Morgan Stanley has announced plans to cut 10% of staff from its investment banking and sales and trading divisions. The group is also proposing to restructure its asset management business in a way that will leave around 9% of staff surplus to requirements. However, its global wealth management business will be left in tact. Earlier [...]
Chase Card Services has continued to develop its Chase Freedom product line with the introduction of a new rewards product. Chase Freedom (which is a division of JPMorgan Chase & co) is now offering a new credit card which allows users to redeem their rewards in the form of cash, travel, gift cards or merchandise, [...]
Britons are heeding warnings of a sharp economic slowdown and attempting to keep their savings in tact, according to recent research from Birmingham Midshires. The buy-to-let lender’s Saving Britain report shows that while the amount squirreled away by consumers each month has fallen, the average amount withdrawn from savings accounts across the nation has also [...]
Deutsche Bank has continued its regional expansion in California, with the addition of a public finance trust office in Santa Ana. The office, the second in South California, will cater to public finance clients and will meet their local account management and administration services needs. The new office is to be led by Jane Snyder, [...]
Nomura Holdings, Inc has today announced the new heads of Fixed Income in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region. The EMEA heads of Fixed Income will be Georges Assi and Kieran Higgins, with the pair reporting both to global head of Fixed Income Zenji Nakamura and chief executive of Acquired Businesses in the [...]
Dutch bank ING has reported Q3 net losses of €585m, as a result of the continuing turmoil in the world financial markets. The bank recorded year-to-date profits of €2,982m, a sharp fall compared to the first nine months of last year which saw profits of €6,759m. The third quarter saw a net loss of €0.22 [...]
The cost of borrowing on bank and store credit cards is continuing to rise, despite recent cuts in the Bank of England’s base rate. Latest research from financial analyst, Defaqto, shows the average annual percentage rate for credit cards rising from 17.2% in May to 17.6% today, while over the same period the base rate [...]
The US Federal Reserve has agreed that credit card provider, American Express Co, can convert to a bank holding company. The move will allow the group to access funding from the US Treasury and subsidiary, American Express Travel Related Services Co. Inc. will also convert. Similar requests for a change of status from Goldman Sachs [...]
Spanish banking group, Santander, is raising €7.2 billion (£5.9 billion) in a rights issue. The move comes two weeks after the bank reported that its balance sheet was strong enough to resist a fundraising, despite a string of acquisitions. In October, Santander acquired part of the collapsed Bradford & Bingley, having made a successful bid [...]
Nationwide Building Society is not content with the current arrangements for funding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which is paid for by a levy on UK financial institutions. New legislation introduced as a result of the collapse of Northern Rock in September 2007 meant that the FSCS picked up part of the cost of [...]
HSBC has reported a year-on-year rise in third-quarter profit but warned profit for the first nine-months of 2008 is below that recorded for the same period of 2007. In the three months to the end of September the bank wrote down $4.3 billion at its US personal financial services business, as a result of a [...]
Investment bank Credit Suisse has today announced it has majority ownership of Saudi Swiss Securities, following which it has been renamed Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia. The Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia has given the joint venture a commencement letter permitting all activities which the body authorises. Credit Suisse Saudi Arabia’s new chief executive officer [...]
Nationwide has reported an 18% fall in pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of September, to £322 million. The building society reported that its share of the UK’s net lending mortgage market has declined to 5.6%, from 6.2% a year earlier. During the first six months of the financial year, lending to [...]
Former chief executives of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Bank of Scotland (BoS) have written to HBOS chairman, Lord Stevenson, calling for his resignation and that of his chief executive, Andy Hornby. Sir George Mathewson (formerly of RBS) and Sir Peter Burt (formerly of BoS) are convinced that HBOS shareholders and staff will lose [...]
National Bank of Canada has announced that its Board of Directors is to swell to 15 in size (including four women), with the appointment of Louise Laflamme. Laflamme has worked in the industry for 35 years, during which time she has occupied a range of positions with a number of companies, particularly in the fields [...]
The NatWest three, the former bankers who were convicted of fraud in the US in connection with the collapse of Enron, are to serve the last few months of their 37 month sentences in the UK. Gary Mulgrew, Giles Darby and David Bermingham who conspired with Enron’s chief financial officer to steal $7.35 million have [...]
Consumers who make use of credit card balance transfer offers to keep their borrowing manageable are seeing their options eroded. According to research by financial website, MoneyExpert.com, credit card firms have been withdrawing zero per cent balance transfer deals over the past 12 months. This time last year, around 82% of card providers sought new [...]
Legg Mason Inc. has announced the appointment of Matthew Schiffman to lead its Product and Marketing operations within the USA. Schiffman brings with him over a quarter of a century of industry experience and will have strategic responsibility for both the development and marketing of products across all distribution channels. Most recently he worked for [...]
KPMG is predicting that the number of people declared insolvent will have increased during the third quarter of 2008 and will continue to rise until the figures peak during the second quarter of 2009. The accountancy firm’s forecast takes into account the UK’s deteriorating economic situation and the impact of this on unemployment. In addition, [...]
