Greek bond haircut hurts BNP Paribas November 3, 2011 BNP PARIBAS took a €2.14bn (£1.8bn) hit on its Greek debt holdings in the third quarter of this year after writing down the bonds by 60 per cent, the French lender announced yesterday. The effect of the haircut alone was enough to push revenues down to €10bn, 7.6 per cent lower than in the same [...]
ING to cut 2,700 Dutch bank jobs as market turmoil bites November 3, 2011 DUTCH financial services group ING is to cut 2,700 jobs, it said yesterday, slashing headcount at its Dutch retail banking operations by ten per cent in the face of deteriorating markets. ING also took a €467m (£401m) pre-tax writedown on its Greek government bond holdings in its third-quarter results, and said it had now written [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 3, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES NEWS CORP LOSES HEAD OF HUMAN RESOURCES Beryl Cook is stepping down as head of human resources at News Corp, robbing James Murdoch of an ally in head office and becoming the latest figure to leave his father’s top team without being replaced in the office of the chairman. Ms Cook has worked [...]
RSA gains on global growth as UK slows November 3, 2011 DOUBLE-digit growth in its overseas divisions this year has put home and business insurer Royal & Sun Alliance on track to make a full-year profit, despite booking a £60m loss from storms, it said yesterday. RSA wrote £6.1bn of insurance premiums in the first nine months of the year, 11 per cent more than a [...]
King: EU could veto Vickers November 3, 2011 MAJOR parts of the government’s flagship bank and regulatory reform policy would be illegal under current drafts of EU law, Bank of England governor Mervyn King admitted yesterday. Confirming City A.M.’s revelation on Monday that the government believes its policy could be “subject to legal challenge” under the current version of EU capital rules, the [...]
Aviva meets targets but sees capital surplus fall November 3, 2011 EUROPE-focused insurer Aviva met forecasts for both its savings and personal insurance businesses yesterday and sought to dispel concerns about its Eurozone debt holdings. Life and pensions sales fell ten per cent to £20.9bn in the first nine months of the year compared to a year ago, as it cut back on capital-intensive products. Sales [...]
Old Mutual and Swiss Re sales and profits rise November 3, 2011 OLD Mutual posted an eight per cent rise in life and pensions sales to £358m in the past quarter, far ahead of expectations yesterday, as it expanded in Scandinavia and emerging markets. Switzerland’s reinsurance giant Swiss Re also surprised investors with far better third-quarter results than expected as its net profit more than doubled to [...]
Probes start into MF Global client funds November 3, 2011 US regulators are launching a broad review into the business practices of failed futures brokerage MF Global as their hunt continues for over $600m (£375m) in missing customer money. Round-the-clock shifts for examiners have become the norm as they sort through the collapse of the firm headed by Jon Corzine. The head of the US [...]
Insurer AIG reports $4.1bn loss after fall in Asian group AIA’s market value November 3, 2011 US INSURANCE giant American International Group fell to a bigger-than-expected net $4.1bn (£2.6bn) third-quarter loss yesterday, after the value of its stake in its former Asian subsidiary dropped and it took charges in its aircraft leasing unit. AIG’s core insurance businesses were profitable on an operating basis, and its mortgage insurance unit both raised prices [...]
Man Group stems client outflow fears and unveils share buyback November 3, 2011 SHARES in Man Group rose as much as five per cent yesterday after the hedge fund manager said outflows had slowed in October, stemming fears that withdrawals were accelerating. But assets under management fell by around $1bn (£625m) during the month to $63.5bn, as its flagship AHL fund continued to perform poorly. Pre-tax profits fell [...]
