Gulliver: Commercial banking is our DNA May 11, 2011 HSBC unveiled a strategic overhaul yesterday that will see the bank cut up to $3.5bn (£2.14bn) in costs, cut “subscale” retail operations and review its presence in 39 countries. “We are not going to try to be all things to all people in all markets,” said chief executive Stuart Gulliver as he launched a plan [...]
Weak banks and fears over Eurozone debt drag on FTSE May 9, 2011 BANKING stocks weighed on Britain’s leading share index yesterday, with the sector hit by their capitulation in a fight over loan insurance mis-selling, and by Eurozone debt concerns after S&P cut Greece’s credit rating. The British Banking Association said members would not appeal a ruling that they compensate customers wrongly sold payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
HSBC profit drops as costs rise May 9, 2011 HSBC said profits fell 14 per cent from a year ago as a jump in costs offset a fall in bad debts at Europe’s biggest bank. HSBC said it would also take a £268m provision to compensate customers who were wrongly sold insurance after banks scrapped a legal fight on the issue. That helped lift [...]
AIG profit fall triggered by natural disasters May 6, 2011 Insurance giant AIG has reported a fall in profits because of loan repayments and natural disasters. American International Group (AIG), was hit hard when it lost $1bn (£610m) from its ongoing operations in the last quarter of the year. The firm also losr $864m after the 11 March earthquake in Japan, according to Chartis, its [...]
AIG loses $1bn in first quarter May 5, 2011 Bailed-out insurer American International Group (AIG) lost more than $1bn (£609m) from its ongoing operations in the first-quarter, as the company took a huge charge for the termination of its credit facility with the Federal Reserve. AIG reported a loss from continuing operations of $1.18bn compared with a profit on the same basis a year [...]
ING triumphs as races past predictions May 5, 2011 DUTCH bancassurer ING yesterday beat first-quarter profit forecasts, improving the prospects for listing its US and European-Asian insurance units and for other asset sales to repay state aid. ING, which received €10bn (£8.9bn) state aid at the height of the 2008 credit crisis, is selling assets so it can repay the Dutch government and splitting [...]
The man to take the place of St James’s founder May 5, 2011 CHARLES Gregson (pictured), the chairman of money broker ICAP, is to succeed St James’s Place founder Mike Wilson when he steps down later this year. City grandee Wilson will relinquish his post as chairman almost 20 years after he founded the fund manager alongside Lord Rothschild and Sir Mark Weinberg. He will become a “life [...]
Credit cards charging the highest rates for 13 years May 5, 2011 CREDIT card interest rates have soared this year, it was revealed yesterday. Since the start of the year, 18 credit cards have hiked the rates they charge customers, compared to just four in the same period last year. The average interest rate on plastic has hit a 13-year high of 19.1 per cent, the website [...]
Lloyds in red as it takes £4bn hit on insurance protection May 5, 2011 Lloyds bank said it will take a £3.2bn provision to cover it for losses from the mis-selling of protection insurance and suffered another £1.1bn hit in Ireland. The part-nationalised bank said it made the provision against payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints after UK banks last month lost a court case on how policies were sold [...]
HSBC to sell off $30bn of assets in strategic overhaul May 3, 2011 HSBC is set to announce some $30bn (£18.2bn) in asset sales as part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver’s strategic rebalancing of the bank. Insiders have confirmed the $30bn figure to City A.M., which was estimated by Barclays Capital analyst Rohith Chandra-Rajan in a note to investors. The sales will form part of implementing what Gulliver [...]