CIT agrees pre-pack bankruptcy November 1, 2009 US-based commercial lender CIT Group filed for bankruptcy last night, as the global credit crisis left it unable to fund itself and the recession left it with too many bad loans. CIT’s creditors have already approved the century-old lender’s pre-packaged plan, which will result in them owning the company. Most bondholders will also end up [...]
Santander able to bid for RBS assets November 1, 2009 Spanish bank Santander has been cleared to bid for Royal Bank of Scotland’s business-focused branches when the bank’s assets are divested under plans being drawn up. Competition rules agreed between London and Brussels will ensure that no purchase of the assets will push the buyer’s market share in the specific market past 15 per cent. [...]
Hester fights to hang on to Citizens in US November 1, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester is fighting tooth and nail to keep Citizens, the group’s flagship American retail banking business, on its books after it emerged that Europe is considering forcing it to divest the brand in the interests of competition. Citizens, which has over 1,480 branches in the US, is regarded [...]
Bank plan could cost 40bn November 1, 2009 THE Government may have to find a further £40bn to fund the continuing restructuring of Lloyds, RBS and Northern Rock, it emerged yesterday. The biggest injection will be into RBS, which might receive as much as £26bn as a result of participating in the government’s toxic insurance scheme. Lloyds Banking Group will need up to [...]
Lloyds close to agreeing break fee of 2.5bn November 1, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group and the Treasury are close to rubber-stamping a deal under which the bank will fork out a break fee of £2.5bn to exit the government’s asset protection scheme (APS). An announcement is expected possibly as early as tomorrow on the exact terms of Lloyds’ exit from the state-backed scheme, into which it [...]
Kraft’s offer softened by lack of rivals November 1, 2009 CONFECTIONERY group Cadbury could get an improved takeover offer from suitor Kraft this week, although it may fall short of investors’ hopes due to a lack of rival bids. It is understood the US maker of Dairylea cheese may make a £10.5bn offer for the Dairy Milk firm, higher than the £9.9billion offered by Kraft [...]
C&W expected to revive plans for de-merger November 1, 2009 The City is expecting Cable & Wireless to announce the resurrection of its de-merger plans when it posts its first-half results this week, giving the company’s shares a much-needed boost. The telecoms firm put plans to split up its UK and International businesses on hold in November, at the height of the financial crisis, but [...]
Roger Bootle gives warning on UK growth November 1, 2009 THE COMING public spending squeeze could cut Britain’s annual growth by up to two percentage points, a report warns today. With the government finances in the worst shape for at least half a century and public debt heading towards 100 per cent of gross domestic product, major spending cuts which will have profound effects on [...]
Business leaders urge political party heads to balance the budget by 2015 November 1, 2009 LEADERS of the three main political parties will face calls for urgent action to balance the national books at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) later this month. The business lobby group will urge Conservative leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and an as-yet unidentified “senior member of the [...]
DELOITTE CONSULTANT DUSTS OFF DANCING SHOES IN CINEMA DEBUT November 1, 2009 HERE at City A.M., we like to champion the interests of our dear parishioners, and there’s nothing The Capitalist likes better than hearing about one of the flock with aspirations in the glitzy world of showbiz. Step forward Sanjay Shah, a consultant at Deloitte, whose debut on the silver screen was shown across London for [...]