The group saw total revenues leap up to €6.9bn, a rise of 74% on the previous year.

The firm also made pre-tax profits of €1.27bn, a rise of almost €1.9bn on 2008, primarily driven by a strong €3bn resurgence in net trading income.

At the same time, operating costs declined by 0.9% and net interest income rose by €269m.

Consolidated profits for the year stood at €884m, up from the 2008 loss of €649m, and after restructuring costs consolidated profit stood at over €1bn.

Management Board spokesman Dr Theodor Weimer stated that the firm achieved an excellent pre-tax profit margin in 2009, despite difficulties in the operating environment.

However, Dr. Weimer went on to warn that the recovery was not yet permanent and was not self-sustaining, adding that the volatility and unpredictability presented HVB with opportunities and risks.

The guests will discuss means by which the property market can enhance its reputation and improve its future prospects.

BPF Chief Executive Liz Peace has warned that developers can no longer fund themselves alone, and called for banks and the public sector to play a larger role.

Barclays Corporate Property & Project Finance MD Dennis Watson has said that there is presently little transactional activity in the market, which is essential for the industry to thrive.

Watson went on to say that banks engaging with customers though fee arrangements or by adopting the JV approach can help clients manage their stock.

Ian Coull, chief executive of Segro, has warned that the UK is still lagging behind Europe, but has stressed that the industry remains much more responsible and responsive than it was back in the 1990s.

The average house price in the UK fell in February, according to both Nationwide and Lloyds Banking Group.

The fall was 1.5% according to Lloyds and 1% according to Nationwide, and has widely been attributed to the prolonged and severe weather of winter.

The official report by bankruptcy specialist, Anton Valkulas, concluded that for several weeks before filing for bankruptcy protection, Lehman Brothers was insolvent.

It also revealed that senior executives had allowed the bank’s balance sheet to be manipulated by employing a device known as “Repo 105” that created a misleading picture of the firm’s financial condition in late 2007 and 2008.

Unsurprisingly, the OneNewsPage.com poll of 500 readers revealed that 70% of respondents had not regained their pre-credit-crisis levels of trust in banks.

The global new service’s, chief executive officer, Dr Marc Pinter-Krainer, blames financial regulators and ultimately politicians for banks’ suspect status.

However, future influences on consumer levels of trust could include the outcome of court cases.

Lehman Brothers’ auditor, Ernst & Young, was heavily criticised in the official report and could now face legal action.

The bank saw pre-provisions operating income decline by 15.1%, though net interest income and net fee and commission income were both up, by 8.9% and 11.1% respectively.

Operating expenses also rose, up by 7.8% compared to the same time last year.

The bank was subject to provisions less than half those of the same period in 2009, with provisions falling from RUB68.6bn to RUB33.6bn.

As a result, post-provisions operating income surged up by 63.3%.

Pre-tax profits were up more than threefold at RUB25.3bn, compared to RUB7.3bn in the first two months of 2009.

Similarly, post-tax profits rose more than fourfold from RUB5.1bn to RUB24.4bn.

The results show that not only is Sberbank performing much more strongly than in 2009, its profit margin has grown already this year.

In January alone, post-tax profits tripled, whereas in January and February combined, they increased almost fivefold.

The decision, which was made unanimously, comes as Japan’s economy continues a tentative recovery which is not yet strong enough to be maintained on a self-sustaining basis.

Exports and production are rising, as is private consumption, though public investment is declining.

The Bank of Japan has forecast continued similar, gradual growth until the middle of 2010 when it predicts that the Japanese economy will see growth at a higher rate.

Elsewhere in the world, the Bank of England and European Central Bank have continued to stick with the record low interest rates first introduced as part of a global monetary stimulus.

The British interest rate has now been at 0.5%, its lowest ever, for over a year.

The scheme allows customers to earn Reward Money by using their Barclaycards to buy goods and services at 30,000 participating retail outlets.

Big brands such as npower and Pizza Express are on board, with Shell the latest household name to join the scheme.

Barclaycard holders have no need to register or change their cards to earn 1% with most participating retailers (0.5% with Shell).

Their Reward Money is recorded in pounds and pence, and when making a purchase with a member of the scheme, they will usually see their Reward Money balance appear on the card machine before entering their PIN.

A cardholder can then choose whether to use their reward on that particular transaction, or save it up for the future.

The technology for Barclaycard Freedom has been supplied by Welcome Real-time, which says it can provide real-time integration with any point of sale device, regardless of the payment application or infrastructure being used.

