Financial Services

Scandal and sunlight will end trade finance party

5 March 2021

The collapse of Greensill has highlighted risks in the $1.3 trillion supply chain finance market. The crisis will make investors and companies more wary of the funding tool, and force tougher rules on disclosure and accounting. That points to a smaller, more boring business.

Capital Calls: Shutterfly’s touch-up

5 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: A SPAC may give photo-sharing firm Shutterfly a shiny new frame.

Square’s mission drifts with Jay-Z’s Tidal deal

4 March 2021

Jack Dorsey’s $100-bln plus payments firm is buying the streaming music service owned by the superstar rapper for $297 mln. Square can easily swing it, but the rationale is head-scratching. Companies that creep into other adjacencies find even small deals bring big headaches.

Viewsroom: Wall Street CEOs’ pay, Sea, Greensill

4 March 2021

A plague year for the world was a relatively rich one for the heads of Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo; Southeast Asian tech conglomerate Sea navigated choppy waters to a $127 bln market value; Greensill’s problems may not be systemic, but they’re worth watching.

Capital Calls: OPEC+, Michaels

4 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Recovery concerns keep a lid on the oil cartel’s supply taps; Apollo tries its hand at craft retailer Michaels.

Sberbank can afford to wait for its tech ambitions

4 March 2021

CEO German Gref wants the $85 bln Russian lender to earn 60% of revenue from services like e-commerce and streaming by 2030. Last year they brought in just 2% and made a loss. Without a clear plan, investors will treat it like a bank. At 1.2 times book value, that’s not too bad.

Rare lender deal underscores India’s credit reset

4 March 2021

Creditors of real estate lender Altico voted to sell its assets to a unit of New York-listed Ares. The out-of-court resolution is a sign of maturity in a market where the regulator is too often forced to intervene. Foreign distressed debt investors have other things to cheer too.

Hey Hong Kong, leave those SPACs alone

3 March 2021

The Asian financial centre may ape Wall Street by letting blank-cheque firms list on its bourse. Yet it only recently squished a boom in shifty shell companies. And the issues SPACs claim to avoid aren’t relevant for Hong Kong IPOs. The exchange is better off steering clear.

Capital Calls: Exxon, Greensill, Research SPAC

2 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: U.S. securities regulators take on the oil giant; Investors in even lower-risk funds get nervy about the supply chain finance provider; And a supplier of picks and shovels to the online trading boom gets a blank-check listing.

Finance pioneer Greensill hit by old-school risks

1 March 2021

Credit Suisse suspended $10 bln of funds linked to the SoftBank-backed group. It grew quickly by helping companies raise money from invoices but is under pressure from overexposure to hard-to-value loans for magnate Sanjeev Gupta. Funding may now be scarcer and more expensive.

Capital Calls: Sarkozy’s trial

1 March 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: the former French prime minister’s conviction for trying to bribe a judge creates a new dilemma for the companies on whose board he sits, including hotel chain Accor.

Goldman’s 1MDB pain looks light next to AmBank’s

1 March 2021

The Malaysian lender is paying what equates to 30% of its market value for its part in the sovereign fund scandal, more than four times the Wall Street firm’s ratio. Domestic politics is at play, but AmBank’s fine is ominous for global banks yet to draw a line under the affair.

Capital Calls: CPPIB, Barclays, McPlant, DoorDash

26 February 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's CEO is booted for jab-line jumping; the UK bank wins a legal, if not ethical, victory over financier Amanda Staveley; Beyond Meat partners with McDonald’s and Yum; and DoorDash is too hot.

“Good” rises in bond yields can turn bad

25 February 2021

U.S. borrowing costs are climbing. That’s less of a problem for stock markets when the cause is rosier growth prospects. Jay Powell says he isn’t about to tighten monetary policy, the usual party pooper for equity rallies. But inflation concerns would quickly sour the mood.

Klarna listing would be a mixed blessing

25 February 2021

The Swedish fintech’s next funding round could value it at $30 bln, and it’s mulling a direct listing. Allowing early investors to cash out carries obvious appeal. The downside is there would be a daily commentary on Klarna’s regulatory risks and shortcomings relative to rivals.

Capital Calls: Soho House, Aston Martin

25 February 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The private members’ club shrugs off lockdowns to plan a New York IPO; The loss-making luxury carmaker’s shareholders need to buckle up.

Afterpay zealots buy now and will pay later

25 February 2021

The $30 bln Aussie fintech champ reported more impressive growth as installment-plan purchases swell. A deal to buy out its U.S. business raises fresh valuation questions, however, as do bigger losses, PayPal’s entry and regulatory concerns. A reckoning for investors awaits.

Lloyds’ wealth push could use an M&A shove

24 February 2021

The 28 bln pound bank has emerged from the crisis with a slow core business and mediocre valuation. A plan to manage more clients’ money could help, but the lender is starting from a low base. Luckily, incoming CEO Charlie Nunn has about 5 bln pounds of spare cash to play with.

HSBC’s renewed Asia focus goes only so far

23 February 2021

Boss Noel Quinn is aiming for more savings and an extra $6 bln of investment in the faster-growing region. Even if all goes to plan, it will remain a high-cost, low-return bank with global sprawl. More radical steps, like spinning off the UK business, would alter the equation.

Saudi’s HQ edict puts global banks in awkward spot

23 February 2021

The kingdom has ruffled feathers with plans to withhold state contracts from groups that don’t base their Middle East headquarters in Riyadh. The rule may not apply to all sectors. Even so, bankers face a tricky call over whether to up sticks or risk angering a valuable client.