SANTANDER CHIEF BREAKING CITY HEARTS WITH HIS EXOTIC CHARM August 3, 2009 WHILE all the big British bank bosses are pitted against each other this week in terms of first-half profits, Spanish bank Santander’s UK boss António Horta-Osório has been enjoying the glory of a rather more frivolous accolade. Horta-Osório became chief executive of Abbey in August 2006, after long stints at the helm of the bank’s [...]
CAN BARCLAYS CONTINUE ITS STRONG PERFORMANCE? August 3, 2009 NIC CLARKE CHARLES STANLEY“Barclays has been our most difficult call in the UK banking sector over the last 12 months. Performance in the next 12 months depends not only on whether BarCap can remain as robust as it has been but also importantly on the macro economic strength of the US, UK, Spain and South [...]
BarCap boost sees Barclays profits jump August 3, 2009 BARCLAYS reported an eight per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profit yesterday, as its investment banking arm Barclays Capital (BarCap) extended its first quarter boom. Group profits before tax reached £2.98bn, up from £2.75bn in the first half of 2008, as revenues soared 37 per cent from £11.8bn to £16.25bn. Barclays’ results included impairment charges [...]
Bullish HSBC shrugs off rise in bad debts August 3, 2009 HSBC saw first-half profits cut in half in the first six months of the year, as impairments reached $13.9bn (£8.2bn), but signalled that the economic crisis was beginning to ease. Pre-tax profit fell to $5bn, a 51 per cent decline on the $10.25bn earned in the same period of last year, but a marked turnaround [...]
Bank chiefs issue warning against regulatory overkill August 3, 2009 BARCLAYS chief executive John Varley yesterday urged regulators not to risk “throttling” economic recovery with overzealous reforms, while HSBC backed up his call for a measured approach. “This industry got many things wrong and there is much to be sorry about. There must be change and there will be change,” said Varley. But he added [...]
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HSBC’S RESULTS? August 3, 2009 HENK POTTS BARCLAYS WEALTH“Messy numbers, with various accounting changes, but definitely ahead of expectations and sentiment towards the sector continues to improve. Household, the US business which is largely in run-off mode, was the largest source of upside surprise with lower provisions and lower realised losses.” DAVID BUIK BGC PARTNERS“HSBC’s tier one capital stands at [...]
A message to SpinVox sceptics: stop the sniping August 3, 2009 RECENTLY, there’s been a bit of controversy surrounding SpinVox, the UK-based voice to text messaging company led by Christina Domecq. Certain bloggers and journalists have accused the firm of not paying suppliers, and of not possessing the intellectual property that can convert spoken voice mails into text, instead relying on an army of call centre [...]
Former head of MetLife is to lead AIG August 3, 2009 BATTERED insurer American International Group (AIG) was yesterday set to name Robert Benmosche, formerly head of US life insurer MetLife, as its chief executive officer, according to people familiar with the matter. The board of the bailed-out insurance giant anointed Benmosche as its fifth leader since 2005 at a meeting yesterday, taking its fight to [...]
NO GREEN GIANT August 3, 2009 THE London branch of green superstore Whole Foods Market yesterday said it lost £35.9m last year. The 80,000sq ft Kensington emporium, which opened in June 2007, has struggled as demand for organic food slumps in the downturn, casting doubt on the firm’s aim to launch 40 more stores across the UK. The group yesterday said [...]
Ofgem approves investment boost for UK’s electricity distribution networks August 3, 2009 OFGEM, the energy watchdog, has approved a 25 per cent increase in electricity distribution networks over the next five years, allowing it to spend £1.3bn a year on ageing infrastructure. Funds will also go towards developing “smart grid” technology. Ofgem set out the plans in its price control proposals for electricity distribution for 2010-15. It [...]