ING pays €2bn back to state March 7, 2011 AMSTERDAM-based bank ING said yesterday it will pay back €2bn (£1.7bn) in state funds in two months’ time and that it plans to repay the remaining aid it received during the financial crisis by May 2012. The lender will pay a 50 per cent penalty when it returns the cash early in May, bringing the [...]
Nomura appoints its first ever female chief financial officer March 7, 2011 JAPANESE bank Nomura has appointed its first ever female chief financial officer (CFO) as part of a reshuffle. Junko Nakagawa was previously co-deputy CFO at the lender and, will step up to join the executive management board. The changes come as Nomura diversifies its operations to better compete globally. Since the purchase of the non-US [...]
Japanese boardrooms head towards equality March 7, 2011 JUNKO Nakagawa’s appointment to the highest level of Nomura’s board comes as a monumental first for the Japanese bank. Historically, Tokyo’s boardrooms have been male-dominated institutions where women are rarely seen in senior posts. That is why Nakagawa’s appointment is such a significant step forward. “It is rare for a Japanese financial institution to give [...]
Fenner sees its profits rise March 7, 2011 Engineering firm Fenner yesterday said the “sharp increase in profitability” seen in the first-quarter had been maintained in its conveyor belting and advanced engineered products divisions in the second-quarter. In a pre-close trading statement the firm, based in Hessle, near Hull, said first half-trading was characterised by both volume and margin improvements across its principal [...]
Trinity Mirror clarification March 7, 2011 In our issue dated Friday 4 March we printed the headline “Trinity Mirror tanks after costs outstrip savings”. Trinity Mirror’s share price did fall by 22 per cent, but annual profits for 2010 were actually higher due to cost cutting. However, the group warned that in 2011 “structural cost savings” would be “more than offset [...]
Chaucer talks continue as profit halves March 7, 2011 FOR-SALE Lloyd’s insurer Chaucer posted a small profit yesterday and confirmed its takeover discussions were continuing. Chaucer confirmed it was in talks with potential bidders last month, which have been named as Guy Hands’ Terra Firma private equity firm and a US trade buyer, among others. Sources told City A.M. yesterday Hands was weeks away [...]
Insurer is still attractive target March 7, 2011 CHAUCER’S share price was barely changed after the company reported a smaller-than-expected profit for 2010. For most investors, last year’s results are old news: all anyone cares about is the impending bid. Chaucer again said it had received a “number of takeover approaches” but was tight-lipped otherwise. But how much would a successful suitor have [...]
Beazley chairman to step down March 7, 2011 Lloyd’s insurer Beazley’s chairman Jonathan Agnew said yesterday he would not seek re-election at its 2012 annual general meeting. Agnew, a former Kleinwort Benson chief executive and chairman of Nationwide Building Society, has chaired Beazley since 2003 and joined its board in 2002. He has just overseen a 60 per cent rise in the firm’s [...]
China plans insurance exchange March 7, 2011 China’s government is planning to launch a Shanghai-based insurance exchange to trade different insurance products, a party member said yesterday. Wu Dingfu, the head of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, told the National People’s Congress the plan would further the city’s drive to become an international financial hub. He did not specify details of the [...]
Aegon UK chief set to resign March 7, 2011 Otto Thoresen, chief executive of insurer Aegon’s UK operation, is expected to leave the company this week, City A.M. confirmed yesterday. Thoresen, who has been overseeing a programme of cuts to save £80m per year, is expected to be replaced by chief operating officer Adrian Grace. Four other senior executives have also left Aegon this [...]