Commenting on the launch, the firm’s chief executive officer, François Dutray, says: “Barclaycard Freedom is a groundbreaking project in terms of its scale and the breadth of participating retailers and customers it will reach.”

He adds: “While the scale of the deployment sounds complex, our technology is very straightforward for retailers to implement giving a fast time to market.”

HSBC has said that it backs the OFT’s view that customers have seen great improvements in transparency and the range of options available to them in recent years.

The report by the OFT revealed that, since 2007, average unpaid item charges have halved from £34 to £17, and that per item transaction charges had fallen from £30 to £22.

The bank has also supported calls for even greater transparency and easy, simple accessibility to accounts.

From 26 April, a new account, the HSBC Bank Account Pay Monthly, will be introduced, including an overdraft limit that cannot be exceeded unless a higher limit has been formally agreed beforehand.

The new account will cost £15 per month, and cater to those customers who prefer a high level of control, as opposed to those who opt for HSBC’s other, more flexible accounts.

In addition to this, HSBC is the only bank whose ATMs warn customers if a withdrawal will lead to them exceeding their limit.

Alexis Stenfors was employed as a senior trader on the short-term interest rate trading desk of the London branch of the bank, and the regulator found that he deliberately mis-marked the positions he traded between mid-January 2009 and mid-February 2009.

Mr Stenfors employed the deception to avoid showing increasing losses on his books that eventually required MLIB to make a negative adjustment of $456 million to its books and records.

The FSA continues to demonstrate its new-found regulatory strength, having announced last week that it intends to recruit an additional 460 staff to help clean up the UK’s financial services sector.

In a first, the regulator is also seeking the extradition of a suspect from abroad to face criminal charges in the UK.

The case relates to insider dealing charges brought against senior investment banker, Christian Littlewood, and his spouse Angie Littlewood.

Both have been bailed to attend City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in April and a third suspect has been arrested in Mayotte, a French overseas territory in the Comoros Islands, on a European Arrest Warrant issued by City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court at the FSA’s request.

The Singaporean male faces an extradition hearing and could then be returned to the UK, also to face charges of insider dealing.

The body points out that almost £144 billion was loaned in mortgages in 2009, representing an attractive target for criminals.

It also estimates the annual value of UK mortgage fraud at £1 billion and warns that without continued cooperation, that figure could increase.

Further reflections on the subject are contained in the Authority’s recently published “Working Together to Stop Mortgage Fraud” report, which urges stronger joint efforts between all those involved in fighting the crime.

Another key issue highlighted in the report is the difficulty lenders and intermediaries sometimes have in identifying fake and falsified documents within the mortgage application process.

In response, HM Revenue and Customs has run a pilot scheme to assist lenders and this helped to prevent attempted commercial frauds with an estimated total value of over £111 million.

Meanwhile, investigations by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority into solicitor involvement in mortgage and other property fraud have saved lenders between £15 million and £20 million.

NFA chief executive officer, Bernard Herdan, says: “In the economic downturn, there has been a reduction in the availability of products that were targets of fraud such as sub-prime, buy-to-let and self-certified mortgages.”

He adds: “The economic climate also has increased pressure on lenders to reduce costs, so there has been a greater emphasis on fraud prevention, detection and recovery of losses.”

The NFA is therefore urging mortgage lenders to maintain this robust approach in the anticipated economic upswing.

Furthermore, the watchdog is expecting “significant developments” in the market over the next two years.

The OFT’s failure to win its High Court test case on the legality of unarranged overdraft charges has been followed by new banking industry commitments announced today.

According to the OFT, banks have promised to address issues of transparency, the way in which unarranged overdrafts function, and to make it easier for customers to switch accounts.

Other improvements in the market already seen since the OFT’s test case began in 2007 include:

Unpaid item charges (levied when a bank refuses to make a payment) falling from an average of around £34 in 2007, to around £17 in 2010.

Per transaction paid item charges (levied when an unarranged overdraft is granted) falling from an average of around £30 in 2007, to around £22 in 2010.

In addition, the majority of personal current account providers are now making faster payments for standing orders and one-off payments, the watchdog reports.

OFT chief executive, John Fingleton, says: “We believe that the commitments agreed by the industry today, along with changes by individual banks already made or expected in the next two years, should lead to a market that works better for consumers.”

He adds: “Our end-goal is a current account market where banks make meaningful, real-time information available to customers, giving them more ability to control their balances and compare different banks’ offerings.”