Investec Comment: Why the future is bright for SME finance May 10, 2015 NO ONE needs to be told that it’s been a difficult few years for small businesses seeking finance, and economic recovery has done little to change this picture. The Bank of England’s latest Trends in Lending report found that the annual rate of growth in the stock of lending to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) [...]
Investec Comment: Asset finance: Everything you need to know April 26, 2015 TOO many small businesses see their expansion plans quashed by a lack of finance. Their bank doesn’t have the confidence to lend them the money they need, so business owners end up trying to fund their companies’ growth on overdrafts and credit cards, storing up trouble for when the next downturn comes or not proceeding [...]
Investec Comment: Pensions: The role of structured products April 19, 2015 THE government’s pension reforms have arrived – and attention has inevitably shifted from the technicalities of the new rules to what those at retirement will do with their new-found freedoms. The reforms have given people unprecedented control over their pensions: you no longer have to buy an annuity, you can keep your money invested and [...]
Investec Comment: How cheap oil is boosting small businesses April 12, 2015 THE extraordinary decline in the price of oil has been one of the most important economic stories of the past year. Brent Crude fell from over $110 per barrel in June 2014 to below $50 in January 2015, slumping to multi-year lows. Prices have increased marginally since then, but with factors like the interim deal [...]
Celebrities are racing to be the ambassadors of Investec Derby March 18, 2015 THE STARS started shining on June’s Investec Derby Festival at Epsom with yesterday’s announcement of its 2015 celebrity ambassadors. And it’s the fourth year that City A.M. is the official newspaper of the Derby, the greatest flat race in the world. The ambassadors are a diverse lot: former Epsom champion Frankie Dettori, Olympic Gold medalist [...]
Investec looks to M&A expansion as investment bank gets its Guy January 14, 2015 SOUTH African specialist banking and asset management group Investec yesterday added to its investment banking business with the appointment of veteran M&A adviser Guy Gillett. Working closely with head of consumer Gary Levin, Gillett is charged with strengthening Investec’s M&A offering, particularly focusing on private companies and private equity clients. Gillett joins from Ternion Capital, [...]
Investec issues apology to Benjamin Lawsky after analyst Ian Gordon’s Eric Garner gaffe December 10, 2014 South African bank Investec gave US regulator Benjamin Lawsky a grovelling apology last night, after one of its analysts compared Lawsky’s actions against Standard Chartered to the treatment of Eric Garner – an unarmed black man who died at the hands of police officers in America. At a time of inflamed tensions over police behaviour in the [...]
Investec “I can’t breathe” research note comparing Eric Garner’s death to bank’s regulatory woes provokes angry reaction December 10, 2014 The dying words of Eric Garner, whose untimely death has sparked a wave of protests across the US, have become a rallying cry for millions of Americans protesting against US police tactics. But it is not a phrase that banks should be using to discuss corporate research, brand and marketing professionals said yesterday. “I can’t breathe,” [...]
Investec bank profits surge as legacy of financial crisis fades November 20, 2014 Anglo-South African bank Investec reported strong profits for the six months to September yesterday, overcoming a fall in the rand. Impairments fell by more than 20 per cent on the year, and are down to one-fifth of their £320m level seen three years ago, as the bank moves on from the financial crisis. Pre-tax operating profits [...]
Investec banker brushes off “complete criminals” insult from PR guru Lord Bell October 14, 2014 A Senior Investec banker last night shrugged off insults made last week by PR guru Lord Bell. Bell, who counts Investec among his firm Bell Pottinger’s clients, claimed bankers were “complete criminals”. But Investec’s head of investment banking Andrew Pinder is happy to move on, simply referring to the comments as “an interesting view”. “He [...]