Shareholders approve HBOS rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: Shareholders approve HBOS rights issue
HBOS’ £4 billion rights issue has secured the backing of the majority of its shareholders.
The bank has been forced into its cash call by writedowns from the credit crisis.
The fundraising has already encountered problems in the form of volatile share movements, which have been attributed to traders short-selling and resulted in an inconclusive investigation by […]
FSA action on short selling supports HBOS share price
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA action on short selling supports HBOS share price
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published new rules on “short selling”.
The practice, whereby traders profit from falling share prices, has been blamed for some of this week’s fall in the value of HBOS stock, prior to its rights issue.
HBOS needs to raise £4 billion from shareholders but the fundraising has been in jeopardy this […]
HBOS share price continues to endanger rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS share price continues to endanger rights issue
Yesterday’s fall in the share price of HBOS was followed by a further decline early today.
The group, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, saw the value of its stock fall further below the 275p price of it £4 billion rights issue, although around midday the price rallied to 274p.
The issue price of 275p represents […]
HBOS rights issue in jeopardy
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS rights issue in jeopardy
HBOS’s £4 billion rights issue looked in jeopardy today as the bank’s share price fell below the proposed offer price of 275p.
Shares in the UK’s largest mortgage lender fell almost 12%, to 258p, as the markets took up the strain of mounting concerns over the UK housing market.
This week’s news on the property sector has […]
High Street five support B&B fundraising
by Gill Montia
Story link: High Street five support B&B fundraising
Bradford & Bingley (B&B) will receive the support of the UK’s five largest High Street banks in its troubled fundraising event.
The buy-to-let lender originally planned to raise £330 million from shareholders in a rights issue but had to redraw its plans when a profit warning left its share price plummeting close to the issue price.
The […]
HBOS offers “cashless take-up” of rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS offers “cashless take-up” of rights issue
HBOS is trying to woo its small shareholders over its £4 billion rights issue.
The group, which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland, has a large number of small private investors because it was formed from the demutualisation of Halifax Building Society a decade ago; around 800,000 hold 200 shares or less.
In a move aimed […]
HBOS sells mortgage backed bonds
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS sells mortgage backed bonds
HBOS could be leading the way out of the credit crisis. The bank, which is the owner of Halifax, and is the UK’s largest mortgage lender, has sold mortgage backed bonds worth £500 million.
The deal has become headline news because it is the first sale of its kind by a UK bank since the US […]
HBOS outlines £4bn rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS outlines £4bn rights issue
HBOS has unveiled its plans for a £4 billion rights issue.
The group, which owns Bank of Scotland and Halifax, wrote down £2.8 billion in connection with the credit crisis in the first quarter of 2008 (compared with £736 million for the whole of 2007) as a result of a fall in the value of its […]
HBOS set to raise £4bn in rights issue
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS set to raise £4bn in rights issue
HBOS is reported to be planning a £4 billion rights issue, the details of which are likely to be announced to its 2.1 million shareholders this week.
The group’s Halifax business is the UK’s largest mortgage lender and the bank is known to have concerns about the downturn in the housing market.
This week, housing intelligence firm […]
BoSC negotiates stake in Kenmore
by Gill Montia
Story link: BoSC negotiates stake in Kenmore
Bank of Scotland Corporate (BoSC) is reported to be negotiating the acquisition of around 40% of Kenmore, the Scottish property company.
Kenmore is an Edinburgh-based developer and property fund manager that operates in the residential and commercial sectors.
BoSC has recently increased its interest in property development; it owns stakes in Cala and Tulloch and earlier this month […]
Bradford & Bingley rumours wipe £2.5bn off UK bank shares
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bradford & Bingley rumours wipe £2.5bn off UK bank shares
Bradford & Bingley (B&B), the buy-to-let lender, has denied rumours that it is in financial difficulties.
Over the weekend, reports in the press suggested that the lender would be forced into an emergency rights issue to shore up its capital base.
According to B&B’s finance director, the bank raised £2.5 billion in the wholesale market last autumn […]
BoS acquires stake in Miller Group
by Gill Montia
Story link: BoS acquires stake in Miller Group
Bank of Scotland (BoS) has acquired a stake in Miller Group, the privately owned construction firm that is one of Scotland’s biggest companies.
Full details of the transaction have not been disclosed but according to BoS’ usual practice, the stake would range from between 15% and 30%.
Miller Group is expected to report its first fall in […]
HBOS shares soar by 15%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: HBOS shares soar by 15%
After taking a battering in recent days, HBOS enjoyed a surge in its share value which soared by 15% over the course of a single day.
The multi-billion pound additional value is due to the £6m of shares purchased by senior executives at the bank, led by Andy Hornby, to reinvigorate confidence in the firm.
The move […]
Banks face losses as commercial property stocks fall
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks face losses as commercial property stocks fall
Capital Economics is warning that UK banks could face large losses as a result a sharp fall in the value of the UK’s commercial property.
The economic forecasting consultancy is warning that £7 billion could be wiped off commercial property stocks in the next two years and that the figure could rise to £18 billion should […]
FSA warns on market rumours as HBOS shares plunge
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA warns on market rumours as HBOS shares plunge
Rumours that HBOS has liquidity problems has led to an investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which will be looking at the possibility of market abuse, after the bank’s shares fell heavily today.
It is possible that the speculation, which included suggestions that the Bank of England is arranging an emergency meeting with HBOS, emanated […]
HBOS raises £750m in new capital
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS raises £750m in new capital
HBOS has made it clear that it thinks the credit squeeze if far from over by raising £750 million in new capital.
The bank acted quickly last week, when the US Federal Reserve and other central banks announced plans to inject further cash into the money markets, to stem the deterioration in the availability of credit.
Andy […]
HBOS puts profitability above market share
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS puts profitability above market share
HBOS has posted a 3% rise in underlying pre-tax profits, to £5.71 billion, for 2007.
However, the result is below market expectations of £5.76 billion and was accompanied by a warning of continued uncertainty in the financial markets.
New mortgage business increased 22% in the second-half of last year but the bank says it will be putting […]
HBOS supports financial management project
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS supports financial management project
HBOS’s charitable foundation is funding a £300,000 three-year project to help young people manage their finances and avoid getting into serious debt.
The Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) and YouthNet will use the grant to target young people aged 16 to 25 via web content, podcasts and mobile phones.
The charities hope to reach a million young people […]
HBOS on course for £5.8 billion profit
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS on course for £5.8 billion profit
In a trading update, HBOS, the UK’s fourth largest bank, has reported that it is writing down just £180 million in connection with the credit squeeze.
The bank’s chief executive, Andy Hornby, confirmed that profits and costs for 2007 will be in line with market expectations and that the bank’s full-year profit forecast of around £5.8 […]
SMEs lose banking price controls
by Gill Montia
Story link: SMEs lose banking price controls
The Competition Commission (CC) has lifted the temporary price controls that it applied to the UK’s four largest banks, in 2003.
The controls determined the way in which Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland group run business accounts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The price controls were put in place following an […]
