Lloyds TSB frets about foreign takeover 2 Aug 2004 Why is the UK bank so worried? Abbey National says that no foreign bank, except Santander, is interested in it. Lloyds may actually be more worried about the banks that don t bid for Abbey than those that do.
HBOS mulls counterbid for Abbey 2 Aug 2004 If it were just a question of synergies, HBOS would be home and dry. But the regulator may block its bid. The key question is whether HBOS can compensate Abbey s investors for the regulatory risk they d have to bear.
Deutsche Bank drops the ball in Q2 30 Jul 2004 Equities crashed instead of picking up the slack from fixed income as hoped, ramming home the unhealthy dependence on bond trading. Deutsche says it's still aiming at a 25% return on equity next year, but its chances of hitting this look increasingly remote.
BNL guerrilla operation sparks M&A hopes 29 Jul 2004 The Italian bank s new rebel shareholder pact might push to revive talks with old suitor Monte dei Paschi. The risk, however, is that the two shareholder factions could enter into a stalemate. In this case, the stock would likely fall.
Emilio Botin defends doubled bet on housing 28 Jul 2004 The Abbey bid increases Santander s housing exposure and into a market that s more stretched than buoyant Spain. Botin says there s no housing bubble in either country. If he s wrong, Spanish investors may rue the bid.
HBOS shows it’s not all bad news on bank margins 28 Jul 2004 Everyone has been pessimistic on interest margins in the UK. It's one reason investors may be tempted to accept the Abbey bid. But maybe it's not all doom and gloom. HBOS's margins have held up better than expected.
Abbey agrees unexciting Santander bid 26 Jul 2004 It is no real surprise the Spanish haven t been overgenerous. This isn t really a costcrunching merger. Santander will be banking on investors postM&S not wanting to see another big bid slip away. Oh, and rival bidders not stepping in.
Abbey flowback may be manageable 25 Jul 2004 The UK bank s odd share register means stock may not hurtle back from Britain to Spain after a deal. That s a boon. But it will only help the Spanish if the deal has real industrial merit. Otherwise their stock will fall anyway.
Santander tempts Abbey with mainly-paper bid 23 Jul 2004 The Spanish are calculating that investors don t believe existing management can turn the UK bank round. That may be a reasonable call. But it s still going to be hard for Santander to sell the deal.
JP Morgan raises cost-cut estimates by 36% 21 Jul 2004 Savings from the Bank One deal will not only rise to $3bn from $2.2bn, they will come two years sooner than expected. That's a big bonus. But it's also embarrassing for Jamie Dimon, who is fight accusations and a lawsuit he undersold Bank One. It looks like he may have. But it's also embarrassing for Jamie Dimon, who is fighting accusations, and a lawsuit, he undersold Bank One. It looks like he may have.
Wall Street banks disagree on outlook 19 Jul 2004 Depending on which firm is talking, the pipeline is either full or virtually empty. Setbacks last week in equity capital markets, however, suggest things are less than rosy.
Wall Street banks disagree on outlook 19 Jul 2004 Depending on which firm is talking, the pipeline is either full or virtually empty. Setbacks last week in capital markets, however, suggest things aren't so rosy.
HSBC got good deal with M&S Money 13 Jul 2004 Returns on the deal ought to be near 20%. That's not surprising given that the most obvious competitors Barclays and HBOS couldn't bid. But M&S still seems to have done OK. HSBC can only make a good return because of the genuine synergies it brings.
Morgan Stanley sexism case not a watershed 13 Jul 2004 The bank s $54m settlement is clearly a victory for women working on Wall Street or in the City. But it probably won t make life too much easier for them, especially in corporate finance.
Bond market bite leaves mark on Merrill 13 Jul 2004 The investment bank s revenues declined in every business line except private clients in the second quarter from the first. The Goldilocks scenario of rising corporate finance and equities revenue offsetting declining trading income just isn't panning out.
Forbes editor’s murder highlights Russian crisis 11 Jul 2004 The assassination of the campaigning financial journalist comes amidst a banking crisis and the Yukos saga. If Putin wants to dispel Russia s Wild East image, he must leave no stone unturned in nailing the editor s killers.
Commerz should rethink securities business 9 Jul 2004 Commerz should rethink securities business Commerz has long had ambitions too big for its balance sheet. Keeping Dalman suggests that they are still confused. Mehmet Dalman, head of Commerzbank Securities, denies reports that he was planning to leave. That may be so, but his business is a bad fit.
JP Morgan sued for alleged ego premium 1 Jul 2004 The classaction suit alleges the bank paid an unnecessary $7bn of premium to Bank One to secure the CEO s job for Bill Harrison. The allegations cut to the heart of what bankers call the social issues of deals. But it s hard to see them stacking up.
Cazenove profit trebles to £42m 30 Jun 2004 But this was in a rebound year for the capital markets. And Caz s return on equity remains unsatisfactory. Caz says it s benchmarking specific takeover proposals against staying independent. It needs to raise the bar.
Can Goldman keep a confidence? 30 Jun 2004 The question has been raised as a result of a sidesquabble in the current phoney war for M&S, the UK retailer. The facts aren't entirely clear. But, prima facie, Goldman s behaviour doesn't look good.