StanChart lines up for Barclays’ Indian assets September 13, 2011 STANDARD Chartered and SBI Card are competing to buy Barclays’ India credit cards business, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the British bank looks to reduce its exposure to unsecured lending in the country. Barclays has about 200,000 card holders in India and the book value of the business is roughly 2bn [...]
Uncertainty casts a shadow over uptick September 13, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares rose yesterday, led by banks which bounced back after recent weakness, although traders were dubious about the rally’s solidity due to persistent fears of a Greek debt default and a sharp rise in Italy’s borrowing costs. The UK benchmark index ended up 44.63 points, or 0.9 per cent, at 5,174.25, recovering from [...]
ANALYSIS l HSBC Holdings PLC September 12, 2011 HSBC will suffer less of a hit than RBS or Barclays because its UK investment bank makes up a lower proportion of its total income. It will have to make some structural changes, however. And the bank does not welcome the imposition of a ring-fence because its executives believe it unnecessarily complicates the global regulation agenda. It [...]
ANALYSIS l Barclays PLC September 12, 2011 Barclays could suffer a severe hit from the ring-fence proposed by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB). In particular, the policy will prove costly for the bank because it prevents lucrative cross-selling between its retail and investment banking arms and requires the two sides of the business to interact as third parties to one another. [...]
Reaction | Focus on Vickers September 12, 2011 THE BUSINESS LEADER CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY DR NEIL BENTLEY “The UK is going it alone on ring-fencing, so the government must rigorously examine how and when to implement these proposals, otherwise it risks damaging businesses and threatening growth. The Commission is right to recommend a flexible approach to ring-fencing and suggest a reasonable time frame for [...]
Lower returns, in return for what? September 12, 2011 READING most papers this morning might lead you to believe that you have awakened in a brave new world for Britain’s banks. This is a world where stable retail lenders are “insulated” from “global shocks” brought on by reckless investment bankers and one where taxpayers are finally off the hook for bank losses – thanks [...]
Deutsche beginning to make its presence felt September 12, 2011 NOTWITHSTANDING worries over the Eurozone and jitters about the state of the investment banking sector, there were some happy bankers at Deutsche Bank yesterday. Deutsche is the lead adviser on US group Colfax’s £1.5bn bid for Charter that was made yesterday, higher than a rival bid from the UK group Melrose. There are not many [...]
Weak commodities take toll on FTSE but banks rebound September 12, 2011 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell yesterday, on weakness in heavyweight mining and energy issues as commodity prices retreated, while a partial recovery by banks brought blue-chips back from intra-days lows for the month. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 85.03 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 5,129.62, having bounced off the session [...]
Hope of help for Italy lifts stocks September 12, 2011 US stocks rose yesterday, bouncing back in late trading, as hopes that Italy could get financial support from China tempered investors’ worst fears over the Eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis. Traders started the day braced for a possible downgrade of France’s top banks by Moody’s rating agency, but sentiment improved as various European officials succeeded in [...]
Banks to take £7bn hit from Vickers reforms September 12, 2011 Britain’s banks should shield their retail operations from riskier investment banking units and boost capital levels to protect taxpayers from future crises, according to far-reaching proposals that could cost the industry £7bn a year. The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) also said banks must hold core capital of at least 10 per cent in their [...]