Bloomberg Bank of Montreal (BMO) expects to capture a bigger share of US dealmaking in 2017 by winning more mandates for advising on takeovers and managing stock sales, building off its most successful year in US capital markets. “In a challenging year in ’16 we managed to take market share,†Peter Myers, 57, head of US investment and corporate ...
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Santander chairman sees growth in all of bank’s markets
Bloomberg Banco Santander SA Chairman Ana Botin said she expects growth in all of the lenders’ markets in 2017 after Spain’s largest bank reported fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates. The shares jumped. Net income rose to 1.6 billion euros ($1.72 billion) compared with 25 million euros a year earlier when profit was hit by charges, including provisions for the ...
Read More »Intesa’s Generali deal to reshape Italy finance
Bloomberg Intesa Sanpaolo SpA said it’s considering a merger with Assicurazioni Generali SpA, a deal that would reshape Italy’s financial industry by combining its second-biggest bank with the largest insurer. “Possible industrial combinations with Assicurazioni Generali are currently being examined by the bank’s management,†Intesa said in a statement. “The bank is interested in industrial growth in the areas ...
Read More »China raises medium-term loan rate to tighten policy
Bloomberg China’s central bank increased the interest rates on medium-term loans that it uses to manage liquidity, a move analysts say signals its intent to keep a tight rein on leverage in the financial system. The one year Medium-term Lending Facility (MLF) rate was raised to 3.1 percent from 3 percent and the six-month rate to 2.95 percent from ...
Read More »Beijing urged to tighten monetary policy
Bloomberg China should tighten monetary policy as signs of overheating emerge amid quickening inflation, according to the top-ranked forecaster for the nation’s economy. With policy makers torn between reining in price gains and stabilizing growth, corporate lending has become too cheap, said Song Yu, chief China economist at Beijing Gao Hua Securities Co. The real interest rate for companies ...
Read More »Lloyds suffers cyber-attack on bank’s UK systems
Bloomberg Lloyds Banking Group Plc was hit by a cyber attack that disrupted online services for customers two weeks ago, a person with knowledge of the matter said, amid mounting concern over the threat hackers pose to major banks. Britain’s largest mortgage lender was targeted by a denial-of-service attack, which aims to cripple an online system by flooding it ...
Read More »Kenyan banks face new salvo with state-loan proposals
Bloomberg A new row is brewing between Kenyan banks and parliament after a lawmaker proposed placing restrictions on deposits by state-owned companies, months after the state imposed a cap on lending rates. Kimani Ichungw’a, vice chairman of the Public Investments Committee, drafted a bill seeking to bar state-owned corporations from investing or depositing public funds with lenders in which ...
Read More »Lira trades sideways ahead of critical central bank meet
Reuters Turkey’s lira was little changed on Tuesday, with investors holding back from taking big bets ahead of a central bank meeting later in the day seen as a critical test of its monetary policy credibility. The lira has fallen some 8 percent so far this year, making it one of the worst performing major emerging market currencies. Investors ...
Read More »Bond buyers grab disappearing bank debt ahead of Canada bail-in
Bloomberg Bond investors are snapping up Canadian bank debt that’s likely to start disappearing under new government rules expected early this year to protect taxpayers from having to bail out a failing financial firm. About C$100 billion ($75 billion) in deposit notes outstanding — senior unsecured bank debt valued for its credit quality, liquidity, and widespread inclusion in portfolios ...
Read More »National Bank of Kuwait posts $248.9mn profit in Q4
DUBAI / Reuters National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) , the Gulf Arab state’s largest commercial lender, posted a 40 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, according to Reuters’ calculations, as the bank continued to benefit from government spending. The bank made a net profit of 75.9 million dinars ($248.9 million) in the three months to Dec. 31, compared with ...
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