Tag: Wall Street

Barclays Q3 beats expectations on strong investment bank performance, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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LONDON, – Barclays reported better than expected third quarter earnings on Thursday, as it followed Wall Street rivals in reaping bumper investment banking fees from a surge in trading and advisory mandates.

The British bank reported profit before tax of 2 billion pounds ($2.76 billion) for the July-September period, better than the 1.6 billion pounds average of analysts’ forecasts and double the 1.1 billion pounds it made in the same period a year ago. ($1 = 0.7242 pounds)

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Wall Street banks set to profit again when Fed withdraws pandemic stimulus, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NEW YORK -Wall Street banks have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic-era trading boom, fueled by the Federal Reserve‘s massive injection of cash into financial markets.

With the central bank nearing the time when it will start winding down its asset purchases, banks are set to profit again as increased volatility encourages clients to buy and sell more stocks and bonds, analysts, investors and executives say.

The Fed has been buying up government-backed bonds since March 2020, adding $4 trillion to its balance sheet, as part of an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The strategy was designed to stabilize financial markets and ensure companies and other borrowers had sufficient access to capital. It succeeded but also resulted in unprecedented levels of liquidity, helping equity and bond traders enjoy their most profitable period since the 2007-09 financial crisis.

The top five Wall Street investment banks – JP Morgan Chase & Co, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup – made an additional $51 billion in trading revenues last year and in the first three quarters of 2021, compared with the comparative quarters in the year prior to COVID, according to company earnings statements.

The trading bonanza, along with a boom in global deal-making, has helped bank stocks outperform the broader market. The KBW Bank index has risen by 40% in the year-to-date compared with a 19% advance in the S&P 500.

Now, banks with large trading businesses are expected to profit a second time as the Fed starts to withdraw the stimulus, prompting investors to rejig their portfolios again.

“As investors look to position based on that volatility, that creates an opportunity for us to make markets for them. And obviously that would lend itself to improved performance,” Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told reporters this week.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled in late September that tapering was imminent. An official announcement is expected in November and the central bank has signaled it will look to halt asset purchases completely by mid-2022 – a timetable seen by some investors as aggressive.

Banks have already benefited from enhanced volatility since Powell’s comments in late September, which led to a spike in Treasury yields and a decline in equity markets. That led to a pick-up in trading volumes at the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter, executives say.

“It is possible we will see bouts of volatility associated with the tapering,” Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya said in an interview Thursday, adding that she doesn’t expect a repeat of 2013’s ‘taper tantrum.’

At that time, the Fed’s decision to put the brakes on a quantitative easing program sent markets into a frenzy as investors dumped riskier assets in favor of ‘safe havens,’ leading to a spike in government bond yields and sharp falls in equity markets.

Fed officials are confident of avoiding that scenario this time around by giving markets enough advance warning of their intentions.

“The sweet spot is where you have some volatility but not enough to disrupt the broader capital markets which have been an important contributor to healthy trading results over the past year,” said JMP Securities analyst Devin Ryan.

Third-quarter results from the biggest U.S. banks this week showed strong performances in equities trading, boosted by stocks hitting record highs, but a more subdued showing in bond trading reflecting calm in those markets.

Investors are anticipating activity will ramp up again in the run-up to tapering, when it eventually begins.

“It will certainly be a positive,” said Patrick Kaser at Brandywine Global Investment Management. “Volatility is a friend to trading businesses.”

(Additional reporting by David Henry; Editing by Andrea Ricci)



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Regional bank loan growth could hint at healthier supply chains, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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NEW YORK: If regional banks show signs of accelerating loan growth when they report earnings in the week ahead, it could signal an easing of the supply chain bottlenecks that have weighed down the U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic, analysts and investors said.

Overall, small banks accounted for 63% of the approximately $520 billion in loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program launched in response to the pandemic. The program allowed small businesses to take loans that either could be forgiven or would have a 1% interest rate, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration

Increasing demands for new loans at higher interest rates could signal that small businesses are securing inventory and expanding, said Dave Ellison, a portfolio manager at Hennessy Funds.

“It seems like everybody else has benefited from the economy reopening but the banks because you’ve seen very little loan growth” on account of the Paycheck Protection Program, Ellison said. “The pandemic has disproportionably hurt small businesses, and those are the customers of regional banks,” he said.

