Watchdog fears chaotic bank risk modelling January 31, 2013 BANKS set aside such different amounts of capital against the same assets that investors cannot be certain how safe the institutions are and the authorities may have to step in to set standards, a top group of regulators warned yesterday. The Basel Committee tested 15 major international banks, giving them each a hypothetical portfolio of [...]
Morgan Stanley boss doubles pay January 31, 2013 Morgan Stanley said chief executive James Gorman will receive a base salary of $1.5m (£946,000) in 2013, nearly double the $800,000 he received last year. Morgan Stanley, the sixth largest US bank, said the raise was to bring Gorman’s salary into line with the salaries paid to chief executives at rival financial institutions and to [...]
US Congress passes debt bill January 31, 2013 A bill allowing the US government to keep borrowing money for at least a few more months, beyond its record $16.4 trillion (£10.34 trillion) debt limit, won final congressional approval last night, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign it into law. The Democratic-led Senate passed the bill, 64-34, which would put off [...]
Mark Carney to be grilled by MPs January 31, 2013 The future governor of the Bank of England will appear before a parliamentary committee on Thursday next week, the first public scrutiny of the man set to fill Sir Mervyn King’s shoes in June. Carney, currently governor of the Canadian central bank, will face MPs from the heavyweight Treasury select committee, chaired by Andrew Tyrie, [...]
Deutsche in the red as reforms cut into profits January 31, 2013 DEUTSCHE Bank made a heavy loss in the final quarter of 2012 as it struggled to shore up its balance sheet and increased provisions against a possible Libor fine, the bank said yesterday. The German bank recorded a pre-tax loss of €2.6bn (£2.2bn), taking profits for the year down to €0.7bn – a drop of [...]
Santander sees UK growth but bad Spanish loans dent profits January 31, 2013 BANKING giant Santander claimed it has now moved beyond the Spanish housing crash, setting it up for solid growth in the coming years. Profits plunged 59 per cent to €2.205bn (£1.9bn) for 2012, in large part due to bad loan provisions of €6.14bn. But the bank’s UK arm reported gains, seeing post-tax profits rise four [...]
Deutsche’s plan buys time but Santander stumbles on Spain January 31, 2013 WHAT goes down must come up. That was the apparent lesson from Deutsche Bank yesterday, booking a €2.2bn (£1.8bn) loss but seeing its share price rise to the highest level since the spring of last year. Since its August lows in 2012, Deutsche’s toughminded recovery plan has put its stock on an upward march, increasing [...]
Blackstone fires on all cylinders to roar to $2bn record profits January 31, 2013 BLACKSTONE, the US private equity giant that co-owns Broadgate in the City, yesterday said profits rose 43 per cent in the fourth quarter despite its revenue generating real estate arm misfiring. The buyout shop, which has focused more on bricks and mortar in recent years, booked a $670m (£422m) profit for the three months ending [...]
Insurers at risk over watchdog annuity probe January 31, 2013 INSURERS Standard Life and Resolution are most at risk from a regulatory probe into whether retirees who buy annuities get a fair deal, analysts said yesterday. The investigation by City watchdog the Financial Services Authority, launched yesterday, will focus on whether people who buy an annuity directly from their pension provider pay more than they [...]
Administrators announce 190 HMV job losses January 31, 2013 HMV’s administrators confirmed yesterday that 190 staff have been made redundant across the collapsed music retailer’s head office and distribution network. Deloitte, which was hired to run the chain after it fell into administration earlier this month, said no jobs cuts have been made at its stores, which all continue to trade. The redundancies took [...]
