205bp, and bid at 18.70, looks $0.58 expensive and resets 2019-3-1. FTS.PR.G, with a spread of +213bp and resetting 2018-9-1, is bid at 18.30 and is $0.31 cheap.
Click for Big
Investment-grade pairs predict an average three-month bill yield over the next five-odd years of -0.72%, with one outlier above 0.00% and one below -2.00%. The distribution is just barely bimodal, with bank NVCC non-compliant pairs averaging -0.84% and other issues averaging -0.51%. There are four junk outliers above 0.00% and one below -2.00%.
Click for Big
Shall we just say that this exhibits a high level of confidence in the continued rapacity of Canadian banks?
| HIMIPref™ Preferred Indices These values reflect the December 2008 revision of the HIMIPref™ Indices Values are provisional and are finalized monthly |
|||||||
| Index | Mean Current Yield (at bid) |
Median YTW |
Median Average Trading Value |
Median Mod Dur (YTW) |
Issues | Day’s Perf. | Index Value |
| Ratchet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1.5705 % | 1,762.3 |
| FixedFloater | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1.5705 % | 3,081.3 |
| Floater | 4.21 % | 4.27 % | 61,610 | 16.84 | 3 | 1.5705 % | 1,873.5 |
| OpRet | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.0000 % | 2,719.7 |
| SplitShare | 4.77 % | 5.95 % | 163,399 | 2.92 | 5 | 0.0000 % | 3,187.3 |
| Interest-Bearing | 0.00 % | 0.00 % | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0000 % | 2,486.8 |
| Perpetual-Premium | 5.84 % | 5.78 % | 84,579 | 2.73 | 6 | -0.0665 % | 2,486.7 |
| Perpetual-Discount | 5.56 % | 5.69 % | 81,763 | 14.35 | 33 | -0.1021 % | 2,567.1 |
| FixedReset | 4.97 % | 4.47 % | 212,285 | 15.43 | 76 | -0.7121 % | 2,054.9 |
| Deemed-Retractible | 5.19 % | 5.60 % | 110,366 | 5.44 | 34 | 0.0099 % | 2,576.0 |
| FloatingReset | 2.58 % | 3.82 % | 56,415 | 5.81 | 10 | -0.1028 % | 2,168.5 |
| Performance Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Change | Notes |
| MFC.PR.K | FixedReset | -4.19 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 19.00 Bid-YTW : 7.04 % |
| MFC.PR.L | FixedReset | -4.00 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.94 Bid-YTW : 7.17 % |
| HSE.PR.A | FixedReset | -3.85 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 13.50 Evaluated at bid price : 13.50 Bid-YTW : 5.04 % |
| HSE.PR.G | FixedReset | -2.98 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 22.18 Evaluated at bid price : 22.80 Bid-YTW : 4.91 % |
| MFC.PR.N | FixedReset | -2.57 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 20.07 Bid-YTW : 6.48 % |
| HSE.PR.E | FixedReset | -2.21 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 21.74 Evaluated at bid price : 22.10 Bid-YTW : 5.10 % |
| TD.PR.Y | FixedReset | -2.02 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.20 Bid-YTW : 3.67 % |
| HSE.PR.C | FixedReset | -2.00 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 21.28 Evaluated at bid price : 21.56 Bid-YTW : 4.84 % |
| MFC.PR.M | FixedReset | -1.95 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 20.15 Bid-YTW : 6.50 % |
| FTS.PR.K | FixedReset | -1.84 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 18.70 Evaluated at bid price : 18.70 Bid-YTW : 4.26 % |
| MFC.PR.J | FixedReset | -1.82 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 20.50 Bid-YTW : 6.36 % |
| NA.PR.W | FixedReset | -1.60 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.02 Evaluated at bid price : 19.02 Bid-YTW : 4.37 % |
| BAM.PR.X | FixedReset | -1.53 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 15.41 Evaluated at bid price : 15.41 Bid-YTW : 4.71 % |
| NA.PR.S | FixedReset | -1.51 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.60 Evaluated at bid price : 19.60 Bid-YTW : 4.41 % |
| TD.PF.C | FixedReset | -1.49 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.16 Evaluated at bid price : 19.16 Bid-YTW : 4.30 % |
| MFC.PR.H | FixedReset | -1.48 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 22.56 Bid-YTW : 5.59 % |
| VNR.PR.A | FixedReset | -1.36 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 20.27 Evaluated at bid price : 20.27 Bid-YTW : 4.70 % |
| TRP.PR.E | FixedReset | -1.31 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 18.90 Evaluated at bid price : 18.90 Bid-YTW : 4.60 % |
| BAM.PR.R | FixedReset | -1.28 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 16.26 Evaluated at bid price : 16.26 Bid-YTW : 5.09 % |
| BMO.PR.T | FixedReset | -1.25 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.01 Evaluated at bid price : 19.01 Bid-YTW : 4.33 % |