As of June 30th, small banks held 15% of total banking industry loans but an outsized share of Paycheck Protection Program loans, holding 31%, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Overall, commercial loan growth fell 12% in September from a year earlier after bottoming out with a 16.3%% decline in annual loan growth in May, according to data from the Federal Reserve and Oppenheimer. Yet rising inventories at auto suppliers and retailers should bolster loan growth in the year ahead, said Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer.

“It seems likely to us that the next significant move is up – not down – for the simple reason that it can’t possibly come down as much as it already has,” said Chris Kotowski, an analyst at Oppenheimer.

A healthy increase in new loans at regional banks would be a strong signal that supply chain issues are moderating, said Steven Comery, an analyst at Gabelli Funds.

“If clients can’t get products to market because of the supply chain they aren’t going to be borrowing to build their inventory,” he said. “If we see signals that supply chain issues aren’t going away then that’s going to impact earnings estimates through 2023.”

The four largest U.S. banks reported mixed loan growth when reporting their earnings results Oct. 14, with J&P Morgan said loans were up 5% compared to the prior year while Bank of America and Wells Fargo reported declines.

Companies including First Community Bancshares Inc, First Midwest Bancorp Inc, and Zions Bancorp are expected to report earnings on Monday, while Fifth Third Bancorp O> and United Community Banks Inc are among those expected to report on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Oct. 13, shares of First Republic Bank gained 1.5% after the regional bank originated approximately $15 billion in new loans and reported that its average Paycheck Protection Program loan balance was down 39% over the quarter. Those gains in new loans will make it likely that the bank will raise its guidance in the coming quarters, noted Casey Haire, an analyst at Jefferies.

Concerns over loan growth by regional banks comes at a time when the sector’s shares are trading near record highs. Regional banks in the S&P 500 are up nearly 37% for the year to date and are just below the high they reached on Oct. 8, according to Refinitiv data.

Despite those gains, regional banks continue to look attractive based on valuations, Ellison said.

Regional banks in the S&P 500 trade at a forward price to earnings ratio of 13.5, well below the 21.2 of the broad S&P 500, according to Refinitiv data. Valuations will likely rise alongside the yield of the benchmark 10-year Treasury, which is used to set rates for loans including mortgages, Ellison said.

“Valuation is not a problem for future gains,” he said.



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Why US debt ceiling debate is giving jitters to financial markets, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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The US economy is passing through a tricky phase. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs that the US government would run out of cash by October 18, 2021. She also laid down the disastrous impact on the US economy should the Congress fail to pass the bill to fund the government and raise the country’s debt ceiling limit.

Let’s try to understand the whole scenario. When the expenditure of the government exceeds its revenue, it borrows money to cover the difference. In the usual practice, governments borrow money by issuing treasury securities. To bring in fiscal responsibility, most of the countries put a limit on the amount of money that the government could borrow. Similarly, in the US, the debt ceiling was first enacted in 1917. And in 1939, an aggregate limit was placed on the government debt. The debt ceiling is thus a legal limit on the amount of money that the government can borrow. Currently, in the US, it is capped at around $28.5 trillion.

In the present scenario, if the government hit/not raise the debt ceiling limit, it could lead to a delay/default on its obligations. The US government would be forced to default on many of its obligations, including the social security payments. Though the US economy has been strongly recovering, the Covid Delta variant has slowed down the recovery progress. And the consumer confidence index has even hit a seventh month low in August.

A default in social security payments/salaries would negatively impact consumption expenditure, as the beneficiaries would cut down their spending or delay the payment for rent/utilities. In such a scenario, a default, or a threat of one can have a larger negative impact on the domestic economy.

More importantly, any default on the interest payment (which would be avoided) on the treasury securities could create a turmoil in the financial sector. Such a development could lead to a fall in the prices of treasury securities as there will be lesser demand for it. This, in turn, could push up yields, resulting in a higher borrowing cost across the economy. A higher borrowing cost could pull down the overall investment and consumption in the economy.

The ongoing debate on the debt ceiling limit along with the risk of a higher inflation has pushed the US 10-year treasury yield upwards, reaching 1.52 per cent (as of 30 September 2021). Even during 2011 and 2013, when the debate on the debt ceiling limit was happening, treasury yields had seen a similar spike.

The nervousness that is visible in stock markets across the globe could be partly explained by the current impasse. The popular phrase “When the US sneezes, world catches cold” still holds. Though the chance of a default by the US government is slim, a prolonged impasse can have serious implication on not just the US economy,but across the globe. And this occurring at a time when the global economy is recovering from one of the worst crises can indeed have painful implications.



