Standard Chartered forecasts 10pc profits rise December 8, 2011 Standard Chartered Bank has said that it expects pretax profit to rise by at least 10 per cent this year to another record, helped by a strong performance in emerging markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Net interest margins were also expected to rise from 2010 levels, it said in a filing to the [...]
Banks buy own debt to raise new capital December 7, 2011 EUROPEAN banks are turning to buying back their own debt in order to raise some of the billions in extra capital required by regulators. At least six major banks have launched debt buybacks in the last two weeks and investment bankers say more are likely. Barclays announced the repurchase of £2.5bn of its own debt [...]
Barclays scales back £1bn retail presence in India December 7, 2011 BARCLAYS said yesterday it has decided not to book new retail loans in India, while maintaining its deposit business as part of a restructuring to focus on its corporate banking, wealth management and investment banking businesses. UK-based Barclays plans to sell its retail loan book of more than $580m (£369m) in the next six months [...]
BRICS expansion isn’t always easy December 7, 2011 Talk about counterintuitive. India, we’re always told, is the place to be for Western companies who want to move beyond mature markets at home. Now Barclays is scaling back its operations there, selling its $580m loan book and $35m credit card portfolio. In recent years, it has been the done thing to try to build [...]
FTSE see-saws on doubt over outcome of summit December 7, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares fell yesterday after comments from a German government official eroded optimism about a comprehensive deal to solve the Euro zone’s debt crisis at this week’s crunch EU summit. The FTSE 100 index ended down 21.81 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 5,546.91, after a choppy day when the index hit an intra-day [...]
Banks and miners fuel FTSE gains December 7, 2011 Miners and banks fuelled a lift in the FTSE 100 as investor sentiment improved ahead of a crunch Eurozone summit. The blue chip index mirrored Asia and the US where markets recovered from the ratings blow from Standard & Poor’s, which threatened to downgrade 15 nations, including Germany. There is mounting optimism that Eurozone leaders [...]
Deutsche wins broking tie-up with Barclays December 6, 2011 BARCLAYS has ditched JP Morgan Cazenove as one of its broking advisers, replacing it with Deutsche Bank. Deutsche, which has been building up its UK broking business in recent months, has a strong financials team that is already advising Phoenix, the life assurance group, and Bank of Ireland. The German bank has also picked up a [...]
Barclays makes £2.5bn offer for its debt to boost capital December 6, 2011 BARCLAYS has made a £2.5bn offer to buy back its debt in order to bolster its capital levels. If taken up by holders of the bank’s bonds, the move could book Barclays a profit and reduce the amount of its debt that is non-compliant with new Basel III capital rules. The bank is offering a [...]
BoA Merrill Lynch wants little Osborne fallout December 6, 2011 LOSING a star banker is obviously never easy for an investment bank, dependent as it is on a raft of client relationships. But losing a banker amid speculation of a regulatory probe is especially problematic, since the bank is forced to keep a lid on the reasons for the departure until the regulatory issues have [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING December 4, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SURGE IN UK CORPORATE BONDS Sterling corporate bond issuance is soaring, but euro-denominated bond sales are at a six-year low – as more companies turn to the relative stability of the London market amid Europe’s financial turmoil. UK and international companies have sold more than $42bn worth of sterling-denominated bonds so far this [...]