Banks

Barclays’ Brookfield schmuck insurance may flop

17 Apr 2025

The $53 bln bank will give the private-capital group 10% of its payments business in return for help growing it, and may sell Brookfield another 70% over time. It seems designed to avoid seller’s remorse. Investors may end up wishing for a simpler arrangement.

Banks can dodge a 2022-style hung debt disaster

17 Apr 2025

High-yield borrowing costs have spiked, raising memories of the $80 bln of loans and bonds that got stuck with lenders three years ago. Yet the leveraged buyout backlog is smaller now, and the credit market moves less violent. A mild headache is more likely than a nasty hangover.

Investors reward Goldman for being its true self

14 Apr 2025

Equity and bond traders cashed in on volatile markets in the first quarter, bringing in nearly 60% of the Wall Street firm’s revenue of $15 bln. CEO David Solomon has sought to emphasize more stable activities. But shareholders are warming to Goldman’s traditional strengths.

Jamie Dimon’s actions say even more than his words

11 Apr 2025

JPMorgan’s boss influenced US policy by speaking up about tariffs. His latest warnings are accompanied by $3.3 bln set aside for credit losses, 75% more than a year earlier. Based on the famously cautious mega-bank’s provisions in past downturns, the sum may yet be conservative.

Banks are dubious savior for US government debt

9 Apr 2025

The 10-year yield stayed high at 4.3% after a tariff pause. It adds urgency to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s quest to relax capital rules so that lenders can buy more bonds. The timing, with investors fleeing, flags the risk. SVB found that safe assets can cause problems.

Market turmoil rewrites the lessons of investing

8 Apr 2025

From the crisis of 2008 to the pandemic to Trump’s tariffs, governments and central banks have influenced asset prices. In this episode of The Big View podcast Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of UBS’s wealth management unit, talks about the stark message for investors.

China’s banks head towards new lending woes

1 Apr 2025

The state hopes injecting $72 billion of capital into four big lenders will spark consumer-driven economic growth. But it adds little firepower, and the country’s high savings rate suggests the banks have their work cut out. Doing Beijing’s bidding is already causing stress.

China insurers find capital home in Hong Kong

31 Mar 2025

The $127 bln Ping An and peers are upping purchases of the city's stocks as they hunt for yield. Low interest rates and a lack of investment options on the mainland will sustain the trend. That should help narrow the premium onshore shares trade at to their Hong Kong equivalents.

How UBS can soften or swerve $25 bln capital blow

27 Mar 2025

Swiss lawmakers might whack the bank with demands for extra equity. Chair Colm Kelleher could dodge the punch by moving its head office, but that would be risky. Better for UBS to cushion the impact by shrinking the investment bank - or even offloading its US wealth unit.

ECB bank snub is good for Orcel, bad for M&A bulls

26 Mar 2025

The supervisor has queried Banco BPM’s use of the ‘Danish Compromise’ in its swoop on fund group Anima. That’s bad for the acquirer. But it’s good for UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who wants to buy BPM – and for those who want M&A to be based on logic, not capital arbitrage.

Citi bonuses provide helpful how-not-to guide

20 Mar 2025

The US mega-bank is doling out the last portion of three-year, $5 mln awards aimed at helping improve persistent risk and control lapses. The top brass fell short, slashing the final payout ratio to 68%. Even that is too much in a sign of how badly the plan was designed.

US banks set to capitalize on rare globalist pact

13 Mar 2025

Michelle Bowman should be a welcome pick as the Fed’s new sheriff to JPMorgan and its peers. She has advocated for aligning rules with Europe and beyond. It probably means a planned 9% capital hike on big lenders will vanish without upending the broader Basel Endgame framework.

Bank investors bet on car loan scandal airbags

13 Mar 2025

A court verdict on mis-sold motor loans could pave the way for large fines for lenders like Lloyds. Yet that would undermine chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth agenda, and the regulator has ways to limit the damage. Current stock prices imply a dent rather than a pile-up.

Wall Street’s deal pipeline talk springs a leak

12 Mar 2025

After a so-so 2024, banking bosses have boasted that they see a boom of corporate matchmaking incoming, despite a 17% drop in M&A volume to kick off the year. Unusual layoffs at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and others betray a distinctly more reserved outlook.

India’s banks face a new credibility test

12 Mar 2025

Shares in IndusInd, the country's fifth-largest private lender, fell 27% after it reported a derivatives lapse that will hit earnings. Cascading issues from management churn to bad loans seem to set it apart. But the latest mess will inspire heightened scrutiny of its peers too.

Italy’s great Generali game enters fateful round

10 Mar 2025

Rival investors are battling for control of the $52 bln insurer. A hostile takeover of Mediobanca and a new law could shift the power balance. Rival lender UniCredit might also play a role. The risk is that Generali’s governance becomes even more complex, echoing its past.

China’s bank recap exposes lenders’ dilemma

5 Mar 2025

The weakest Big Five lender, $70 bln BoCom, may be the first to get a capital injection from the state. Beijing will want it to spur lending to help drive economic growth. But with more earnings-sapping rate cuts likely, BoCom would be better off keeping any new powder dry.

EU banks’ M&A secret weapon nears sell-by date

3 Mar 2025

The ‘Danish Compromise’ lets Europe’s lenders buy insurers while shielding the capital hit. Yet Italy’s battle over $15 bln Banco BPM suggests the tool can also be hard to deploy. If financial groups fear regulators could withdraw the wheeze, maybe it’s no longer much use.

A Chinese Morgan Stanley is worth an M&A shot

3 Mar 2025

CICC may merge with Galaxy, per Reuters. They denied it, but a tie-up would combine a retail broker and an investment bank, as CICC’s Wall Street co-founder did with Dean Witter. It has more logic than earlier state-led deals, though being a global player would remain a stretch.

Fracturing world muddies Bill Winters’ options

21 Feb 2025

The CEO of $35 bln Standard Chartered has had a mostly underwhelming decade at the bank. Recent departures at the top make it hard to bow out. And a global trade war may benefit the emerging markets lender, enticing him to stay. But the fallout could upend his progress, too.