Banks

Standard Chartered 2002 pretax profits rise 16%

19 Feb 2003

The emerging markets bank is one of the few Londonlisted banks that still offers growth. Bad consumer debt crunched Hong Kong profits a preview perhaps of what may happen to OECD banks. But the rest of Asia is doing well.

HVB puts a brave face on 2002 figures

19 Feb 2003

The bank has chosen to focus on transient trading improvements rather than the ugly truth. Either its implausible transformation plan works or investors face a monster equity issue.

Breuer guilty of banking code breach

18 Feb 2003

A Munich court has found the chairman of Deutsche Bank guilty of breaking client confidentiality rules. What an embarrassment for the man who chairs the German Bankers' Association. Let alone letting DB in for a whopping fine.

UBS sees gloomy 2003 after Q4 loss

18 Feb 2003

At least the Swiss bank is honest. But then it can afford to be given its position of relative strength. While other banks fret about capital, UBS has launched a new share buyback scheme.

Bulge bracket turns the screw on second tier

14 Feb 2003

The big investment banks aren t trying to cut capacity just prices. In doing so, they hope to drive the second tier banks out of the industry.

Lloyds TSB borrows to pay higher dividend

14 Feb 2003

Negative life fund returns, misselling charges and a pensions deficit are oneoffs, says outgoing CEO Peter Ellwood. But Lloyds has only put a sticking plaster over its wounds. No wonder it warns the dividend may not rise from here.

FSA tinkers with research business model

13 Feb 2003

The regulator has not broken the financial links between investment banking and research, nor forced banks to fund independent competitors. This may mean the squeeze on European research is less marked than in the US.

Barclays profits meet lowered expectations

13 Feb 2003

The UK bank's annual results have reassured investors worried about credit quality. Barclays is optimistic about the future. With a pension deficit of £1.3bn and revenue pressures mounting, it needs to be.

UK banks must choose growth or profitability

12 Feb 2003

Investors are deserting the UK banking sector amid fears that returns will deteriorate. But if banks are to deliver growth, something will have to give.

Merrill to invest $1.25bn in Mizuho – report

12 Feb 2003

Pure US investment banks have two problems: business is thin, and their skinny balance sheets make it harder to drumup more. Japanese banks can offer a way to solve both. They have huge balance sheets. M&A among their domestic clients is also booming.

Sir Evelyn de Rothschild prepares to sell out

10 Feb 2003

Ceding the helm of the family bank would be meaningless if Sir Evelyn retained control. But Rothschild is not yet ready for a Lazardstyle reorganisation. The shares will probably be absorbed by other family members.

Deutsche Bank posts disappointing Q4 net loss

7 Feb 2003

Writedowns and a higher tax bill are to blame. The good news is that costs are falling faster than revenues. The bank is optimistic about 2003. But, given the state of Germany s economy, claims that bad debt charges have peaked are odd indeed.

Commerzbank posts first ever annual loss

5 Feb 2003

Chairman KlausPeter Mueller says 2003 will be better. In fact he promises a complete turnaround, and profits too. Perhaps. That s what the German bank said last year. And the economic climate has gotten much tougher since then.

BNP looks to US for acquisitions

5 Feb 2003

Hang on wasn t the group supposed to be trying to buy Credit Lyonnais or Societe Generale? Domestic mergers are tough so the change of tack may make sense. But BNP is in danger of baffling investors.

Abbey National disposal bodes well for restructuring

4 Feb 2003

The UK bank has sold its First National consumer lending business for £848m, and at a handy premium to book value. This is all part of Abbey s back to basics strategy. It s a nice first step, but only a first step.

CSFB suspends Quattrone

4 Feb 2003

The surprise is not that the former star tech banker has been sidelined, but that it took so long for John Mack to do so. After all, when Mack arrived he had two duties: clean the stables and cut costs. The tech team would have been the best place to do both.

Bankgesellschaft Berlin gets two bids

31 Jan 2003

It looks like there is, after all, competition to manage the runoff of Berlin's troubled state bank. But an auction won't help Berliners recover significantly more. It will just confirm how badly Bankgesellschaft was run on their behalf.

Spain’s two big banks cut back in Latam

30 Jan 2003

The continent s economic problems have produced SCH s and BBVA s first annual loss in at least a decade. So the focus now is on home. Odd, then, that two of their recent property deals have highlighted Spanish risks.

HVB lays out its survival strategy

30 Jan 2003

Cutting risk weighted assets by E100bn is Herculean. HVB would be palming off more risk than, say, Abbey National has on its books in toto. Still HVB has to try if it is to shore up its balance sheet without raising equity.

Paulson says Goldman has plenty of flab to cut

29 Jan 2003

But by suggesting 80% of staff add little value, he may have scored an own goal. Clearly, the investment bank s chairman no longer believes in retaining capacity for the upturn.