| RY.PR.M | FixedReset | -1.22 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 20.30 Evaluated at bid price : 20.30 Bid-YTW : 4.37 % |
| BMO.PR.W | FixedReset | -1.16 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 18.71 Evaluated at bid price : 18.71 Bid-YTW : 4.37 % |
| TRP.PR.F | FloatingReset | -1.12 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 14.16 Evaluated at bid price : 14.16 Bid-YTW : 4.11 % |
| MFC.PR.B | Deemed-Retractible | -1.12 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 21.27 Bid-YTW : 6.99 % |
| TRP.PR.D | FixedReset | -1.11 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 18.66 Evaluated at bid price : 18.66 Bid-YTW : 4.60 % |
| IFC.PR.C | FixedReset | -1.11 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 18.69 Bid-YTW : 7.56 % |
| CU.PR.D | Perpetual-Discount | -1.05 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 22.18 Evaluated at bid price : 22.51 Bid-YTW : 5.52 % |
| BNS.PR.D | FloatingReset | -1.03 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 19.30 Bid-YTW : 5.75 % |
| TD.PF.B | FixedReset | -1.03 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.30 Evaluated at bid price : 19.30 Bid-YTW : 4.29 % |
| BAM.PR.G | 1.01 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 15.00 Bid-YTW : 5.57 % |
|
| GWO.PR.R | Deemed-Retractible | 1.09 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 22.30 Bid-YTW : 6.47 % |
| CU.PR.C | FixedReset | 1.10 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 21.12 Evaluated at bid price : 21.12 Bid-YTW : 4.04 % |
| TRP.PR.C | FixedReset | 1.22 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 13.31 Evaluated at bid price : 13.31 Bid-YTW : 4.61 % |
| BAM.PR.E | 1.37 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 15.50 Bid-YTW : 5.30 % |
|
| BAM.PR.C | Floater | 1.45 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 11.16 Evaluated at bid price : 11.16 Bid-YTW : 4.27 % |
| IAG.PR.G | FixedReset | 1.70 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 21.50 Bid-YTW : 5.93 % |
| TRP.PR.H | FloatingReset | 2.76 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 11.56 Evaluated at bid price : 11.56 Bid-YTW : 3.64 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | 3.16 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 11.41 Evaluated at bid price : 11.41 Bid-YTW : 4.18 % |
| MFC.PR.F | FixedReset | 4.14 % | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2025-01-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 14.60 Bid-YTW : 9.37 % |
| Volume Highlights | |||
| Issue | Index | Shares Traded |
Notes |
| BMO.PR.S | FixedReset | 77,983 | Nesbitt crossed blocks of 31,800 and 35,000, both at 19.37. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.36 Evaluated at bid price : 19.36 Bid-YTW : 4.36 % |
| RY.PR.Z | FixedReset | 67,389 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.60 Evaluated at bid price : 19.60 Bid-YTW : 4.18 % |
| RY.PR.H | FixedReset | 46,951 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 19.38 Evaluated at bid price : 19.38 Bid-YTW : 4.27 % |
| BAM.PR.B | Floater | 36,348 | TD crossed 13,500 at 11.30. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Limit Maturity Maturity Date : 2045-11-02 Maturity Price : 11.41 Evaluated at bid price : 11.41 Bid-YTW : 4.18 % |
| PVS.PR.E | SplitShare | 33,090 | Recent new issue. YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Hard Maturity Maturity Date : 2022-10-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 24.41 Bid-YTW : 5.95 % |
| BAM.PF.H | FixedReset | 29,961 | YTW SCENARIO Maturity Type : Call Maturity Date : 2020-12-31 Maturity Price : 25.00 Evaluated at bid price : 25.36 Bid-YTW : 4.80 % |
| There were 27 other index-included issues trading in excess of 10,000 shares. | |||
| Wide Spread Highlights | ||
| Issue | Index | Quote Data and Yield Notes |
| BAM.PR.K | Floater | Quote: 11.06 – 11.76 Spot Rate : 0.7000 Average : 0.4775 YTW SCENARIO |
| BAM.PF.E | FixedReset | Quote: 19.51 – 20.47 Spot Rate : 0.9600 Average : 0.7715 YTW SCENARIO |
| TRP.PR.G | FixedReset | Quote: 21.75 – 22.26 Spot Rate : 0.5100 Average : 0.3505 YTW SCENARIO |
| FTS.PR.H | FixedReset | Quote: 14.13 – 14.59 Spot Rate : 0.4600 Average : 0.3666 YTW SCENARIO |
| CU.PR.F | Perpetual-Discount | Quote: 21.14 – 21.60 Spot Rate : 0.4600 Average : 0.3774 YTW SCENARIO |
| NA.PR.W | FixedReset | Quote: 19.02 – 19.34 Spot Rate : 0.3200 Average : 0.2378 YTW SCENARIO |