The US banks – which are the biggest sponsors of the structured investment vehicles that Mlec is designed to help – have reportedly agreed a simplified structure for the conduit. Mlec has the sponsorship of the US Treasury but it does not have the backing of many European institutions which, rightly or wrongly, feel that the plan does not serve the best interests of them or their clients.
HSBC and Standard Chartered are among those who have turned their backs on the scheme; they are pursuing other techniques...
