Hester: RBS overhaul has cost £38bn February 7, 2012 RBS chief Stephen Hester has taken the unusual step of emailing every staff member at the bank to rally morale after its recent political battering. His email reveals that the total cost of restructuring the bank so far has been £38bn from write-downs and restructuring charges, which he says are “ahead of schedule” and “a [...]
Santander’s €6.1bn bill to cover property fears February 7, 2012 SANTANDER said it would put aside a further €2.3bn (£1.92bn) to meet new Spanish government rules on bad property assets. The Eurozone’s largest bank by market cap said it needed a total of €6.1bn of provisions. It has already booked some €1.8bn against 2011 results and €2bn was already covered in an existing buffer. It [...]
Eurozone fears for BHP Billiton as profits drop February 7, 2012 BHP Billiton last night warned the Eurozone debt crisis could hamper its growth as it reported its first half-year profit drop in two years. The world’s largest miner also said longer-term demand from China would slow as it posted a seven per cent fall in attributable profit before exceptionals to $9.94bn (£6.25bn) for the six [...]
UBS slashes its bonuses to recoup losses February 7, 2012 UBS slashed its bonus pool by 40 per cent at its investment bank last year in an attempt to make up some of the SFr1.8bn (£1.24bn) in losses incurred by an alleged rogue trader in quarter three. The bank revealed that pre-tax profits for the year dropped by SFr1.9bn to SFr5.5bn. The “unauthorised trading incident” [...]
Rogue trading scandal was a blessing in disguise February 7, 2012 THE ROGUE trading scandal that hit UBS in September was a blessing in disguise. The disaster sounded the death knell for the group’s investment bank, at least as we currently know it, which has dragged on profitability for far too long. The division has lost around SFr3.5bn (now $2.4bn) since the start of 2009. We [...]
SEB pays lower dividend after profits dip sharply February 7, 2012 SWEDISH bank SEB posted fourth-quarter operating profits of 3.2bn crowns (£302m), down 28 per cent from 4.4bn crowns a year ago. As a result the bank is to pay a lower-than-expected dividend for 2011, taking a cautious stance on payouts as the industry hoards capital in the face of tough new regulations. Sweden aims to [...]
BP dividend up as profits bounce back February 7, 2012 BP yesterday tried to draw a line under the Gulf spill crisis as it hiked its dividend and reported a surge in profits. The company said it was “vigorously” preparing for a flurry of law suits in connection with oil spill claims to start later this month. Analysts were divided over whether BP would settle [...]
Rothschild in the firing line as Bumi investors stage a revolt February 7, 2012 THE INDONESIAN shareholders in coal giant Bumi yesterday fired a shot across the bows of co-chairman Nat Rothschild by saying they were confident of garnering sufficient support to oust him. Samin Tan and Indonesia’s Bakrie Group, who together own 29.9 per cent voting rights in Bumi, said last week they were seeking to oust financier [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: IS BP ON THE RECOVERY PATH AFTER THE GULF SPILL? February 7, 2012 MALCOLM GRAHAM-WOOD | VSA CAPITAL Despite the apparently positive mood I would have waited until after the settlement of the case before I increased the pay-out, and as I have said before BP were paying out too much in dividends before Macondo… They are being more optimistic about life than more solid industry peers. STUART [...]
Glencore’s deal with Xstrata faces long road to clearance February 7, 2012 GLENCORE and Xstrata’s $90bn (£57bn) merger faces a long road to reach regulatory and competition clearance. While bigger commodities tie-ins have been cleared in the past – such as the deals that formed Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton – merging a clearing house with a miner could encounter new hurdles, analysts said yesterday after the [...]
