BNP Paribas to exploit credit crunch with new distressed finance group September 5, 2008 French bank BNP Paribas is to create a distressed finance group to take advantage of the credit crunch and snap up assets at discount prices, it said yesterday. The new unit will be led by Alain Dib, formerly the co-head of European high-yield markets. The bank plans to expand its distressed trading operations by providing [...]
Pru and C&W wrap up £1bn pensions deal September 4, 2008 Prudential and Cable & Wireless (C&W) have struck a landmark £1bn deal which will see the telecoms company transfer its pension liabilities to the insurer. In the largest bulk annuity deal in the UK this year, Prudential will assume responsibility for payments to 5,000 retired members of C&W’s defined-benefit pension scheme. The move, which paves [...]
Tokyo Mitsubishi is in the frame for a stake in Lehman as suitors drop out September 4, 2008 The saga over bids for a stake in Lehman Brothers assets entered a new chapter yesterday, as another potential suitor entered the fray and several parties rumoured to be interested dropped out. Reports from Japan suggested that the country’s banking powerhouse, Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, was monitoring the situation closely, with a view to making a [...]
Dresdner sale gets interest of UK broker September 4, 2008 British broker Collins Stewart is circling Dresdner Kleinwort, after Commerzbank admitted it would shrink the investment bank as part of its €9.8bn (£7.9bn) deal for fellow German bank Dresdner. Collins Stewart, itself the subject of a takeover approach from Japanese group Nomura Holdings, is thought to be eyeing several Dresdner Kleinwort businesses, including its advisory [...]
Blue Oar looks to the future September 4, 2008 Blue Oar, the UK investment bank and stockbroker, told its 160 staff yesterday not to expect their end-of-year bonuses this year unless there was a “dramatic improvement” in the markets but remained buoyant about the future. The company, whose bonuses are tied to profits, reported a pre-tax loss of £1.1m for the first half of [...]
Hays profits up but tough times ahead September 3, 2008 UK recruitment firm Hays posted a 25 per cent increase in annual profits yesterday on the back of international growth, but warned that the market would get tougher this year. The company reported pre-tax profits for the year ending 30 June of £264.4m, up from £211.7m, as it enjoyed a 19 per cent rise in [...]
Lehman and KDB ready for lengthy talks September 3, 2008 Speculation surrounding Lehman Brothers reached fever pitch yesterday as Korea Development Bank (KDB) confirmed it was in talks to buy a stake in America’s fourth-largest securities firm. The CEO of KDB, Min Euoo-Sung, formerly head of Lehman’s Seoul branch, confirmed yesterday that the state-run bank was in talks with Lehman, led by CEO Dick Fuld. [...]
Dresdner Kleinwort set for job cuts after Commerzbank seals the deal September 2, 2008 Dresdner Kleinwort employees were bracing themselves for a round of sweeping job cuts yesterday, after German bank Commerzbank completed a deal to buy Dresdner Bank from insurers Allianz at the weekend. Dresdner Kleinwort, led by CEO Stefan Jentzsch and his team employs about 5,500 staff in the UK, with 2,000 of those based in the [...]
Profits slide as investors exit New Star September 1, 2008 New Star Asset Management, the fund manager founded by City veteran John Duffield, endured a 70 per cent annual profit slide as investors left its UK equity funds in droves. The group saw last year’s £1.1bn inflows reversed, reporting net outflows of £307m as its total assets under management shrank £3.3bn to £19.8bn. Investors withdrew [...]
Lehman Bros locked in new equity talks September 1, 2008 Lehman Brothers, the troubled Wall Street investment bank, was holding intensive talks this weekend over a much-needed injection of billions of dollars in new equity capital. Korea Development Bank (KDB), the South Korean government-backed institution, which last week appeared to have lost its appetite for Lehman, is thought to have returned to the table to [...]
