ECB Looks at Deutsche Bank, BNP, SocGen's Trading Books

The European Central Bank is taking its closest look yet at the trading books of three of the euro zone’s biggest lenders, according to people briefed on the matter. The Frankfurt-based supervisor asked BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Societe Generale SA several months ago to provide details of how they value bonds, stocks and derivatives on their trading books, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information. The ECB, in its fourth year as the region’s bank supervisor, wants to dig deeper into the trading operations of the euro area’s top lenders, particularly how they use the leeway they’re given to price hard-to-value assets and liabilities themselves.