RSA moves away from motoring with growth in newer markets May 3, 2012 INSURANCE group RSA said it was off to a good start to the year as newer markets offset a slump at its car insurance business, More Than. Net written premiums rose five per cent to £2.2bn in the first quarter of the year, thanks to a rate hike coupled with a one per cent uptick [...]
Bailed-out AIG trumps forecasts as its profits more than double May 3, 2012 BAILED-OUT insurer American International Group (AIG) said quarterly profit more than doubled from a year earlier, exceeding expectations with the help of investment gains. The company yesterday reported first-quarter earnings of $1.65 a share on an operating basis, beating the $1.12 estimated on average by analysts. AIG’s net income for the quarter was $3.2bn, or [...]
HSBC sells US credit card unit to Capital One May 2, 2012 HSBC has netted a $2.5bn (£1.5bn) premium from the sale of its US credit card and retail services business to Capital One. The bank, which agreed the deal last August, said Capital One paid $31.3bn in cash for the assets, including an 8.75 per cent premium over the total loan balances. HSBC has agreed to [...]
NAB to cut 1,400 UK jobs April 30, 2012 National Australia Bank will cut 1,400 jobs in the UK and take charges of $740m(£454.4m) after deciding it was too hard to sell or expand its UK banking business in a depressed market, it said as it flagged a record first-half cash profit. After a review of its UK unit, which comprises over 335 Clydesdale [...]
UK tables long list of demands in EU bank talks April 29, 2012 BRITAIN is worried that a new set of European banking rules will widen a “fracture at the [EU’s] heart” and has marshalled the support of at least six other member states for a long list of demands in the negotiations. Europe’s finance ministers head to a crucial meeting in Brussels this week to thrash out [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 26, 2012 Avoca Capital The European credit investment manager has appointed Stephen Holland as director of sales and marketing. Holland will spearhead Avoca’s growth in North America. Most recently he was business development manager for Abbey Capital, a Dublin-based hedge fund. He has also served as head of sales for Bank of Ireland Asset Management. BlackRock The [...]
Barclays profit up as investment bank bounces back April 26, 2012 Barclays posted a 22 percent rise in first-quarter profit, ahead of market forecasts, as a strong rebound in revenue from its investment banking arm and a drop in bad debt countered increased compensation for insurance mis-selling. The bank reported an adjusted pretax profit of £2.45bn in the three months to end-March, up from 2 billion [...]
A recession made in Downing Street – but not caused by cuts April 26, 2012 IS this a recession made in Downing Street? In part, yes. Obviously, Gordon Brown is the main culprit. It will take years to recover from his mismanagement of fiscal, monetary, tax and regulatory policies, as well as from the global, cheap money bubble. But George Osborne can no longer escape blame either. His desire to [...]
A recession made in Downing Street – but not caused by cuts April 25, 2012 IS this a recession made in Downing Street? In part, yes. Obviously, Gordon Brown is the main culprit. It will take years to recover from his mismanagement of fiscal, monetary, tax and regulatory policies, as well as from the global, cheap money bubble. But George Osborne can no longer escape blame either. His desire to [...]
Fed asks banks to bid for risky assets portfolio April 18, 2012 THE NEW York Federal Reserve said yesterday it has asked eight investment banks to bid on risky assets from its Maiden Lane III portfolio, which was created during its 2008 bailout of insurer American International Group (AIG). This move would trim the US central bank’s balance sheet which about tripled from the emergency measures it [...]