US authorities move to rescue Freddie and Fannie July 14, 2008 Support from US Treasury comes minutes before far east markets open for trading US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson moved to calm nerves about stricken American lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last night, saying the government would be willing to take an equity stake in the two banks. His eagerly awaited statement came just minutes [...]
Inside the private world of Citigroup’s bankers July 11, 2008 Private bankers over at Citibank are in a bit of a stew – and with good reason. Staff at the bank’s personal banking division have learned that anti-money laundering measures (AML) are to be stepped up suddenly to prevent criminals taking advantage of the private bank’s services. In an internal document seen by CityAM, [...]
Bank of Ireland hit as sector struggles July 9, 2008 Bank of Ireland’s share price reached a 20-year low yesterday after the governor of its board told shareholders to expect a difficult time. “It’s time for hard hats I’m afraid. It’s time to run this bank in a very conservative way,” Richard Burrows, governor of Bank of Ireland’s board, told shareholders at the company’s annual [...]
Fears mount for Bradford & Bingley as shares flop July 8, 2008 Bradford & Bingley’s stock plunged to an all-time low of 42p yesterday – well below its rights issue price of 55p – as concerns over the troubled lender’s future intensified. Fears also increased that the lender would issue another profit warning, due to the deepening crisis in the housing market, when it releases the prospectus [...]
Bradford & Bingley bankruptcy feared July 7, 2008 Fears that mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley is on the brink of bankruptcy have heightened following rating agency Moody’s decision to cut the cash strapped banks’ rating to Baa1, the lowest of any major British bank. “Our bankruptcy probability is increased to 25 per cent. UK property is 40 per cent over valued and B&B [...]
City rides to the £400m rescue of B&B July 4, 2008 Bradford & Bingley said last night its underwriters and other City institutions will back its £400m fundraising despite a dramatic decision by American private equity firm TPG to walk away from a deal after rating agency Moody’s cut the bank’s credit status. The move comes after Moody’s cut the cash-strapped bank’s rating to Baa1, giving [...]
Four top UBS directors quit July 2, 2008 Swiss banking giant UBS yesterday started the process of rebuilding its reputation and placating shareholders by announcing major board changes. UBS, which has written down more than $37bn during the credit crunch, said four of its senior boards members – Stephan Haeringer, Rolf Meyer, Peter Spuhler and Lawrence Weinbach – would step down on 2 [...]
No more US deals for RBS November 3, 2005 Sir Fred Goodwin has reiterated Royal Bank of Scotland’s stance on acquisitions in America, saying there are no plans for further deals following last year’s purchase of Charter One Financial. In an interview with news agency Bloomberg in New York, the Edinburgh bank’s chief executive said: “Organic growth is our number one priority (in America).” [...]
Boomtime for Credit Suisse November 3, 2005 Credit Suisse became the latest big bank to report soaring profits on the back of stronger financial markets. The Swiss bank reported a 42 per cent rise in third quarter profits to Sfr1.92bn (£846m) thanks to growth across its investment banking, private banking and asset management divisions. Oswald Grübel, chief executive, called the results “satisfactory”. [...]
BCCI £1bn case ended ‘month late’ November 3, 2005 Judge tells court of his surprise that the Deloitte action against BoE had been allowed to drag on for so long BCCI’S liquidator Deloitte was instructed by the collapsed bank’s creditor committee to immediately halt its action against the Bank of England on 26 September, but only managed to extricate itself from the £1bn litigation [...]