Capital Calls: HSBC, Delivery Hero 30 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: The global bank will pay a 57 mln pound penalty for misreporting depositor protection data; the Frankfurt-listed meal delivery company has sold a 4.5% stake in rival Deliveroo, at a loss.
For trading bosses, it’s a good time to retire 29 Jan 2024 Goldman Sachs veteran Jim Esposito quit after realizing he was “going through the motions.” No wonder: banks’ markets divisions, like the one he oversaw, face falling income and growing red tape. Sailing into the sunset, or at least out of banking, will only get more enticing.
Dismantling Evergrande exposes Hong Kong-China gap 29 Jan 2024 A court in the financial hub has ordered the world’s most indebted developer to liquidate after talks with offshore creditors collapsed. Yet how this will be enforced on the mainland, where most of Evergrande’s assets are, is unclear. The experience of HNA may offer some clues.
Commerzbank stake sale would risk M&A impasse 25 Jan 2024 Berlin may consider offloading its 15% stake in the German lender. Deutsche Bank and UniCredit are obvious potential buyers, but higher rates have made a full-blown bank merger less appealing. A market disposal would present prospective suitors with a dilemma.
Capital Calls: Microsoft’s Russian hacker 22 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: The $3 trln tech firm disclosed that a nation-state hack accessed leaders’ email, saying it showed the need for potentially “disruptive” measures. It’s a worrying acknowledgement of the still-vague costs of geopolitical tensions for tech giants.
Jack Bogle’s ghost haunts Vanguard’s crypto plans 19 Jan 2024 The asset manager’s rival BlackRock is plunging into digital currency with a bitcoin ETF that brought in over $1 bln in a week. That strategy, divergent from Vanguard, highlights the desperation to differentiate. Bogle’s former firm’s decision to shun crypto may leave it behind.
Overdraft fee reform has a big, small-bank flaw 19 Jan 2024 The US consumer watchdog’s assault against charges levied when accounts go into the red is a win for customers – but only those of the biggest banks. Small lenders are exempt, partly because of their political clout. Trouble is, they often bank the neediest bunch.
Goldman’s new durability message cuts two ways 16 Jan 2024 After failing in consumer finance, the investment bank wants to emphasize the predictability of its existing businesses. Boss David Solomon makes a good case that a chunk of revenue is more reliable than it once was. And yet arch-rival Morgan Stanley generates even more of it.
Capital Calls: Greek airport IPO 16 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: State-backed Athens International Airport may be able to fetch a 3 bln euro valuation in a planned February listing.
BlackRock deal buys Larry Fink optionality on exit 12 Jan 2024 The asset manager’s $13 bln purchase of infrastructure firm GIP is a smart bet on private markets. Fink’s relationships give the tie-up an edge and history with GIP’s founder smooths integration. It’s transformational enough that Fink could retire, if only he were less ambitious.
Mega-banks menaced by closing jaws in murky waters 12 Jan 2024 JPMorgan, BofA, Citi and Wells Fargo all unveiled financial results clouded by exceptional items and less predictable outlooks. Bad-debt costs are up and interest rates are probably coming down. Cutting expenses relative to revenue, or “positive jaws,” will be a 2024 fixation.
BoE can counter banks’ unfriendly rate fire 12 Jan 2024 UK lenders like HSBC think lower borrowing costs are coming and have slashed five-year mortgage payments below 4%. That makes it harder for the Bank of England to slay inflation and, in fact, may delay any cuts. Governor Andrew Bailey could ask the City to reward savers as well.
Bitcoin ETFs only entrench one frivolous use case 10 Jan 2024 The SEC finally greenlit BlackRock, Grayscale and other funds to track the crypto price, with trading due to start this week. It’ll be easier to make – and lose – money in the volatile digital asset, but it’s no closer to being a currency, store of value or network for new apps.
Wall Street brings gun to Basel knife-fight 10 Jan 2024 JPMorgan and peers have good reason to be livid over proposed US bank rules. Some planned changes would punish them unduly, clash with existing controls, and effectively hand business to foreign rivals. With logic on their side, the risk is that banks overplay their hand.
Peer pressure is new activist tool for Japan Inc 10 Jan 2024 The Tokyo Stock Exchange is set to name all the companies which responded to its push for better capital efficiency and returns. The bourse is betting transparency will shame the rest into action. Success could pull investors and M&A bankers alike to the $6 trln market.
Global polycrisis could yet have not-so-bad ending 8 Jan 2024 From war in Gaza and Ukraine to superpower rivalry, climate change and slow growth, there is a lot of danger in the world. The possible return of Donald Trump as US President is another risk. But there are more optimistic scenarios - and some silver linings in pessimistic ones.
Citi shows China too big for Wall Street to snub 5 Jan 2024 The $100 bln US lender aims to launch an onshore investment bank this year, per Reuters, even as established Western rivals turn cautious. Citi’s move underscores a simple, timely fact: despite geopolitical, economic and data concerns, the People’s Republic is a must-play market.
Capital Calls: India’s bank payouts 3 Jan 2024 Concise views on global finance: A proposed overhaul of two-decade-old dividend rules for the country’s lenders adds a flourish to a successful bad loan cleanup.
Convertibles will be 2024’s hot financial model 2 Jan 2024 Hybrid bonds, which fueled hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s rise, sputtered after a $370 bln Covid-era boom. Refinancing needs are revving them back up as interest-cost savings lure new issuers like Duke Energy. New features should tempt investors to ride off with them again.
Mega-bank M&A goes from impossible to imaginable 28 Dec 2023 After 2008, CEOs saw investment-bank deals as risky while regulators saw them as dangerous. UBS will prove otherwise if it safely and profitably absorbs Credit Suisse. Imitators will not get the same sweet deal, but targets like SocGen and Barclays at least come cheap.