April 2009
UBS to cut 11% of its employees
The world’s largest wealth manager, The Swiss bank UBS, announced huge job cuts a 11 percent of the company’s 76,200 employees in 50 countries. The Swiss bank UBS, which has a financial advising presence in Portland, wants to cut its work force...
American International Group plans sale of U.S. auto business, 21st Century Insurance, to Zurich Financial Services
US taxpayer-bailed out insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) is in advanced talks to sell its US personal lines insurance business, 21st Century Insurance, to Zurich Financial Services for about $2bn. Selling the unit, which includes ...
Royal Bank of Scotland shortlists three bidders for Asia business
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) has a shortlist of three bidders for its Asian retail and commercial banking assets in a sale that could fetch up to $1.8 billion, according to a report on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site. The shortlisted...
US Planning to reveal bank stress test results for Top 19 Banks to restore confidence.
The US government could disclose bank stress test results details about the financial health of its top 19 biggest banks in a bid to reassure investors and restore confidence in the financial system. US government regulators are conducting stress tests...
Goldman Sachs Group plans stock offering
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is considering making a multibillion dollar offering of its shares to investors. The company is planning this offering as part of an effort to repay a $10 billion government loan. Though the final si...
March 2009
Institute of International Finance (IIF) says Financial Services Firms Move to Implement Compensation Reforms!
Financial services firms are moving forward with far-reaching changes in their approaches to employee compensation, said the Institute of International Finance (IIF). Firms are proceeding with reforms that are both in line with the principles published...
Lehman to Auction Two Bank Units: FSB and Woodlands Commercial Bank
Lehman Brothers is in the early stages of a process to auction a thrift and an industrial bank it owns, Reuters reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. The sale of Lehman Brothers Bank FSB, a Delaware thrift, and Woodlands Commercial Bank, a...
Dr. Ben S Bernanke Calls for Increased Financial Market Regulation
Guide Regulatory Revamp, Less Restrictive Money-Fund Rules! Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben S Bernanke urged an overhaul of financial regulatory policies and accounting rules in an effort to smooth out the extreme volatility in financial markets. Bernank...
February 2009
Financial Stability Plan: What is Timothy Geithner new bank rescue plan?
I don’t know how the private-public partnership will work. But it does look like for the ‘bad bank’ the losses will mostly be suffered by taxpayers, and gains will mainly be by plutocrats. The new plan might be a rerun of the Bush adm...
January 2009
Layoffs hits U.S. economy: Spread to More Sectors of the Economy!
On Jan. 26, U.S. companies slashed nearly 60,000 jobs new layoffs were announced at companies as varied as telecom giant Sprint Nextel, construction equipment maker Caterpillar, semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments, and pharmaceutical house Pfi...
How Royal Bank of Scotland lost $37 billion: technically insolvent
There is an old saying that financial stocks lead the markets up and conversely lead them down. Which way do you think the markets are heading…hint: who’s getting the most help? Not to worry though, because they say it’s typical during su...
Bank of America slumps to first loss since 1991!
Bank of America Corp., which owns Merrill Lynch reported a net loss of $1.79 billion in the fourth quarter. That the brokerage compares to net income of $268 million a year earlier. The net loss applicable to common shareholders was $2.39 billion, or 4...
Say goodbye to the Citi's Financial Supermarket !
“TOO big to fail, too shit to buy” Ichabod, Ichabod, how thy glory is departed! A Citi House built on sand; it fell after the rain, what a great fall. How true! How many more such fall to come? The model of a one-stop financial filling station base...
How World’s top banks including Lloyds TSB laundered money for Iran?
According to a deferred prosecution agreement, Lloyds handled $300 million of Iranian transfers and $20 million of Sudanese transfers that ended at U.S. banks. Morgenthau said billions of dollars of transactions went through American banks but ended ou...
December 2008
Will ICICI Bank remain market leader when new CEO & Managing Director Ms. Chanda D. Kochhar joins?
ICICI Bank Board Appoints K. V. Kamath as non-executive Chairm an and Chanda Kochhar as Managing Director & CEO effective M ay 1,2009 Mr. N. Vaghul, non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) would retire from...
EIB loan to mitigate climate change and support EU presence in India
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing EURO 150 million to the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) to part-finance investments that will contribute to the mitigation of climate change or to support European Union (EU) presence in India. Mr...
November 2008
BofA CEO Kenneth D. Lewis advice to America: One too many auto makers
“I think there’s one too many” automakers, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis told the Detroit Economic Club during a meeting in Cobo Center, the downtown convention center that’s home to the North American International Auto Sho...
Former Silver State Bancorp's Mike Thorell to lead Pinnacle Bank as CEO
Mike Thorell, acting President and Chief Executive Officer Silver State Bancorp has been hired as CEO and president of Pinnacle Bank, less than a month after resigning from Silver State Bancorp., which was shut down by Nevada’s financial regulatory a...
US Bancorp to Get $6.6B Federal Investment and Visa payWave
U.S. Bancorp said Monday it will get $6.6 billion from the Treasury Department’s program to invest $250 billion in banks to stimulate the economy and stabilize financial institutions. TCF Financial Corp. said it will get $361 million. Minneapol...
K. Vaman Kamath, CEO of ICICI Bank says company to review rates in a few days
On the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rate moves, KV Kamath, CEO of ICICI Bank said that signals to banks is very clear and lending and deposit rates will react to liquidity. At this point in time, there is still no outright statement on interest rate goi...
Josef Ackermann CEO Deutsche Bank is bluffing
Deutsche Bank chief Josef Ackermann said Sunday, Nov. 2, that Germany’s biggest bank has no plans to take advantage of a government rescue plan for its troubled financial sector. Deutsche Bank AG , Germany’s largest bank by market capital...
October 2008
A full review on New Federal Reserve liquidity swap facilities?
Today, the Federal Reserve, the Banco Central do Brasil, the Banco de Mexico, the Bank of Korea, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore are announcing the establishment of temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines). These facilities, like...
Why Deutsche Bank's Dr. Josef Ackermann thinks action needed to restore bank confidence?
A top European banker, the world’s leading bank lobby said on Sunday he was confident European leaders would come up with a plan to help banks roiled by the financial crisis. I think we have to do whatever is needed to bring confidence back, eve...
A review on Ralph Norris Plan: Why HBOS sold Two Units to Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia , the nation’s biggest provider of mortgages, said it has acquired two Australian units of U.K.-based HBOS Plc for A$2.1 billion ($1.5 billion). The purchase of the units Bank of Western Australia, or BankWest, and ...
Dealstream crumple case Rand Merchant Bank to be investigated
DEALSTREAM, the derivatives trading firm that collapsed last month with its CE Russel Leigh allegedly fleeing to the UK, has had its offices raided by the Financial Services Board (FSB). Russel Michaels, head of communications at the FSB, said action w...
