Monte dei Paschi bailout: Under certain conditions, Italian state aid can be signed off by EU authorities December 23, 2016 The Italian bailout of lender Monte dei Paschi may not be in breach of EU state aid rules, officials have confirmed. Overnight the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed the lender – the oldest surviving bank in the world – had to go cap in hand to the government saying it needed to dip into €20bn (£17bn) of [...]
Monte dei Paschi suspends bond, stock and derivatives trading after Italian government gives green light to bailout December 23, 2016 Trading in Monte dei Paschi shares, derivatives and bonds has been suspended today after it was confirmed the bank has requested state aid from the Italian government. Paolo Gentiloni, the new Italian prime minister, announced in the early hours of this morning that the country will dip into a €20bn (£16bn) fund to help the world's oldest bank. [...]
Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse share prices rise after multi-billion pound settlements with US Department of Justice December 23, 2016 Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse's share prices have risen this morning after the two lenders agreed to multi-billion dollar settlements with the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Deutsche Bank announced it had reached a $7.2bn (£5.8bn) agreement in principle with the US authorities early this morning over the sale and pooling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up [...]
US sues Barclays bank and two former executives for mortgage securities fraud December 23, 2016 The US department of justice has sued Barclays and two former executives on civil charges of fraud relating to the sale of mortgage-backed securities during the run-up to the 2008-9 financial crisis. Several major US banks, including JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America have already paid millions of dollars to settle similar claims. Deutsche Bank [...]
Monte dei Paschi’s board is expected to approve state aid request after capital increase failed December 22, 2016 Monte dei Paschi di Siena announced today its plan to raise €5bn (£4.2bn) of capital by the end of the year had failed. The bank's board is now expected to approve a request for state aid when it meets later today. Italian parliament yesterday agreed to a bailout package of €20bn (£16.9bn) bailout for the country's banks. The [...]
Bitcoin market cap smashes through $14bn barrier: Equivalent to the average market cap of a FTSE 100 firm December 22, 2016 Bitcoin prices today leapt by five per cent, breaking records for the overall value of the digital currency in existence and taking its price to the highest level for three years. Around 12.5 new Bitcoins come into circulation every 10 minutes. And this meant today the today market capitalisation of bitcoins broke through the $14bn [...]
Standard Chartered Bank’s Thai unit offloads retail banking arm to Tisco Bank and All-Ways December 22, 2016 Standard Chartered's Thai unit has agreed to offload its retail banking business to Tisco Bank and All-Ways Company, both units of Thai group Tisco Financial. The move continues chief executive Bill Winters' plan to boost earnings through restructuring. Standard Chartered announced in November last year that it would divest businesses that lacked a competitive advantage in a [...]
Monte dei Paschi fails to attract anchor investors to its share offer December 21, 2016 The world's oldest surviving bank, Monte Dei Paschi di Siena, looks set for a multi-billion-euro government bailout after admitting late last night that an eleventh-hour private rescue plan was unlikely to succeed. Earlier in the day Italy’s parliament agreed a new €20bn (£16.8bn) bailout package for the country’s struggling lenders, with Monte dei Paschi expected [...]
Court finds in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland in Libor and interest rate swaps mis-selling claims case December 21, 2016 The High Court has today found in favour of Royal Bank of Scotland as the bank faced claims it had caused a real estate company losses from interest rates swaps mis-selling and Libor manipulation. Manchester-based Property Alliance Group (PAG) was suing the bank for more than £30m, alleging it had been mis-sold four interest rate swap [...]
Monte dei Paschi shares close down 12 per cent on reports its private bailout efforts have flopped December 21, 2016 Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena plummeted today on multiple reports its private bailout attempt had met an end. Earlier on today, it was reported that the Italian parliament signed off on government proposals to inject €20bn into the banking sector, with Monte dei Paschi likely to be first in line for some help. Italy's oldest [...]