The European Central Bank has radical suggestions for ending AT1 conversion triggers and allowing only profitable banks to pay coupons. This could make these instruments riskier than equity.

A second large AT1 deal this year shows increased investor confidence around the bank’s transformation, but timing the deal was tricky.

Banks in Europe face a bleak choice. They can redouble cost cutting and capture the move to digital. They can also top up capital with AT1s, for which there is still a bid. But as the acute phase of the crisis now approaches and loan losses rise, banks’ fabled capital strength faces a stern test

The AT1 market has grown to almost $200 billion equivalent, with perhaps $20 billion equivalent of net new issuance to come from banks filling P2R buckets with lower-quality capital than CET1.

One intriguing sub-plot of a wild year in bank capital has been the advent of green AT1 and tier-2 deals.

As it presses ahead with restructuring, Deutsche will exit cash equities, cut back in rates and centre itself on a traditional corporate banking business. CEO Christian Sewing calls it the most radical transformation the bank has undertaken in decades.

Additional tier-1 (AT1) securities and contingent convertible capital instruments, known as CoCo bonds, absorb losses when the capital of the issuing financial institution falls below a supervisor-determined level. Here we explain everything you need to know about these hybrid securities, a key plank in bank-resolution plans, and implications for issuers and investors.

The bizarre communications management of the announcement prompts more head shaking than the actual event itself.

New investigations into the troubled bank evoke bad memories.

UniCredit's CEO puts his money where his mouth is.

AT1 contingent capital bonds are entering their second generation; issuers have begun refinancing the $200 billion asset class, but just two years ago the market looked close to collapse. What took it to near disaster? And how did it escape?

What to do when questions are being asked about the effectiveness of low-trigger CoCos? Issue higher trigger ones, of course.

Talk of exchange-traded funds offering exposure to additional tier-1 debt may not be as worrying as it sounds

An investment fund focused on banks with a slant on Europe and Italy might sound like a recipe for disaster, but Davide Serra of Algebris tells a story of market-beating returns and snowballing AuM, and thinks the best times lie ahead.

A textbook case, a long-inevitable state bailout and a brazen political fudge: Europe’s BRRD has had something of a rough ride this summer. As the region’s banks brace themselves for the capital-raising marathon that is MREL, are the new resolution regulations actually doing more harm than good?

As a self-described ‘insider-outsider’ at UniCredit, Jean Pierre Mustier has transformed the image of Italy’s biggest bank – inside and out – over an extraordinary 12 months as CEO.

Bank warns on AT1 coupon if €13 bln rights issue fails; move highlights importance of capital increase.

Deutsche crisis hits AT1 bonds again; new trigger language needed.

Investors dump Deutsche after CFO funding boast; Fears spread to other bank stocks.

It’s easy to blame technical factors and investors’ misunderstanding of the new AT1 market for February’s sharp sell-off across the bank sector, but investors may have a firm grasp of the fundamentals.

Secondary yields rise above cost of equity; bankers pin hopes on lack of alternatives.

Subordinated debt meltdown raises capital questions; investors and issuers ‘don’t know’ how bail-in works.

Flight to AT1 from high yield expected; tier 2 needed to mitigate ALAC impact.

New AT1 deals from Chinese and UK challenger banks; TLAC securities “must appeal to fixed income investors”

A November rush to market is anticipated, but there are signs of a flight to quality by investors.

Lloyds LME highlights potential risks to investors of early regulatory calls in the booming AT1 market

Lloyds’ liability management exercise (LME) highlights the potential risks to investors of early calls.

Overwhelming demand for a string of bank AT1 deals shows the extent of investors’ desperation for yield as much as their faith in the restored health of the banking sector. As more new investors accept these deals, hopes grow that a €150 billion AT1 market might emerge quickly now. But terms have tightened far and fast and AT1 can be volatile.

€31 billion AT1 needs to be issued by end-2014; Benchmark inclusion key to future appetite