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Icap earnings fall as banks reduce risk appetite
British interdealer broker ICAP has posted a dip in first-half earnings and said its voice-broking business had been hit by banks looking to cut costs in the wake of market turmoil caused by the Eurozone debt crisis.
Earnings per share for the six months to September fell six percent to 19.6 pence, compared with a forecast for 19.85 pence in a Thomson Reuters poll.
“As the banks approach the end of their financial year they are reducing their appetite for risk. This has resulted in activity in our voice business in October and November to date being disappointing, but not surprising,” chief executive Michael Spencer said on Wednesday.
“We expect to see a return to more normal activity at the start of the next calendar year,” he said.