Investment Banking

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.

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.

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.

Dealmakers jazz up glum outlook in New Orleans

7 Mar 2025

Despite a slow $500 bln start to M&A this year, consiglieri clung to optimism at their annual Big Easy conclave. Buyout shops and CEOs may have the money for acquisitions, but expecting policy and the economy to become predictable enough for their comfort is a fanciful notion.

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.

New HSBC CEO leaves growth question on backburner

19 Feb 2025

Georges Elhedery announced $1.5 bln of cost cuts that should help keep the $200 bln bank fairly lean. The bigger problem is HSBC’s revenue, which risks stagnating as rivals expand. The implication is that growth is out of the new CEO’s hands, making a valuation boost unlikely.

India’s banks will struggle to keep equities crown

19 Feb 2025

Kotak joined the ranks of the top 10 stock underwriters globally in 2024, a first for the country's financiers. Compatriots are doing well too. A record $71 bln of fundraising activity in rich local equities helped. It'll be hard to repeat as markets elsewhere come back to life.

EQT’s new boss has a private-credit hole to fill

17 Feb 2025

Per Franzén will replace CEO of six years Christian Sinding at the $40 bln Swedish buyout firm. EQT’s valuation premium to rivals has shrivelled, partly because fixed-income shops like Ares have soared. Franzén, who lacks a private-credit unit, may want to think about buying one.

Andrea Orcel’s M&A hunt homes in on Italy

11 Feb 2025

The UniCredit boss pledged bold returns, even as lower rates squeeze banks’ lending margins. Solid performance, and a whirl of rival deals, make his bid for $14 bln Banco BPM increasingly realistic. That’s just as well, since his pursuit of Commerzbank looks ever more distant.

Answer to UBS’s chronic US problem may be M&A

4 Feb 2025

CEO Sergio Ermotti’s key Americas wealth unit manages $2.1 trln but has a tiny 9% pre-tax margin. He wants to get that figure to 15%, which is still miles below Morgan Stanley’s equivalent number. Buying a US money manager, or even an investment bank, could help close the gap.

Mediobanca’s best M&A defence is the market

27 Jan 2025

The 13 bln euro bank is facing a hostile bid from MPS. CEO Alberto Nagel could in theory court a white knight, like Intesa, or try a deal of his own. But his own rebel shareholders and the Italian government make that tricky. Attacking the merger’s logic looks like his best bet.

Citi’s pricey refit flags offices’ prime dilemma

22 Jan 2025

The US bank is spending 1 bln pounds to upgrade its tower in London’s Canary Wharf. Stagnating rents and higher vacancies put an onus on value-enhancing refits. The dilemma for owners of large office districts is whether to take on debt and follow suit – or accept a slow decline.

Ping An’s tech dreams may yet exit intensive care

16 Jan 2025

The $110 bln insurer’s days of spinning off web-based ventures to help boost its value are long over. But a quirky special dividend is giving it back majority control of beaten-down but cash-rich Ping An Healthcare just as the online medical firm’s fortunes look set to improve.

Mega-banks wisely stay sober amid Trump 2.0 party

15 Jan 2025

Soaring animal spirits juiced lenders’ profits as trading booms. Yet despite likely looser regulation under the returning president, they seem cautious on spending excess capital, some $50 bln at JPMorgan alone. It makes sense: buybacks would be costly and inflation risks linger.

Hong Kong bankers make lemonade out of delistings

15 Jan 2025

Club Med owner Fosun Tourism plans to take itself private, capping a record year of similar deals in a city thirsty for large IPOs. It helps the company's ailing parent and hard-up shareholders get a decent premium. For financiers too, the trend is bittersweet.

Wall Street titans may find a fly in the champagne

14 Jan 2025

Resurgent M&A helped power Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley’s annual investment banking fees higher by 24% and 35%, respectively, analysts estimate. Combined with shifts to stable money-management income, that has lifted valuations. Yet bond-market chaos may cloud celebrations.