Banks

US bank earnings thunder on in weak economy

14 Jul 2003

Citigroup grew second quarter earnings by 12%. Bank of America s profits meanwhile hit a record high. Both are enjoying a sweet spot that investors should savour while it lasts. The picture in other sectors is more worrying.

German banks refocus on corporate loans

10 Jul 2003

That might seem mad, given that lending to companies has long been a profitfree zone. But it isn't so dumb as banks are charging more for loans. The snag is that their borrowing costs are rising too so there is no quick win.

Rothschilds keeps it in the family

8 Jul 2003

As leadership of the bank passes from one cousin to another, so the corporate structure is being rejigged to streamline family control. This should make little difference to a bank that is already operationally unified. But it reinforces its longtermist credentials.

Bank Austria IPO shows beggars can’t be choosers

8 Jul 2003

HVB had plenty of reasons to price the offer generously its own future hinged on the sale. But that's not the full story. It also had a positive reason to leave something on the table.

Second-tier Italian banks are all the rage

7 Jul 2003

Scarcely a day seems to pass without an Italian businessman buying a stake in the likes of Capitalia, BNL and Monte dei Paschi. But shareholders who hope that this will lead to a freeforall bout of consolidation are likely to be disappointed.

Caisse des Depots to pass Ixis on to savings banks

4 Jul 2003

France's quasipublic bank is to merge commercial operations with the savings banks, creating the thirdlargest French bank, say reports. Public policy, not business logic, lies behind the fiendishly complex deal. The task of running the new bank looks like a real challenge.

Merrill cases could prove turning point

3 Jul 2003

Wall Street certainly needed a catharsis following the excesses of the bubble years. But investors need to stop viewing themselves as victims and banks as dens of thieves. Lots more regulation would be in nobody's interest.

More prime brokers, more choice – more risk?

2 Jul 2003

Established hedge funds are retaining more than one prime brokerage nowadays. And competition is bringing some benefits. But one of the easiest ways for new prime brokers to take market share is to offer cheaper leverage. That should set alarm bells ringing.

Cazenove misses a third engine

1 Jul 2003

The UK stockbroker has an enviable equity franchise. But its results show the cost of not having a comparable debt operation too. Yet even if equity markets continue to rally, Cazenove may still delay its float. The reason is simple and human: embarrassment.

Investment banks in denial

1 Jul 2003

Many investment banking bosses are claiming that their businesses are, at last, the right size given that the outlook is improving. But the industry as a whole still suffers overcapacity in many quarters. Ironically, it may take an upturn to show it.

Telenor trade is cautionary tale

1 Jul 2003

Lehman Brothers was the surprise winner of the mandate to sell E900m of shares in the telecoms group for Norway. But the usual backbiting about how Lehman nabbed the business by underpricing it may not be valid this time round.

Bankers play on fears to win business

30 Jun 2003

Investment banks could make millions by persuading companies to sell noncore crossshareholdings into the stock market rally. But most finance directors are raising debt, not paying it off. Bankers only hope appears to be scaring them into action.

Lehman tipped to pay $3bn for US asset manager

26 Jun 2003

The purchase of Neuberger Berman would give the investment bank a prized high networth brand in asset management. The mooted price looks high nonetheless. And Lehman is mistaken if it thinks asset management is much less volatile than investment banking.

Italian banks start to unwind Generali stakes

26 Jun 2003

The joint assault on the Italian insurer looked like an extremely expensive power game earlier this year. But the market bounce has created the circumstances where they can exit or at least cut their stakes without suffering big losses.

Trading boom lifts Goldman

25 Jun 2003

Like its peers, the US investment bank enjoyed bumper profits in the second quarter thanks to trading securities for its own account. That is just as well. Because there's still little sign that the advisory business is about to pick up anytime soon.

Dresdner’s bad bank faces dilemma

25 Jun 2003

Either Dresdner sells the dud loans rapidly. But then it will get firesale prices. Or the German bank can scrutinise the 7,000 individual credits. But that will take time, during which their value may also decline.

Investors hold Belgian central bank to account

24 Jun 2003

An unseemly row over shareholder rights is raging between the bank, a quoted company, and its minority investors. It's not the pure pursuit of better corporate governance that has put a rocket under BnB's shares. It's the prospect of a pot of gold.

Bank Austria E1.2bn IPO priced to go

23 Jun 2003

The bank s German parent HVB has little choice. It desperately needs the extra capital, and can t afford to be greedy. The problem is that HVB is selling one of its best assets. Nor will the IPO cure HVB s capital shortage by itself. More needs to be done.

WestLB CEO falls on sword

23 Jun 2003

Sengera and other directors who oversaw Robin Saunders, the flamboyant Londonbased financier, deserve blame for the banks' lax controls. But WestLB's problems go deeper. They are a microcosm for Germany's unaccountable Landesbank sector. It needs a catharsis.

Zaragozano effect strikes mid-sized Spanish banks

20 Jun 2003

First Banco Zaragozano sold itself to Barclays at three times book value. Now other midsized Spanish banks want to do the same. Banco Pastor is obviously dressing itself up for sale. Banco Atlantico is ready to sell too. Consolidation may lurch forward.