HSBC axes its Russian retail banking unit April 25, 2011 HSBC has become the latest international lender to pull the plug on its retail operations in Russia, as foreign banks struggle to crack the dominance of the country’s state-backed giants. The London-based bank’s exit follows that of Barclays, which quit its Russian retail banking operation last month. Barclay’s boss Bob Diamond said at the time [...]
Wells Fargo hit as drop in its revenues disappoints April 20, 2011 WELLS Fargo, the fourth-largest US bank, posted a decline in revenue sending its shares down 4.9 per cent as a bank known for outsmarting rivals turned in an average performance. Net earnings rose 50.5 per cent, but gains were driven mainly by setting aside less money to cover bad loans. The bank’s loan book shrank [...]
Gross mortgage lending springs back in March April 20, 2011 MORTGAGE lending bounced back in March from the previous month but is still two per cent lower than a year ago, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. Evidence of a seasonal recovery for the UK’s housing sector is emerging, as gross mortgage lending rose 21 per cent from £9.3bn in February [...]
Allied Irish Bank’s losses soar in 2010 April 12, 2011 ALLIED Irish Bank is to slash more than 2,000 jobs following annual results yesterday showing that it lost a staggering €12bn (£10.6bn) pre-tax last year due to ongoing toxic property loans. The loss is a more than four-fold increase on 2009. The bank reported an impairment rate of 28 per cent in its property and [...]
Allied Irish loss soars to €10.4bn April 12, 2011 Allied Irish Banks’ full-year loss more than quadrupled to €10.4bn (£9.2bn) in 2010 and the lender said on Tuesday it would axe over 2,000 jobs as it seeks to re-invent itself as a locally-focussed bank. A former stock market darling with international ambitions, AIB has been effectively nationalised and saved from collapse by emergency ECB [...]
Record drop in mortgage debt at end of 2010 April 4, 2011 BRITONS are no longer withdrawing equity from their houses to fuel consumer spending, official data suggests. Outstanding mortgage debt plummeted by £7bn in the final three months of last year — a record fall in debt — the Bank of England revealed yesterday. The figure sharply contrasts with levels of mortgage debt prior to the [...]
…As Coventry Building Society eyes loss-making good bank bid March 31, 2011 COVENTRY Building Society is putting together a bid for the loss-making “good bank” Northern Rock, the building society confirmed yesterday. Coventry is a surprise addition to the potential list of acquirers for the nationalised mortgage lender, its branches and its deposits, which includes self-styled challenger banks Virgin Money, Tesco Bank, OneSavings Bank and NBNK Investments [...]
Shock rise in mortgage defaults in 2011 March 31, 2011 MORTGAGE defaults have unexpectedly shot up in the first three months of the year, the Bank of England revealed yesterday. A positive balance of 11.5 per cent of respondents to the Bank’s credit conditions survey reported a rise in defaults on secured loans to households. Worse, even more – a positive balance of 14.3 per [...]
House prices turn upwards in London yet continue to slump in rest of the UK March 30, 2011 LONDON is the first UK region to register a rise in house prices for eight months, the Hometrack monthly national housing survey announced today. While prices across the UK fell by 0.1 per cent in March, in the capital they rose by 0.2 per cent. The upturn was driven by a 25 per cent increase [...]
Northern Rock to axe 680 jobs March 28, 2011 STATE-OWNED bank Northern Rock is to cut up to 680 jobs this year as it streamlines to cut costs before a return to the private sector. Newcastle-based Northern Rock said yesterday cost management was a key focus as it seeks to return to profit. The bank said economic and trading conditions were challenging for lenders [...]