Record personal insolvencies expected in 2008
by Gill Montia
Story link: Record personal insolvencies expected in 2008
KPGM has published a report in which it forecasts that a record number of people will be declared insolvent in 2008.
The accountancy firm expects high levels of debt and the impact of the credit squeeze to take their toll on personal finances with the result that in 2008, over 130,000 people could be declared bankrupt […]
UBS suffers setback in Indian expansion
by Gill Montia
Story link: UBS suffers setback in Indian expansion
UBS, the Swiss investment bank, has suffered a serious setback in its plans to expand in India.
The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, has opposed its plans to purchase the local mutual funds unit of Standard Chartered, for £60 million.
No statement has been made by the Reserve Bank explaining its actions, but according […]
FSA provides online support for post-Christmas budgeters
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA provides online support for post-Christmas budgeters
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published the results of a seasonal survey in which 48% of respondents admitted that, come January, they are more likely to go on a diet or book a holiday than attempt to sort out their finances.
Only 13% of those surveyed were dedicated to the task, despite the fact that […]
Merrill Lynch raises $7.5bn in sale
by Gill Montia
Story link: Merrill Lynch raises $7.5bn in sale
Merrill Lynch has raised $7.5 billion from the sale of part of its lending business and a share in the investment bank.
John Thain, Merrill’s new chief executive, is reported to have agreed the disposals “at a substantial discount”.
Just under 10% of the bank has been acquired by two investors, for $6.2 billion: Temasek Holdings, […]
UBS to be investigated by Swiss regulator
by Gill Montia
Story link: UBS to be investigated by Swiss regulator
UBS, the Swiss investment bank and the world’s largest wealth manager, is to be investigated by the Swiss banking regulator.
The Federal Banking Commission (FBC) has concerns about the extent of the bank’s losses in the global credit crisis and according to FBC spokesman Alain Bichsel, it “will investigate how these enormous writedowns” occurred and will […]
Northern Rock seeks management talent for in-house rescue
by Gill Montia
Story link: Northern Rock seeks management talent for in-house rescue
Northern Rock’s management is reported to be planning an internal rescue of the troubled mortgage bank.
Last week, Andy Kuipers’ position as new chief executive was confirmed and according to reports in the press, he is now seeking to strengthen his management team and mount an in-house rescue that could provide an alternative to a buy-out, […]
Skipton freezes accounts after computer theft
by Gill Montia
Story link: Skipton freezes accounts after computer theft
Skipton Building Society is warning members that they could become victims of identity theft, following the loss of personal details of 14,000 customers of its subsidiary, Skipton Financial Services (SFS).
The data was on the hard-drive of a computer that has been stolen from Moore Stephens Consulting, a London-based IT company.
It includes names, addresses, national insurance […]
RBS Moves To Acquire Stake In Suzhou
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: RBS Moves To Acquire Stake In Suzhou
The Royal Bank of Scotland has today been revealed as being in talks with a Chinese group, according to reports from state media in China today, which would see it look to acquire a 19.9% stake through its investment banking division.
The bank is thought to be in talks to acquire a stake in Suzhou Trust, […]
Merrill Courts Foreign Investment
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: Merrill Courts Foreign Investment
Investment bank Merrill Lynch has today received a boost following reports that a foreign based investor may be preparing to inject some $5 billion worth of capital into the bank with a view to providing further investment funds for the equity group.
Asian based investor Temasek Holdings has today announced it may be prepared to invest […]
Sir Menzies Campbell becomes a Saint
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Sir Menzies Campbell becomes a Saint
At the end of the year that saw him resign as Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell has joined the Scottish American Investment Company, also referred to as Saints, having been appointed to the £450m investment trust’s board.
Sir Menzies becomes a director with immediate effect.
The board’s chairman, Sir Brian Ivory, has expressed his delight at […]
Northern Rock shareholders to hold emergency meeting
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Northern Rock shareholders to hold emergency meeting
An emergency meeting called for by Northern Rock shareholders looks set to go ahead next month, despite the bank’s reluctance.