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Goldman expands in crypto trading with plans for Ether options, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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By Anchalee Worrachate

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is moving beyond the world of Bitcoin and expanding into Ether.

The bank plans to offer options and futures trading in Ether, the coin that fuels the Ethereum network, in the coming months, according to Mathew McDermott, head of digital assets at Goldman.

It’s the latest step in the Wall Street giant’s crypto ambitions after Goldman restarted a trading desk this year to help clients deal in publicly traded futures tied to Bitcoin. McDermott said the bank also plans to facilitate trades via exchange-traded notes tracking Bitcoin.

Despite all the warnings from regulators about the risks posed by crypto’s extreme volatility and role in money laundering, investment banks are stepping up to offer Bitcoin services to their big clients. Even after prices plummeted in May, falling from about $60,000 to $33,000 in a matter of days, hedge funds are still enthusiastic to trade Bitcoin.

“We’ve actually seen a lot of interest from clients who are eager to trade as they find these levels as a slightly more palatable entry point,” McDermott said in a phone interview on Thursday. “We see it as a cleansing exercise to reduce some of the leverage and the excess in the system, especially from a retail perspective.”

Goldman tapped McDermott, 47, to head its digital currency efforts last year. Under his watch, the business has grown to 17 people from four.

The bank has also invested in crypto start-ups. It put $5 million into a fundraising round by Blockdaemon, a firm that creates and hosts the computer nodes that make up blockchain networks.

In May, Goldman led the $15 million investment into Coin Metrics, a cryptocurrency and blockchain data provider to institutional clients, and McDermott joined the company’s board.

“We are looking at a number of different companies that fit into our strategic direction,” he said.

Other banks have also expanded their crypto operations. Cowen Inc. plans to offer “institutional-grade” custody services for cryptocurrencies. Standard Chartered Plc is setting up a joint venture to buy and sell virtual currencies, though HSBC Holdings Plc is avoiding Bitcoin for now.

McDermott said his conversations with clients show that digital currencies aren’t just a passing fad. In a survey of 850 institutions last week, Goldman found that close to one in 10 are trading crypto, and 20% are interested in it.

“Institutional adoption will continue,” he said. “Despite the material price correction, we continue to see a significant amount of interest in this space.”



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Crypto versus gold debate rages on Wall Street as flows reverse, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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Gold is back with a vengeance this month just as the crypto rally falls apart, refueling the Wall Street debate over the link between the two putative hedging assets.

Bullion funds have seen the biggest two weeks of inflows since October and prices are edging closer to $1,900 an ounce. In contrast, Bitcoin has plunged by almost 40% from a $63,000 peak and funds are recording outflows.

Yes, the weaker dollar and falling inflation-adjusted yields are big reasons for the gold revival. Elon Musk-spurred volatility, meanwhile, has snuffed out some of the speculative euphoria in Bitcoin, while undermining its ambition to attract the institutional crowd.

Yet, all this fascinates a market cohort that point out the parallels between digital gold and the real deal. They’re both viewed as inflation hedges, commodities in scarce supply and capture the cultural divide between young, tech-obsessed traders and boomer traditionalists.

Meanwhile, the likes of JPMorgan & Chase & Co. and ByteTree Asset Management say gold’s recent ascent appears to have come at least partly expense of Bitcoin as investors rotate between the two.

“There is still so much confusion between Bitcoin and gold,” wrote Charlie Morris, founder of ByteTree in a note. “They coexist, and they both thrive in an inflationary environment.”

In a report on shifting gold and Bitcoin trends, Morris suggested that fund flows are having an unusually large impact in boosting the gold price, and vice versa Bitcoin’s outgoing flows are depressing prices.

Past may be prologue: Earlier this year, Bitcoin funds pulled in institutional cash as money managers extolled a case for digital currencies to creep into gold’s spot in a portfolio. With the economic growth in full swing, more than $20 billion then left bullion-backed ETFs in the six months to April.

For some strategists, the bullion market is a starting place to divine their price forecast for Bitcoin. In a world where investors allocate gold and Bitcoin evenly to their portfolios and the two assets converge in volatility, it would imply a valuation of Bitcoin at $140,000, JPMorgan has previously estimated.

