Allied Irish Bank’s losses soar in 2010 April 12, 2011 ALLIED Irish Bank is to slash more than 2,000 jobs following annual results yesterday showing that it lost a staggering €12bn (£10.6bn) pre-tax last year due to ongoing toxic property loans. The loss is a more than four-fold increase on 2009. The bank reported an impairment rate of 28 per cent in its property and [...]
HSBC plans £2.1bn savings May 11, 2011 HSBC is reviewing its US cards business and streamlining its wealth management and retail banking operations as it eyes savings of up to $3.5bn (£2.1bn), Europe’s biggest bank has said. HSBC said the savings would help it reduce the proportion of revenue spent on expenses to 48-52 per cent by 2013 from 61 per cent [...]
HSBC plans £2.1bn savings May 11, 2011 HSBC is reviewing its US cards business and streamlining its wealth management and retail banking operations as it eyes savings of up to $3.5bn (£2.1bn), Europe’s biggest bank has said. HSBC said the savings would help it reduce the proportion of revenue spent on expenses to 48-52 per cent by 2013 from 61 per cent [...]
House prices to fall for five years, warns thinktank May 4, 2011 REAL house prices could drop by a fifth over the next five years, a leading economic forecaster warned today. Despite prices falling since the credit crunch, houses remain overvalued by around ten per cent, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) claimed. Additional regulations on banks could knock a further ten per cent [...]
House prices to fall for five years, warns thinktank May 4, 2011 REAL house prices could drop by a fifth over the next five years, a leading economic forecaster warned today. Despite prices falling since the credit crunch, houses remain overvalued by around ten per cent, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) claimed. Additional regulations on banks could knock a further ten per cent [...]
Slow growth for American retail sector April 13, 2011 RETAIL sales in the US rose for the ninth straight month in March but at a weaker rate than expected, it was revealed yesterday. On a mixed day of news for the US economy, sales were announced at 0.4 per cent up on February, largely driven by higher petrol prices. Receipts at petrol stations, which [...]
Chancellor right that banks must be allowed to fail June 15, 2011 IT is a shame that much of the City will be focused on the crisis in Greece and its repercussions on global markets this morning, for there were some surprisingly good ideas on banking regulation at Mansion House last night. There was a clear shift in attitude on display: the chancellor’s pronouncements were by far the [...]
Profits at JP Morgan soar April 13, 2011 JP MORGAN beat expectations yesterday to post a 78 per cent jump in pre-tax profit, with investment banking revenues posting a dramatic recovery from a mediocre first-quarter last year. Overall pre-tax profits soared to $8.06bn (£4.95bn), with investment banking fees revenue up 23 per cent to $1.79bn. The investment bank recorded its second most profitable [...]
Northern Rock to axe 680 jobs March 28, 2011 STATE-OWNED bank Northern Rock is to cut up to 680 jobs this year as it streamlines to cut costs before a return to the private sector. Newcastle-based Northern Rock said yesterday cost management was a key focus as it seeks to return to profit. The bank said economic and trading conditions were challenging for lenders [...]
Northern Rock bad bank repays £1bn… March 31, 2011 THE taxpayer has been repaid £1.1bn by the Northern Rock “bad bank”, which swung into profit last year. UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the entity that now owns what were considered the more toxic assets of Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, reported combined full-year profits of £477.5m yesterday, versus losses of £480m last year. In [...]