Italy’s €5bn bailout fund for ailing banks has failed to prevent further share sell offs April 12, 2016 Italy’s most sound financial institutions have poured cash into a €5bn (£4bn) bailout fund for the country's vulnerable lenders in an attempt to calm investor fears over the stability of the beleaguered sector. Shares in two of Italy’s most troubled banks bounced today however, with Monte dei Paschi di Siene and Banco Popolare shares climbing by 10 [...]
Investment banks to earn a pretty penny off back of Monte dei Paschi rescue deal August 7, 2016 Investment banks are expected to pocket big fees from a proposed emergency plan for Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The troubled bank recently revealed it was ironing out a €5bn (£4.2bn) rescue deal to bolster its capital with the help of Mediobanca and JP Morgan, although the deal is still tentative and may yet fall through. However, sources have [...]
European banking shares bounce on Draghi bailout chatter July 21, 2016 For once, European banks may well be liking the cut of Mario Draghi's jib. The Eurostoxx index of the Eurozone's top lenders has jumped by 1.3 per cent today after the European Central Bank (ECB) president put the pressure on EU politicians to push ahead with a bailout fund for troubled lenders. Draghi, who has acknowledged the strain his negative [...]
Bank shares across Europe have opened steadily after HSBC results August 3, 2016 European banks have stopped the rot after two days of dramatic selling across the continent, as a share buyback at HSBC helped buoy investor sentiment. The UK's largest listed lender reported a steeper-than-expected 29 per cent fall in profits, but intends to snap up around $2.5bn (£1.9bn) of its own shares and maintain its dividend. [...]
Banking shares plunge across Europe as stress test fallout rumbles on August 2, 2016 Shares in Europe's leading banks have been dumped again today as the sector's woes pile up and questions over the rigour of recent stress test pushed sentiment down. German lenders Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank are trading at all time lows and the problems facing Italy's financial services remains top of the agenda. Commerzbank issued a profit [...]
New European financial services commissioner reminds everybody that Italian banks’ woes pre-date Brexit vote July 6, 2016 The issues with Italy's banking industry do not stem solely from the Brexit vote, the new European financial services commissioner said today. Speaking in front of the European Parliament's committee on economic and monetary affairs, Valdis Dombrovskis remarked that many of the problems that Italy's banks were currently struggling with were in place long before the UK's decision to leave [...]
EU gives thumbs up to government guarantees for Italian bank support scheme June 30, 2016 The European Commission has extended a lifeline to Italy's struggling banks, by granting a guarantee scheme. The scheme will allow Italy to use government guarantees to create a precautionary liquidity support programme for banks in need, although it only applies to institutions which are solvent and will only be valid until the end of the year. According [...]
Why the Brexit vote could be the undoing of Italy’s banks, and why that’s really bad news for the rest of Europe July 5, 2016 Last month's Brexit vote has battered the banking sector in general but it could be a particularly dangerous trigger for the industry in Italy. Italian banks were already struggling with an eye-watering €360bn (£307bn) in non-performing loans between them, while shares in Unicredit, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banco Popolare and Intesa Sanpaolo all slumped by around [...]
Head to Italy for this summer’s Eurozone crisis July 25, 2016 It wouldn't be summer without a crisis in the Eurozone and, following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, we are likely to have a second, this time with an Italian flavour. Italy’s banks were once the foundation of the modern banking system – but now, weighed down by bad debts and a dismal [...]
Deutsche Bank chief economist calls for bailout of European banks, as Italy faces last ditch efforts to rescue troubled sector July 10, 2016 As uncertainty from the UK's referendum on EU membership continues to plague the banking sector, Deutsche Bank's chief economist is calling for a bailout of Europe's banks. In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, David Folkerts-Landau suggested that an injection of fresh capital was needed to help save banks, pegging the amount needed to recapitalise at €150bn (£128bn). "Europe is [...]