“Needless to say such convergence or equalization of volatilities or allocations is unlikely in the near future,” strategists led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote.

Since the Covid-19 vaccine breakthrough triggered an economic rebound in November, exchange-traded funds tracking gold sold almost 12 million troy ounces through to the start of May, worth about $22.5 billion at today’s price.

Investors pulled almost $14 billion from the SPDR Gold Shares ETF (ticker GLD) in the period, helping cut total assets in the world’s largest gold ETF by 29%. Some $1.6 billion has flowed back into the fund to put May on course for the best month since July.

In day-to-day action, the direct link between gold and Bitcoin is hard to pin down, suggesting the connection is more about market psychology than real-money flows. The threat of price pressures and weakening dollar are good reasons for the metal’s current rally.

And while predictions for Bitcoin prices have been chastened by the selloff, the enthusiasm hasn’t gone away. Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone, who has a price target of $100,000 for Bitcoin, says there’s still a chance crypto can become a digital reserve asset and that makes it worth the risk.

“Gold may be losing its significance, so it may be simply prudent to diversify,” wrote McGlone. “The human nature of acknowledging a new asset class is what we see as a primary Bitcoin support.



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Wall Street banks beat earnings estimates, see a boom ahead, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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From just a year ago when they provisioned for billions of dollars anticipating huge loan defaults due to pandemic, Wall Street banks are now an ebullient lot.

On Wednesday, executives at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo posted a huge jump in earnings in the January-March quarter and delivered a bullish economic forecast.

Goldman and JPMorgan reported profits roughly five times as high as in the first three months of 2020, thanks to a combination of strong business results and a reduction in the amount of money they had put aside to cover losses on loans. Wells Fargo reported profits that were seven times as high.

JPMorgan

JPMorgan earnings skyrocketed 477% to $4.50 a share. Revenue climbed to $33.12 billion. But earnings got a big boost from JPMorgan releasing $5.2 billion from credit loss reserves.

Consumer banking revenue fell 10% to $6.7 billion. Investment banking revenue more than tripled to $2.9 billion. Fixed income trading revenue grew 15% to $5.8 billion, and equities trading revenue jumped 47% to $3.3 billion. Commercial banking rose 11% to $2.4 billion. Asset management revenue swelled 20% to $4.1 billion.

Goldman Sachs

EPS of $18.60 on revenue of $17.7 billion. Investment banking revenue jumped 73% to $3.77 billion. Fixed income trading revenue climbed 31% to $3.89 billion, and equities trading revenue surged 68% to $3.69 billion. Asset management revenue shot up to $4.61 billion vs. a negative $96 million a year ago. Wealth management revenue grew 16% to $1.74 billion.

Provision for credit losses was a net benefit of $70 million, compared with net provisions of $937 million a year ago.

Wells Fargo

EPS of $1.05 on revenue of $18.06 billion. Provision for credit losses decreased $5.1 billion. Consumer banking revenue was flat at $8.65 billion. Commercial banking revenue fell 12% to $2.2 billion. Corporate and investment banking revenue grew 7% to $3.6 billion. Wealth management revenue rose 8% to $3.5 billion.

The boom ahead

Wall Street banks now see consumers tanked up on stimulus money spending huge and companies rushing to expand by buying or building new businesses, as the US emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic

“It is clear to me that the U.S. is poised for a strong recovery this year, led by consumer spending that is rebounding to pre-Covid levels,” David M Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, told analysts.

Jamie Dimon, his counterpart at JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest bank by assets, took a similar view. “We believe that the economy has the potential to have extremely robust, multiyear growth,” Dimon said in a statement. He attributed his outlook to government spending on stimulus and infrastructure, supportive policies from the Federal Reserve and high hopes for the end of the pandemic.

According to an executive, bank earnings reveal a dramatic shift from an unprecedented downdraft in growth to a V-shaped recovery in the economy.

Provisioning

The three banks are set to reduce the cushion they had set aside at the start of the pandemic to withstand continued losses from credit cards, mortgages and other loans they had made.

JPMorgan released $5.2 billion of that credit cushion, and Wells reduced its cushion by $1.6 billion. Wells also noted provisioning for bad loans was at a historic low. Goldman also reduced what it had set aside by about $200 million.



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As meme stock mania fizzles, Wall Street sees ‘big reckoning’, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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By Bailey Lipschultz

The day-trading Reddit crowd turned the first quarter of 2021 into one of the wildest periods of stock market mania in modern history. Books — plural — will undoubtedly be dedicated to the topic in years to come.

