Netherlands-based financial services group, ING, has secured a €10 billion injection of cash from the Dutch government. In return for the support, the government will take an 8.5% stake in the business, which has around 85 million customers worldwide. Following the move, directors of ING face a number of restrictions on remuneration and Dutch ministers [...]
A co-ordinated action by international enforcement agencies has shut down a website that was being used by criminals to buy and sell personal details that could facilitate financial fraud. DarkMarket specialised in the trading of stolen credit card details and PIN numbers and even provided training material for fraudsters. Sixty people have been arrested worldwide, [...]
Investment bank Berkery Noyes has appointed Adam Newman to serve as its new Education Group director. He joins Berkery Noyes from Eduventures, Inc. where he worked as managing vice president and ran the Industry Solutions division which is dedicated to the development of corporate and growth strategy. The position, which has been recently created, entails [...]
Credit Suisse is to shore up its balance sheet by raising SwFr10 billion (£5 billion) from private investors. The bank politely declined an offer by the Swiss Government to transfer its riskier assets to the country’s central bank in return for an injection of cash, saying its portfolio is relatively sound. It is now likely [...]
Wall Street investment bank, Merrill Lynch, has posted a $5.15 billion loss for the third quarter of 2008. The scale of the loss was above analysts’ expectation and reflected a $9.5 billion writedown on mortgage-related investments. In the dark days that surrounded the collapse of Lehman Brothers, in mid-September, Merrill agreed to be acquired by [...]
Equity Bank has won the best Micro Finance Bank in Africa award at the African Bankers Awards in Washington DC. Equity Bank was successful in seeing off three rival nominees for the award, which goes to the bank which, through micro finance lending, has done the most to combat poverty in Africa. The African Bankers [...]
Independent investment bank Greenhill & Co., Inc. has declared ambitions to expand into Japan, and heralded its goal with the opening of a Tokyo office dedicated to advising Japanese firms on domestic and cross-border merger, acquisition and restructuring opportunities. Kensuke Hotta has assumed the role of Greenhill Japan’s chairman with immediate effect, with Hiroto Yamada [...]
The board of Panmure Gordon & Co. plc has announced the appointment of Greg Wright to serve as ThinkPanmure’s chief executive. Wright has worked within ThinkPanmure, the US business of the Group, for the last two years, having joined from Merrill Lynch. Earlier this year he was promoted to MD and chief operating officer. Panmure [...]
The Bank of England has announced further measures to improve liquidity in the money markets. From next week, two new schemes will be activated: an overnight loans facility charging interest at 0.25% above base rate and a 30-day facility that will charge interest from 0.5% above base rate, dependent upon the nature of the borrower’s [...]
Infosecurity Europe has conducted research which reveals an overwhelming 95% of people would prefer to have an e-crime agency they could report online fraud to directly. Presently those who wish to report online fraud must go through APACS and/or the involved financial services firm. The research (with 359 respondents who visited the Infosecurity Europe website) [...]
Reports in the media suggest that the Treasury will reduce the length of time that shareholders of bailed-out banks are starved of dividends. The Government’s £37 billion rescue plan, which involves the part nationalisation of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds TSB / HBOS, came with strings attached including a ban on dividend payments [...]
Financial data firm, Defaqto, has been taking a look at the impact of rising inflation on savers. In recent months, High Street savings rates have been rising, as banks and some building societies struggle with the lack of liquidity in the money markets and compete to attract retail deposits. However, inflation rose to a 16-year [...]
Switzerland’s central bank, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reached an agreement with investment bank UBS to reduce the firm’s balance sheet risk. UBS is to give US$60bn of illiquid securities and other balance sheet assets to a separate fund entity. This enables the investment bank to limit possible future financial damage from the assets [...]
Lloyds TSB has released its latest “Financial Face of Britain” report showing that 41% of under 35-year-olds living in Scotland are saving less. The report, which is based on a careful study of the spending and saving habits of around 5,000 adults, also reveals that 57% of Scots are reducing their spending to clear debt. [...]
The US Government has outlined new measures to rescue the country’s ailing banks. Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, says he will use $250 billion of the $700 billion support package already approved by Congress to purchase equity in banks. This will most likely be in the form of preference shares. As with the UK rescue package [...]
Certain senior banking executives will be sleeping easier in their beds tonight on the news that no legal action will be taken against those at the helm of Northern Rock, when the mortgage lender collapsed last September. An examination of the management of the bank by lawyers, Freshfields, and accountants, KPMG, has not produced sufficient [...]
Banco Santander, which presently owns 24.35% of Sovereign Bancorp, is to purchase the remaining 75.65% after the proposal was put forward by the Capital and Finance Committee, which consists of independent directors of Sovereign. The Executive Committee of Santander agreed with the proposal, as did non-Santander Sovereign directors, and Sovereign shareholders are to be given [...]
Evercore Partners Inc. has announced the appointment of Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent as a strategic adviser to the firm’s Advisory business. Admiral Sir James will be based in Evercore’s London office, and brings with him tremendous experience having been Commander-in-Chief Fleet of the Royal Navy until earlier in this year. He has unparalleled experience of [...]
The official inflation measure soared by 0.5% from August to September, figures released today show. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose from 4.7% to 5.2% continued to be driven upward, largely by the increasing cost of energy. The Retail Price Index (RPI) also increased, but marginally from 4.9% to 5%. Although not the official inflation [...]
