To the 17 year old son of one of our Board members (who will remain nameless) who has just had it confirmed that he has to spend at least another three weeks cooped up with his parents – and on the same day that someone crashed into power lines and thus rendered him without television or internet, we all feel your pain…

#prayfor[insert name here]

A capital idea

FCA has issued guidance to firms for which it is the prudential regulator (ie you) on its expectations around capital adequacy under the current circumstances.  Main gist is don’t spend cash on anything frivolous and if you see signs of trouble contact FCA.  But a possibly useful snippet is that you can now count access to Government assistance as part of your capital calculation.

That is if you can find the time to fill in the 736 pages of forms banks seem to ask you for to get to the government backed loans in order to comply with EU state aid rules that were relaxed several weeks ago and that French President Manny Macron said today everyone would have ignored anyway.  Even after we’ve left we still have to play by the rules whilst the other 27 don’t.  It is no wonder people got a bit peeved.

Ma-crondemned

Speaking of the diminutive de Gaulle acolyte, Manu has also today rung the death knell for the European Union.  He says it is doomed unless everybody signs up to his idea to mutualise EU debt.  But that would involve the Germans putting their fiscal stability at the mercy of the borrowing plans of Giuseppe Conte (and, maybe in the near future, Matteo Salvini).  Never going to happen.

MM also says something rather revealing.  He criticises the position being taken by his Northern European opponents as akin to saying: “[We’re] for Europe when it means exporting to you the goods [we] produce…and…having your labour come over and produce the car parts you no longer produce at home.  But [we’re] not for Europe when it means sharing the burden”.  But I think for said Northern Europeans that is very much the raison d’etre of the whole project.  Export low inflation to Greece to keep our exchange rate unnaturally low and our cars very cheep for Americans.  A twenty year long infallible plan…

Help?

The fine people at Morgan Lewis (founded by Eoin Morgan and Kevin Whately) are running another webinar next week on how to manage your firm and staff during the lock down.

Twenty twenty

The latest craze sweeping the internet is #MeAt20 where celebrities and non-celebrities alike post pictures of them at, erm, 20.  Highlights include a pretty nerdy Carol Vorderman, rugged Tom Bradby and Sajid Javid appearing as Arsenal Invincible Edu. Now I, rather in keeping with the practice of members of organised crime syndicates interestingly, have studiously avoided appearing in photos throughout my life and thus feel disenfranchised from this movement.  But I am hopeful that if I stick to my new lockdown consumption strategy I will soon be able to launch #MeAt20Stone.

Central contacts

As promised, today we launch our new Corona Information Centre on the website.  An evolving service which from Monday will feature links to all IUA member firms’ corona pages along with what you have now – Lloyd’s, HM Treasury, FCA , AIG and a few other bits and pieces.  Hope this is useful and if you have ideas for stuff we could add, please let us know.

Danny O Surely not

After yesterday’s successful foray into the corona follies of Senor Lopez Obrador, we move a little to the south to pick up with previous hero of LIIBA missives Daniel Ortega Saavedra.  Daniel had not been seen in public for 34 days.  Daniel is 74 and genuinely had quite a hard time of it in the 70s as a guerrilla fighter.  So I am sure you can see where people’s minds were going.  But, remarkably, he pitched up on the tele on Wednesday to address his people.

Daniel has refused to adopt social-distancing and lockdown measures and has in fact encouraged Nicaraguans to participate in mass gatherings (note to editor – Daniel has always encouraged Nicaraguans to participate in mass gatherings.  So long as they are mass gatherings with the sole aim of idolising Daniel).  And then Daniel said the pandemic was “a sign from God” against militarism and hegemony.  Which, from a man who originally gained power in a civil war and who, since returning to power in 2007, has systematically dismantled the Nicaraguan democratic system is, well, let’s plump for “interesting”.

Have lovely weekends.  I am off to breakfast with Jurgen Klopp.