But after these small-time speculators banded together to drive up dozens of obscure stocks by hundreds or even thousands of percent — and in the process burned a few hedge-fund barons betting on declines — the movement appears to be petering out. An index that tracks 37 of the most popular meme stocks — 37 of the 50 that Robinhood Markets banned clients from trading during the height of the frenzy — is essentially unchanged over the past two months after soaring nearly 150% in January.

Talk to Wall Street veterans and they’ll tell you that this flat-lining is the beginning of what will be an inexorable move downward in these stocks.

It’s not so much about the poor fundamentals of the companies. At least not in the short term. The day-trading zealots have shown a surprising ability to ignore those facts. It’s more that as the pandemic slowly winds down and the economy starts to open up, many of them will leave their homes and start going back into offices and out to restaurants and embarking on trips near and far. And as they do, they may stop obsessing about their Robinhood accounts.

Their collective sway on the meme-stock universe, in other words, will wane.

As meme stock mania fizzles, Wall Street sees ‘big reckoning’“People are going to be doing other things,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. There will be a “big reckoning” at some point, he said. “There’s no question in my mind.”

Of course, the Wall Street set has, broadly speaking, misread the Reddit crowd for weeks earlier this quarter, and it’s possible their analysis is wrong again now. Preliminary data, though, suggests they’re right.

Recent reports suggest vaccinated Americans are planning long-awaited vacations with searches for “Google flights” reaching a peak popularity score of 100 this week, according to a Google Trends tracker. The opposite is being seen for terms like “stock trading” and “investing” which have plunged, Google Trends shows.

“The stimulus check impact on retail trading is waning,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “Many Americans are looking to go big on attending sporting events, traveling across the country, vacationing, visiting family and friends, and revamping wardrobes before going out to restaurants, pubs and returning to the office.”

Gamestop Juggernaut
Video-game retailer GameStop Corp. became the poster child for retail traders looking to rage against the hedge fund elite. However, the stock’s 2,460% roller coaster alongside other favorites touted on Reddit’s WallStreetBets thread caused as much pain as it did joy.

The stock’s more than 900% surge this year has drawn a wary eye from the Wall Street analysts that follow it. The average 12-month price target implies the stock will lose more than three-quarters of its value from current levels. Only Jefferies holds a price target near Thursday’s $191.45 close and that call came with the warning that shares are “subject to volatility beyond fundamentals.”

As meme stock mania fizzles, Wall Street sees ‘big reckoning’But any sense of GameStop trading on fundamentals has been ignored since it first captivated Wall Street and Reddit users in the back half of January. Bulls are more than happy to tout their bets on forums as a move to stick it to short sellers as they buy into a company rebirth delivered by activist investor Ryan Cohen.

Given AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.’s position as a movie theater many Americans went to at some point, it’s not a complete surprise as to why Reddit users rushed to the company’s aide. #SaveAMC trended on Twitter and amateur investors appeared more than happy to fight against Wall Street’s skeptics despite most movie theaters being closed due to the ongoing pandemic.

The chain’s latest rally came amid plans to continue reopening cinemas, however, Wall Street is skeptical. None of the nine analysts tracking the company rate it a buy and the average price target implies the stock will lose 63% of its value in the coming year.

As meme stock mania fizzles, Wall Street sees ‘big reckoning’Retail euphoria leaked over to a broader range of securities from cult-favorites like Bitcoin, Tesla Inc., and the ARK Innovation ETF to smaller companies like the clothing retailer Express Inc. Chinese tech company The9 Limited is among the group’s best performers this year with an 860% surge.

The company’s rally has been fueled by recent moves to ride the Bitcoin wave alongside peers like Future FinTech Group Inc. and Ault Global Holdings Inc.

Zomedica Corp., a small-cap animal health company, has become a cult favorite among retail investors chasing stocks with low share prices. The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company started the year worth less than a quarter, but had soared as high as $2.91.

Trading volume of the company has accelerated this year with an average of 174 million shares changing hands per session, more than four times the average over the course of 2020. A mention from Tiger King’s Carole Baskin helped it go viral in mid-January.



