Barclays writes down £1bn and considers rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays writes down £1bn and considers rights issue
In a trading update, Barclays has revealed that it has written down a further £1 billion in relation to the credit crisis, in the first quarter of the year.
The bank’s investment division, Barclays Capital, absorbed a £1.006 billion write down as credit market conditions worsened. However, the unit remained profitable overall.
Profit for the first quarter [...]
Deutsche Bank poach UBS trader
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Deutsche Bank poach UBS trader
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. has announced that Chad South has joined the firm to serve as both director and head of the US Clean Products Trading business.
He leaves behind UBS, where he was a refined products trader and executive director, to join Deutsche Bank.
Earlier in his career he worked for JP Morgan Chase and BP.
In [...]
PBC: goods continue to rise in price
by Richard Kilner
Story link: PBC: goods continue to rise in price
The People’s Bank of China has revealed that the price of goods continues to rise on both a monthly and annual basis.
In April, the price of corporate goods had increased by 0.7% compared to March, and by 10.3% compared to April 2007.
The biggest annual prices rises were slaughtered and processed meat which rose by 56.9%, [...]
Nationwide opts for EDM document handling system
by Gill Montia
Story link: Nationwide opts for EDM document handling system
Nationwide aims to shorten its customer response times with the installation of a new document management system.
The building society has selected EDM Group’s Scan on Demand business solution, which provides flexible access to archived customer data.
DM currently manages 2.5 million customer files at its Wolverhampton site. The firm can scan and upload documents as required [...]
BNP Paribas sees Q1 profits fall by 21%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: BNP Paribas sees Q1 profits fall by 21%
French banking firm, BNP Paribas Group, has reported its first quarter results for the year.
Revenue fell by 10% on a year-on-year comparison, reaching €7.4bn, although this did mark a rise of almost 7% compared with the final quarter of 2007.
Net profit fell by 21% to just under €2bn.
The worldwide financial crisis did cost the firm, [...]
A&L shares slide on news of £391m write down
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L shares slide on news of £391m write down
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) shares fell over 10% (to 458¾p) yesterday on the news that the bank is writing down £391 million in credit crunch related debt.
The slide followed predictions that the bank’s first-half profit could effectively be wiped out as a result; figures for the first four months of the year are already below [...]
ING sees Q1 profits fall by 15.2%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: ING sees Q1 profits fall by 15.2%
Dutch bank ING has reported a fall of 15.2% in net profits for the first quarter of this year.
Pre-tax profits fell by 31.2%, with a loss of 55m euros taken due to the strength of the euro compared to other currencies which are generally in decline.
However, the damage taken from the sub-prime mortgage crisis was [...]
Bradford & Bingley launches £300m emergency rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bradford & Bingley launches £300m emergency rights issue
Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has turned to its shareholders to shore-up its balance sheet, in a £300 million emergency rights issue.
Around four weeks ago, the buy-to-let lender denied rumours that it was in financial difficulties, stating that the bank had a £2 billion funding facility that it has not yet used.
However, B&B now says that [...]
HSBC accused of overvaluing loans by $30bn
by Gill Montia
Story link: HSBC accused of overvaluing loans by $30bn
HSBC’s activist shareholder, Knight Vinke, has responded to yesterday’s news that the bank has written down a further $3.2 billion in mortgage-related losses by demanding that HFC, the group’s US consumer finance arm, should be sold.
The fund manager has also accused HSBC of having not made an accurate value adjustment on its loans to customers [...]
HSBC sees Q1 profits rise
by Richard Kilner
Story link: HSBC sees Q1 profits rise
A ray of economic sunshine penetrated the clouds yesterday, when HSBC revealed that its performance for the first quarter were better than those of the previous year.
Despite predictions of a forthcoming US recession, its share price rose by nearly 2% to reach 882p.
The bank, which is the largest in Europe, has recorded multi-billion pound write-downs [...]
