Banking

StanChart stumps up $500m for AgBank IPO

Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered Plc said it will invest $500m as a cornerstone investor in Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO in Hong Kong. AgBank is seeking to raise more than $20bn in a Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO, and sources had previously told reporters that Standard Chartered would invest $500m. The listing is expected to […]

Stocks fall as bank funding worries intensify

World stocks hit a 2-1/2 week low on Tuesday while oil and the euro also slipped as investors grew nervous over the funding situation of banks about to repay 442 billion euros ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank. Banks must repay the money borrowed a year ago at rock bottom rates on Thursday, leaving […]

Asia stocks rise as US bank bill fears ease

Most Asian stock markets rose on Monday, with Europe set to follow, as fears eased that Washington would draft a harsh bill for regulating the banking sector and after an unremarkable conclusion to a Group of 20 leaders’ summit. G20 leaders meeting in Toronto agreed to take their own paths to ensuring economic growth and […]

Commodity stocks and banks pull FTSE lower

Britain’s top share index fell early on Thursday as renewed doubts about the sustainability of a global recovery dented commodity stocks, and banks weakened as risk appetite ebbed. By 0759 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 33.54 points, or 0.7 percent, lower at 5,145.04 after falling 1.3 percent on Wednesday to its lowest closing level in […]

Bank of Ireland details 3.4bn capital raising

Bank of Ireland launched a plan to raise 3.4 billion euros ($4.6bn) without resorting to further state cash in a package the Irish government hopes will help differentiate it from Greece’s woes. Ireland last year came close to a similar market attack as Greece due to its own fiscal and banking crises and Bank of […]

German bank severs Goldman ties, France eyes probe

A German state bank said it had severed business ties with Goldman Sachs Group Inc , citing US regulators’ allegation that the dominant Wall Street bank committed fraud, while France eyed an investigation of its own. Goldman is accused of defrauding investors by failing to say that prominent hedge fund manager John Paulson bet against […]

FinMin: Greece to tap aid when needed, eyes debt costs

Borrowing costs and the progress of talks with European and IMF officials will determine whether Greece triggers an international aid mechanism, the country’s finance minister has stated. Greek borrowing costs hit a fresh high in mid-April and investors increasingly believe the discussions will lead Greece to tap an aid package of 40-45 billion euros ($53.8bn). […]

Banco Popolare CEO sees 2010 results in line

Italy’s Banco Popolare expects 2010 results to be in line with forecasts while possible sales of non-strategic assets could boost its capital ratios, its chief executive said recently. In La Stampa daily, Pier Francesco Saviotti also ruled out any merger with Italian cooperative bank peer Ubi Banca, speculation which regularly surfaces, and said there had […]

WTO: Global crisis to hurt trade for up to 2 years

Global trade will face lingering protectionism for up to two years, as the job market reels from the global financial crisis, World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy said recently. “We are not out of the woods in coping with this protectionist tensions,” Lamy told reporters in the Chilean capital Santiago during a visit. “We on […]

BoE to be regulator & rate setter under Conservatives

The Bank of England will get sweeping new powers to police London’s financial centre if Britain’s opposition Conservative Party wins the coming election, but changes to the structure may take about 18 months. Analysts say that could increase short-term uncertainty – investors might think UK assets are that much riskier as a result. There is […]

UK March factory gate inflation hits 16-month high

British factory gate inflation rose in March at its fastest pace in 16 months, driven by a surge in the cost of oil and imported goods, official data shows. The Office for National Statistics said producer output prices rose 0.9 percent on the month, more than twice the jump analysts had forecast, for an annual […]

AIB may need $12bn more state help

Nationalised Anglo Irish Bank will need between 6 billion and 9 billion euros ($12.1bn) in further state investment to remain afloat, Chief Executive Mike Aynsley told the Irish Times newspaper. The state, which has already given AIB 4 billion euros in capital, would have to spend far more, up to 35 billion euros, if it […]

Irish finance regulator to double staff, up fines

Ireland’s beefed-up financial regulator needs the authority to levy stiffer fines, its new chief said as he announced plans to double staff numbers over the next two years. Matthew Elderfield, hired to lead an overhaul of Ireland’s antiquated regulatory infrastructure, said he was surprised how poorly resourced the system was since taking over as head […]

Swiss upper house approves five bank data deals

The Swiss parliament’s upper house has approved deals with the US and four other countries to share data on potential tax dodgers, bringing the Alpine state closer in line with international standards. Under the deals Switzerland will have banking data sharing arrangements with France, Britain, the US, Denmark and Mexico in cases of tax fraud […]

FSA bans former Merrill trader for “mis-marking”

Britain’s financial regulator banned a former Merrill Lynch proprietary trader after he deliberately mis-marked positions to avoid showing increasing losses, forcing the bank to make a $456m writedown. The FSA said Alexis Stenfors, a former proprietary trader at Merrill Lynch International Bank (MLIB), now part of Bank of America Corp, was barred from any function […]

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