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Bitcoin volatility decline paves way for banks, JPMorgan says, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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By Vildana Hajric

The recent pullback in Bitcoin’s volatility is setting the stage for a trend that could encourage institutions to dive in, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“These tentative signs of Bitcoin volatility normalization are encouraging,” strategists including Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote in report emailed Thursday. “In our opinion, a potential normalization of Bitcoin volatility from here would likely help to reinvigorate the institutional interest going forward.”

Three-month realized volatility for the cryptocurrency has fallen to 86% after rising above 90% in February, they wrote. The six-month measure appears to be stabilizing at around 73%. As volatility subsides, a greater number of institutions could warm to the crypto space, the strategists said.

The coin’s volatility has kept institutions away, something that’s been a key consideration for risk management — the higher the volatility of an asset, the higher the risk capital consumed by it, according to the strategists. None of the biggest U.S. banks right now provide direct access to Bitcoin and its counterparts.

Still, traditional Wall Street firms have been taking a greater interest in the coin, especially after it doubled this year on the heels of a 300% jump in 2020.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said this week it’s close to offering investment vehicles for Bitcoin and other digital assets to private wealth clients. Morgan Stanley plans to give rich clients access to three funds that will enable ownership of crypto and Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is developing a platform for traditional and digital assets.

Some of the attention on Bitcoin over the past two quarters has come at the expense of gold, JPMorgan’s strategists said, citing $7 billion of inflows into Bitcoin funds and $20 billion of outflows from exchange-traded funds tracking the precious metal.

Bitcoin volatility decline paves way for banks, JPMorgan says
Meanwhile, an additional boost to future adoption by institutions could arise from recent changes in Bitcoin’s correlation structure relative to other, traditional assets, according to JPMorgan strategists. These correlations have shifted lower in recent months, “making Bitcoin a more attractive option for multi-asset portfolios for diversification point of view and less vulnerable to any further appreciation in the dollar,” they wrote.



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Fed outage raises questions on Wall Street as services restored, BFSI News, ET BFSI

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For about four hours Wednesday, Federal Reserve systems that execute millions of financial transactions a day — everything from payroll to tax refunds to interbank transfers — were disrupted by what appeared to be some sort of internal glitch.

Systems were restored by the end of the day, but the outages once again raise questions about the resilience of critical infrastructure that Americans rely on to process payments. The episode follows two significant disruptions to the Fed’s payment services that occurred in 2019.

“It does raise awareness about what their business continuity measures are and what’s going on over a single point of failure that doesn’t have a lot of redundancies. It’s pretty concerning,” said David Hart, president of consulting firm NETBankAudit who was previously a senior bank examiner and IT auditor at the Richmond Fed.

All services were restored by 7:27 p.m. New York time, according to a website operated by the central bank. The outages affected the automated clearinghouse system known as FedACH and the Fedwire Funds interbank transfer service as well as several other systems comprising the U.S. payment infrastructure.

‘Operational Error’
“A Federal Reserve operational error resulted in disruption of service in several business lines,” Jim Strader, a spokesman for the Richmond Fed, said in an e-mailed statement. “We are restoring services and are communicating with all Federal Reserve Financial Services customers about the status of operations.”

The Fed system’s national IT operations are run out of the Richmond reserve bank. The central bank’s payment services website noted the disruptions were discovered around 11:15 a.m. and Strader declined to comment on whether they were a result of system updates or human error, but confirmed that the system maintains operations in other locations.

Inside financial firms, traders were generally calm, still handling transactions. A mood of initial confusion subsided as many realized they weren’t affected, one said.

ACH is a national system that processes batches of electronic funds transfers such as payroll, social security benefits, tax refunds, corporate payments to vendors and utility payments, according to the Fed’s website. The commercial service handled 62.1 million transactions a day on average in 2019 with an average value of $1,802, the latest year for which data are available.

In a posting on its website at 2:46 p.m. the Fed said it was taking steps to ensure the resilience of its services but urged customers to double check that any messages they had sent or received had been reconciled.

FedNow
The disruptions come as the central bank is preparing to take on even more responsibility. It’s separately developing its own same-day settlement payment system called FedNow. It is expected to operate in direct competition with an industry-run payments system started in 2017 by an organization of Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.

The Fed’s system has suffered problems before. In 2019, the FedWire interbank funds transfer service went down for about three hours. The Fed blamed the outage on “an internal technical issue,” but declined to provide more details.

Bloomberg News sought additional information about that incident under the Freedom of Information Act, but the request and a subsequent appeal were denied by the Board of Governors.



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