The meeting will consider the auctioning process, which has seen the bank being bid for by two groups: Virgin and Olivant.
The two largest shareholders in the bank, private equity firms SRM Global and RAB Capital, have […]
Merrill negotiates $5bn from Temasek as sub-prime losses mount
by Gill Montia
Story link: Merrill negotiates $5bn from Temasek as sub-prime losses mount
Merrill Lynch, the US investment bank, is reported to be in advanced talks with Temasek Holdings, the investment house owned by the Singapore Government, over a $5 billion injection of capital.
The bank has been one of the biggest casualties of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and is expected to write down a further $8 billion […]
November savers deposit £2.35 billion with building societies
by Gill Montia
Story link: November savers deposit £2.35 billion with building societies
Deposits made into building societies totalled £2.35 billion in November.
The amount is the third-highest on record and reflects savers’ preferences for a “safe-haven investment” following the Northern Rock crisis, falling share prices and talk of a recession.
November’s net figure of £2.35 billion is almost three times the £848m saved during the same month in 2006.
September […]
Mortgage Market In Slowdown For Lenders
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: Mortgage Market In Slowdown For Lenders
The UK housing market could be in for further turbulence according to figures released today, which reflected an 8% drop in mortgage lending activity over the course of November as the housing situation here continues to falter under wider economic pressures.
According to the data released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, total lending overall […]
Bear Stearns Announced First Ever Quarter Loss
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: Bear Stearns Announced First Ever Quarter Loss
Investment bank and asset manager Bear Stearns has today announced it has made its first ever quarterly loss over the last three months as a result of growing problems within the troubled US sub-prime sector in its investment portfolio led to writedowns and loss of earnings.
The leading investment firm reported that it had made a […]
Japanese economy slows as interest rates remain steady
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Japanese economy slows as interest rates remain steady
The Japanese economy is suffering an economic slowdown as a result of weak housing investment and a nervous corporate sentiment. The central bank has kept the basic rate of interest at 0.5% following a unanimous vote to do so.
Toshihiko Fukui, the Bank of Japan’s governor, told the press today that despite the slowdown the production, […]
Hedge fund collapse causes Barclays to sue
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Hedge fund collapse causes Barclays to sue
Bear Stearns, the Wall Street bank, is being sued by Barclays after a hedge fund the firm invested in failed.
However, Stearns has retaliated by claiming the filing of a lawsuit is simply to decoy to try and draw attention from Barclays’ poor judgement.
Barclays was the only investor in the hedge fund and has alleged that […]
Northern Rock new CEO faces prospect of EGM
by Gill Montia
Story link: Northern Rock new CEO faces prospect of EGM
Northern Rock has secured approval from the Financial Services Authority for its appointment of Andy Kuipers as chief executive of the mortgage bank.
Mr Kuipers, who previously headed the bank’s sales and marketing operations, officially took up his post yesterday following on from Adam Applegarth who left the bank last week, earlier than expected.
In his new […]
FSA to curb lending as banks prioritise “profits over prudence”
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA to curb lending as banks prioritise “profits over prudence”
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has accused banks of prioritising profits over prudence, in a statement referring to the ways in which banks and other financial institutions use the short-term money markets.
Furthermore, the authority is proposing to introduce new rules to curb lending by some of the larger banks and building societies.
The measures, which […]
Citigroup Fail To Raise Finance For Russian Deal
by Stewart Douglas
Story link: Citigroup Fail To Raise Finance For Russian Deal
Investment bank Citigroup has today announced it has failed to raise funds for billionaire businessman Vladimir Potanin in his bid to buy a quarter equity stake in Russian metals company Norilsk Nickel, as a result of lasting problems from the credit crunch and the fallout from the US sub-prime mortgage sector.
The move has been seen […]
