Blackberries may go black 27 Oct 2005 The US Supreme Court dropped a bomb on the investment banking fraternity with its refusal to hear Research in Motion s copyright appeal. But not to worry. Before thumbs stop tapping on Wall Street it s likely a settlement will be reached, though RIM investors may not like it.
La Caixa should be privatised 24 Oct 2005 Spain s biggest savings bank, or caja, is powerful, efficient, successful and profitable but also unaccountable. Gas Natural s hostile bid for Endesa has highlighted La Caixa s and other cajas political links. Privatisation is an obvious solution.
Santander courts trouble with US deal 24 Oct 2005 A stake in Sovereign Bancorp might not be the bargain it appears. There are good reasons for Santander to hold fire. Minority investments are no longer as popular. And it will be supporting a board which is in part to blame for Sovereign s discount.
BPI reveals E1.8bn of controversial financing 20 Oct 2005 The beleaguered Italian bank invested E925m in hedge funds, some of which was used to buy BPI shares. Another E850m was lent to a property magnate, who owns BPI shares. No wonder shareholders have run for the exits.
JP Morgan speeds up Dimon’s succession 19 Oct 2005 The bank's stock has lagged its peers this year, so Sandy Weill's former protege needed a strong set of quarterly results. Having achieved them, he will become CEO six months early. But now he has no scapegoat if future results disappoint.
Merrill reports record quarterly results 18 Oct 2005 The bottom line certainly looks good. But how Merrill got there still leaves questions about its ability to generate revenue. The top line only grew because of rising financial income. The operating divisions were flat overall. Merrill is still a costcutting story.
Citigroup should consider a break-up 14 Oct 2005 The global banking group trades at a substantial discount to the sum of its parts. The reason? It's too big and complex to manage. The group thinks scale confers an advantage. It's not clear that it does. Unless Citi closes the discount, the calls for a breakup may grow
Deutsche’s shameful role in BPI bid exposed 13 Oct 2005 It helped the Italian bank artificially inflate its capital strength before a bid for Antonveneta, Italy's stock market regulator has found. Coming so soon after Parmalat, Deutsche Bank should have learned it doesn t pay to gamble your reputation in return for fat fees in Italy.
SanPaolo dismisses Monte dei Paschi deal 6 Oct 2005 A tieup between the Italian banks would be ambitious. It would have been hard to find a governance structure that satisfied both sides. But both lenders are prime candidates to participate in consolidation, now that rivals Antonveneta and BNL have falled to bids.
Morgan Stanley brings up the rear 21 Sep 2005 In a vacuum, the bank s results before exceptionals would be nothing to scoff at. But compared to its rivals, they look rather weak. Revenue growth lagged chief rival Goldman, as it pulled back on risk. Investors will hope it s just the last of the Purcell effect.
Goldman cashes in during Q3 20 Sep 2005 The Wall Street firm surpassed earnings expectations by more than 40% as trading and investmentbanking revenues surged. But more than ever it is too hard to see where the money is coming from to justify the firm s recent rally and chunky valuation.
BPI and ABN signal end to Italian banking fiasco 15 Sep 2005 The Italian bank is ready to sell its stake in Antonveneta; the Dutch bank still wants to buy it. It looks like an end to a damaging battle. The temptation will now be to sweep the remaining issues under the carpet. That would be a big mistake.
Wachovia’s latest deal stacks up 13 Sep 2005 At first blush, the $3.9bn purchase of Westcorp seems odd given the risks of bulking up in car finance at this point in the cycle. But these may be avoided if carmakers step back from dumb giveaways. And there s value in Westcorp s California franchise.
Morgan Stanley discredited directors take dive 12 Sep 2005 Three of the investment bank s board members and fiercely loyal supporters of former boss Philip Purcell stepped down last week. That's mostly good news. Backing Purcell coloured their judgment. But investors should be wary of stuffing the board with John Mackolytes.
Italy fluffs central bank reform – again 5 Sep 2005 Rome wants to introduce a fixed term of office for the Bank of Italy s governor but only for Fazio s successor. Other thorny issues, such removing antitrust powers from the BoI s competences, are also left unresolved.
UBS sale to Julius Baer realigns Swiss banking 5 Sep 2005 The SFr5.6bn deal more than doubles Julius Baer s size and turns it into the number three in the Swiss private banking market. Small Swiss banks have come under increasing pressure. This deal may encourage them to ditch historic family loyalties and merge.
Italy set to reform its central bank 1 Sep 2005 The government wants to limit the governor s tenure and improve decision making. These are obvious, overdue and easy changes to make. The hard part will be returning the BoI to public ownership, and deciding how much to pay current shareholders for their stakes.
Sell-side analysts have a future after all 30 Aug 2005 Predictions that the unbundling of equity commissions would lead to the demise of the sellside analyst were wrong. Why? Because bulgebracket firms see analysts as essential to their franchise. Furthermore, the buy side is scaling back on research.
Lloyds TSB would struggle to see off a bid 28 Aug 2005 The UK bank s standalone strategy does not promise much in the way of growth any time soon. Foreign bidders may lack synergies. But a largely cash bid, even at a low premium, could well succeed.
BPI approaches ABN about Antonveneta 25 Aug 2005 Were the Italian bank to sell its Antonveneta shares to the Dutch, it would be the cleanest end to a messy saga. But it should not be used by the Italian establishment to throw a veil over any skulduggery that has occurred.