- Crisis-hit Valencia hire West Brom's Corberan as new boss
- Suriname ex-dictator and fugitive Desi Bouterse dead at 79
- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
US banking system 'well-capitalized' despite risks: Yellen
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday that the country's banking system is "well-capitalized" even as some banks face stresses stemming from the commercial real estate sector.
Yellen made the comments to a congressional hearing where she added that regulators are monitoring risks from nonbank mortgage lenders and authorities plan to tighten oversight on investment advisers.
Earlier this week, Yellen expressed concern about the commercial property sector, saying banking supervisors are working with institutions to manage challenges.
The concern is that as commercial real estate loans come due, they will have to be refinanced in an environment of higher interest charges, lower valuations and where vacancy rates are growing -- adding pressure on the system.
Vacancy rates in office buildings, especially in metropolitan areas, have surged, Yellen told the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on Thursday.
"There are some risks, and there are some institutions that will face stresses from commercial real estate," she said.
"For some banks, this will be a concern. But on balance I'd say the system is well-capitalized," she added.
At the hearing, Yellen also said regulators are eyeing risks related to nonbank mortgage lenders.
"Nonbank mortgage companies lack access to deposits which banks have, they're reliant on short-term financing that may be a lot less stable than deposits," she said.
Yellen added that their credit lines can be pulled during times of stress and that they also lack access to the types of liquidity backstops that banks have.
"There is concern that in stressful market conditions, we could see the failure of one of these," she said.
On Thursday, Yellen also noted that Treasury plans to issue a proposed rule applying requirements for anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing on investment advisers.
"Investment advisers is a financial sector that hasn't been uniformly covered" by anti-money laundering and terrorism financing rules, according to the Treasury chief.
"Our risk assessment shows that that is an area that provides an avenue for sanctioned individuals, for criminals and the like, to move wealth and invest in the United States without the sources of their wealth being detected," she said.
A.Seabra--PC