PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has conducted an analysis in its annual report (Precious Plastic 2009) which reveals that although profitability in the UK credit card market has risen in the last year and a half (judged by net yields after charge-offs), in aggregate over the past 8 years it has fallen substantially. The report also concludes that [...]
Bank of America (BoA) has announced that it will be cutting its global workforce by between 30,000 and 35,000 during the next three years. The cull takes into account the group’s integration of Merrill Lynch, which is in the process of being acquiring for $50 billion, the takeover having been agreed during the desperate hours [...]
Abbey has upgraded its online facility for business customers, some of whom have since been locked out of their accounts. Work was carried out on the website last weekend when the system was brought into line with the one used by personal banking customers. The transfer took place on Sunday, since when difficulties with re-registering [...]
Britons are turning their attention to saving as predictions for a deepening of the economic recession through 2009 make worrying headlines. A recent survey by Alliance & Leicester found that 29% of people questioned had been cutting back on their spending to save more. The research also revealed that 48% of savers use the Internet [...]
On Wednesday Commerzbank’s Supervisory Board held an extraordinary meeting at which they agreed to speed up the takeover of Dresdner Bank. Martin Blessing, chairman of the Board of Managing Directors, stated that the firm was making rapid progress towards the process of integration, and that the targets set for 2008 had been met. In late [...]
The Bank of England has released its quarterly survey of public opinion regarding inflation, which was undertaken in November. The median response when asked about the current inflation rate was 4.9%, a drop of 50 basis points from the median answer given in the previous survey (which took place in August) and the largest fall [...]
A last minute attempt to prevent the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB has failed. Details of the takeover were announced in September, with the all-share deal approved by the Government, which was prepared to put aside competition issues to see HBOS rescued by its competitor. The proposed merger has since been criticised from a [...]
Insolvency and restructuring specialist, Tenon Recovery, has reported a sharp rise in the number of businesses needing assistance. The firm experienced a rise of almost 200% in the number of contacts from companies in the retail, restaurant, motor, property and leisure sectors, during November and December. Among the difficulties faced is a fall in profit [...]
The central banks of China, Korea and Japan have agreed to meet on a regular basis in Tripartite Governors’ Meetings. The People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of Korea will discuss economic matters that concern the region, financial developments and common ground regarding central banking. Informal dialogue has taken place [...]
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s Governor Alan Bollard has warned that further loosening of moentary policy is contingent upon all economic sectors reacting to reduced demand and not increasing inflationary pressure. Bollard has stated that New Zealand’s economy will be aided in its recovery by easing monetary policy, but that such an action would [...]
Asian economies will not escape the economic storm unscathed, according to the World Bank’s regular biannual report on the economic health of the East Asia & Pacific region. Real terms GDP growth in developing East Asia this year is expected to be 8.5%, but is predicted to fall to 6.7% amid weakening export growth and [...]
Cowen Group has announced that an unsolicited acquisition proposal made towards it by Rodman and Renshaw Capital group has been rejected. Earlier in 2008 Rodman and Renshaw approached Cowen to propose a strategic transaction, which Cowen rejected on the basis that it would not bolster stockholder value or add strategic advantage. Cowen offers all primary [...]
Legg Mason’s Board of Directors has announced that Mark R. Fetting is the board’s new chairman with immediate effect. Fetting is already a director on the board, as well as occupying the roles of president and chief executive officer of the firm. He succeeds co-founder and longserving chairman Raymond A. Mason, who is to leave [...]
Nationwide has been researching the savings habits of Britons and has discovered that the proportion of people savings regularly increased to 52% between October and November, up from 47% a month earlier. The building society suggests that the rise reflects recent cuts in the Bank of England’s base rate, which have eased family budgets. In [...]
Alex W. Widmer, the chief executive officer of Bank Julius Baer, has passed away unexpectedly. Widmer died overnight on Wednesday, aged just 52. He joined the bank three years ago as a member of the Group Executive Board, and the Private Banking division’s chief executive officer. Late last year he was promoted to become CEO [...]
The Standard Bank’s Community Investment Fund (CIF) has achieved an important milestone in Umlazi, KwaZulu Natal. The CIF was set up to provide informal businesses with loans that they would have been unable to gain through more usual means as they would fail to meet lending criteria. It was first set up in September of [...]
HSBC has announced that it will make £1 billion available to small UK businesses that are financially sound but struggling with cash flow problems in the economic downturn. The bank’s head of commercial, Noel Quinn, says the money will be made available to existing customers to help with their working capital needs and will be [...]
Lloyds TSB will keep the Bank of Scotland and Halifax brands, once its proposed merger with HBOS is complete. In November the bank announced that the combined businesses would be known as Lloyds Banking Group but it has since decided to retain a multi-brand prescence on the High Street. Other brands that will form part [...]