Northern Rock progresses but mortgage arrears rise
by Gill Montia
Story link: Northern Rock progresses but mortgage arrears rise
Northern Rock has reported a rise in the number of its mortgage customers falling into arrears.
The bank was nationalised in February of this year and its chairman, Ron Sandler, has admitted that its customer base is changing as, over time, borrowers with good credit histories remortgage with other lenders.
The bank has been actively encouraging customers [...]
Chinese banks’ reserve ratio rises by 0.5%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Chinese banks’ reserve ratio rises by 0.5%
On Monday, the People’s Bank of China announced that the mandatory reserve held by banks is to be increased by 0.5%.
From 20 May banks will be required to stay within a 16.5% reserve requirement ratio.
The move by the Chinese authorities has been made in an effort to put a brake on rising inflation, as well [...]
Pension bodies challenge HMRC on VAT
by Gill Montia
Story link: Pension bodies challenge HMRC on VAT
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has joined forces with Wheels Common Investment Fund (WCIF), which manages private pension schemes for Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover to mount a legal challenge over VAT.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) currently collects VAT on the investment management services supplied to occupational pension funds and WCIF and NAPF [...]
Compliance costs set to rise
by Gill Montia
Story link: Compliance costs set to rise
A new report from professional services firm, Deloitte, is warning that the cost of regulation in the financial services sector is set to rise steeply in the years ahead.
The world’s 100 leading financial institutions have already experienced a 30% hike in compliance costs over the past three years, with the total bill increasing to around [...]
HSBC writes down $5.8bn on US business
by Gill Montia
Story link: HSBC writes down $5.8bn on US business
HSBC has added $5.8 billion to the $14 billion it has already written down in relation to its US business.
The bank’s chairman, Stephen Green, admitted that the US is likely to fall into a recession during 2008 and that the country’s housing market may not recover until at least 2009.
A statement also confirmed that the [...]
Westpac seeks to merge with St George
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Westpac seeks to merge with St George
Today Westpac Banking has confirmed that it is presently engaged in discussions with St George Bank, with a view to achieving an all-share bid.
Should the deal go ahead it would lead to the creation of Australia’s largest home lender, with a market share of 25% and 10 million customers.
Australia’s banking sector has, like the rest [...]
KCB to raise 5bn in rights issue
by Richard Kilner
Story link: KCB to raise 5bn in rights issue
Shareholders in the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) agreed at the firm’s 37th AGM to raise additional capital through a rights issue.
The KCB, which is aiming to raise KShs5bn, wants to use the extra capital to bolster its expansion plans both in Kenya itself and the region generally.
The funding will also be used to support [...]
Nationwide raises Flex account overdraft rate
by Gill Montia
Story link: Nationwide raises Flex account overdraft rate
From the 1st June, Nationwide is raising the overdraft interest rate for its four million Flex account customers by 3%, to 12.45%.
The building society is also reducing the interest paid on credit balances from a maximum of 3.75%, to 3.5% while extending the limit for customers who qualify for its best credit-balance interest rates from [...]
UKSA supports Northern Rock shareholders in fight for justice
by Gill Montia
Story link: UKSA supports Northern Rock shareholders in fight for justice
Northern Rock shareholders are beginning their legal action over the terms of the bank’s nationalisation.
The UK Shareholders Association (UKSA), which represents the country’s small private investors, has confirmed that it will promote the interests of approximately 150,000 small shareholders who are demanding a judicial review of the compensation terms offered by the Government.
It is understood [...]
New Zealand central bank boosts liquidity
by Richard Kilner
Story link: New Zealand central bank boosts liquidity
new measures designed to assist the country’s banking sector by improving liquidity.
The move has been made as a pre-emptive strike against potential future financial turbulence in the world’s credit markets and banking sectors.
The changes, which come into effect from 3 June, include increasing the range of securities acceptable to the Reserve Bank’s liquidity operations.
From 3 [...]
