From relief to despair as election rally dies June 18, 2012 UNIMPRESSED markets quickly thudded back down to reality yesterday after a relief rally on the back of Greece’s elections results proved short-lived. Despite equities soaring on the news that the pro-bailout New Democracy party had scraped its way to a narrow victory in Sunday’s vote, ongoing worries over the future of the single currency soon [...]
Unicredit to raise €7.5bn new capital November 13, 2011 ITALIAN lender Unicredit will tap up investors for €7.5bn (£6.4bn) in cash as it scrambles to pass a new round of European stress tests. The bank’s strategic committee will this morning unveil the recommendation to meet requirements by raising money rather than holding an asset fire-sale, making it Europe’s first bank to formally announce its [...]
Moody’s cuts the ratings of 26 Italian banks May 14, 2012 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s last night downgraded its long-term debt and deposit ratings on 26 Italian financial institutions, blaming the country’s return to recession and limited funding opportunities. Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, which together account for almost a third of Italy’s banking market by assets, were among those hit by the downgrades, three months after [...]
Moody’s cuts the ratings of 26 Italian banks May 14, 2012 CREDIT rating agency Moody’s last night downgraded its long-term debt and deposit ratings on 26 Italian financial institutions, blaming the country’s return to recession and limited funding opportunities. Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, which together account for almost a third of Italy’s banking market by assets, were among those hit by the downgrades, three months after [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 15, 2012 Bank of Ireland Adrian Olsen has been appointed as Bank of Ireland’s new head of business banking in the UK. He has been with the bank for 12 years as a managing director and head of global project finance for its UK corporate banking division. Olsen has also previously held senior positions at Dresdner Kleinwort [...]
Europe’s banks hit regulatory capital targets July 11, 2012 ALMOST every bank which was dangerously undercapitalised in February has now met regulatory targets, the European Banking Authority (EBA) revealed yesterday. Five months ago the EBA warned that 31 banks required €76bn (£60bn) between them to meet the nine per cent core tier one capital target. The updates from June show an aggregate increase of [...]
ADVISERS April 18, 2012 For any Russian firm hopeful of raising funds in London, VTB Capital seems to be the go-to bookrunner. The Kremlin-backed bank has been involved in a big share of Russian firms’ capital-raising efforts in the City in recent years, from property firm Etalon, mining group Polymetal and even the Russian government’s recent $7bn bond sale. [...]
Investor fears force Italian debt yields up April 12, 2012 ITALIAN bank stocks dropped sharply yesterday after renewed worries about the government’s ability to pay its debts pushed up state borrowing costs. Greece’s economic nightmare continued as official data showed unemployment increased to a record high of 21.8 per cent in January, and youth unemployment hit 50.8 per cent. Meanwhile UBS analysts warned that the [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 9, 2012 Assura Group The primary healthcare group has announced that Jenefer Greenwood has been appointed non-executive director with immediate effect. Greenwood is currently director of sales and lettings for Grosvenor Britain and Ireland and is also member of the board for the Crown Estate, where she chairs its remuneration committee. She will replace Claire Hollingsworth as [...]
INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR August 2, 2012 2012 will go down as an immensely difficult year for investment banks. Profitability came down as most banks in most markets saw a fall-off in activity. Mergers & acquisition activity fell 16 per cent globally; equity capital markets business was down 31 per cent and many IPO markets were effectively closed. Facebook’s controversial IPO in [...]