Geoghegan calls bottom as HSBC signals higher profits November 10, 2009 HSBC chief executive Michael Geoghegan yesterday stuck his head above the parapet by definitively calling an end to the crisis, as the bank revealed third quarter profits were “significantly ahead” of last year. “I believe that the biggest jolt has now passed through the global economy,” Geoghegan said. “But it is too early to claim [...]
HOW DO THE RESULTS FROM BARCLAYS AND HSBC COMPARE WITH EACH OTHER? November 10, 2009 JAAP MEIJER EVOLUTIONWe failed to be particularly excited by HSBC as it seems more of a turnaround story with cost-cutting and bad debts peaking. By contrast, we feel Barclays Capital can truly be made into an immensely profitable business post-acquisition of Lehman Brothers – currently the numbers are spoiled by large impairments but when they [...]
Commerzbank brings in bonus clawback option November 10, 2009 GERMANY’S Commerzbank will introduce a clawback option to its bonus system next year as the banking industry aims to stop the short-term risk-taking that helped bring about the financial crisis. The bank, 25 per cent owned by the German state after an €18bn (£16.1bn) bailout, is responding to public outrage over the eye-popping payouts made [...]
JP Morgan boss Dimon brings in his father Ted November 10, 2009 JAMIE Dimon, chairman of JPMorgan, has hired his father to join the investment bank as it seeks to expand its private client broking business. Private banker Theodore “Ted” Dimon, 78, will quit Bank of America Merrill Lynch to join Bear Stearns Private Client Services, now part of JP Morgan since it rescued Bear Stearns in [...]
Lloyds plans to axe 5,000 further jobs November 10, 2009 ANOTHER 5,000 jobs will be lost at Lloyds Banking Group, bringing the total number of sackings to 12,500 since the credit crunch began. Lloyds employees were yesterday warned by banking experts that there could be up to 30,000 sackings before the Lloyds-HBOS merger is complete. Unions branded the cuts, which were announced on the same [...]
Madden in top role at Close November 10, 2009 CLOSE Brothers Corporate Finance, the City-based corporate finance business backed by the Japanese group Daiwa Securities, has appointed a new head of UK business, Richard Madden. Madden takes over from Stephen Aulesbrook, who will now be exclusively chief executive of the firm’s European business instead of sharing that job with the UK role. Richard Madden, [...]
CFOs still trust bankers November 10, 2009 INVESTMENT banks may have lost the trust of their clients, but bankers themselves have managed to maintain client confidence and loyalty, according to a new survey. More than a quarter of chief financial officers, treasurers and mergers and acquisitions bosses quizzed said they had lost trust in the banks, mainly due to fears of insolvency. [...]
City job vacancies highest in a year as confidence returns to financial services November 10, 2009 JOB vacancies in the City rose to their highest level in a year last month indicating that confidence is slowly returning to the financial services sector. City workers are also beginning to dip their toes in the jobs market to find out what opportunities are available, figures from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley reveal. The number [...]
CML: breakup of banks won’t lead to more lending November 10, 2009 MORTGAGE lenders have warned that the government’s banks breakup will fail to stimulate lending and even predict “stagnation” in the housing market next year. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) poured cold water on hopes that the carve up of RBS and Lloyds and the resurrection of brands like Williams & Glyn’s and Trustee Savings [...]
Nuclear sites get the all clear November 9, 2009 NUCLEAR POWER expansion got the go-ahead from the government yesterday, after energy secretary Ed Miliband named 10 approved sites in England and Wales for future power stations. Miliband said the list includes German utility RWE’s plans for Kirksanton, a site in Cumbria, which currently has no nuclear facilities. But he rejected EDF Energy’s proposal for [...]