Viewsroom: Credit Suisse chair, Unilever’s GSK bid 20 Jan 2022 As António Horta-Osório quits the Swiss lender after less than a year, Liam Proud explains what happened and offers career advice. And Unilever’s 50 bln pound offer for the pharma giant’s consumer unit puts both CEOs on the spot, say Aimee Donnellan and Dasha Afanasieva.
Morgan Stanley’s $10 trln target leads to another 19 Jan 2022 That’s how much client money James Gorman wants his firm to manage in the future, more than 50% greater than today. If Morgan Stanley can get there without lowering fees, the $170 bln Wall Street bank’s share price could be 50% higher too. It’s a fitting pre-retirement goal.
Goldman Sachs goes back to the balance sheet 18 Jan 2022 The Wall Street firm’s trading and advisory fees hit a record in 2021, but momentum is fading. Goldman’s newer banking arm, which lends to consumers via credit cards and installment loans, should pick up as interest rates rise. But with lots of rivals, growth isn't coming cheap.
How António Horta-Osório can bounce back (again) 18 Jan 2022 The tennis-loving Credit Suisse chair resigned after flouting quarantine rules. He’s survived a past personal scandal and is one of a small number of Europeans with a strong track record of running a big bank. Breakingviews imagines some advice from an optimistic headhunter.
New Credit Suisse chair has grim streak to break 17 Jan 2022 António Horta-Osório has resigned from the Swiss bank after flouting Covid-19 rules. It’s less than a year since he arrived to steady the lender following CEO Tidjane Thiam’s ousting. Incoming Chair Axel Lehmann, formerly of UBS, has to hope his reputation is more durable.
Citadel Securities is a double bet on volatility 11 Jan 2022 Ken Griffin’s market maker has opened up to outside capital with a $1.2 bln investment from Sequoia and crypto firm Paradigm. Citadel is a bet that demand for seamless trading in bumpy markets will continue – and that politicians’ inability to agree on regulation will too.
Cerberus hellish German bank bet reaches early end 11 Jan 2022 The U.S. investor sold nearly half of its Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank stakes at a 20% loss. Its investment suffered from bad timing, and the difficulty of forcing change with a small holding. Fund constraints mean the group is now selling in the middle of the banks’ recovery.
European banks’ league-table loss is investor win 10 Jan 2022 Dealmakers at Credit Suisse, Barclays, UBS and others are losing market share in their home region. Fighting back is costly and futile given the advantages of U.S. behemoths like JPMorgan. Better to slim down and focus on key niches, as Deutsche Bank has with bond underwriting.
Invesco walks very fine line on Sony-Zee deal 7 Jan 2022 The U.S. fund won key concessions in the $7 bln entertainment merger, but it’s also mixed up in a lawsuit over the Indian broadcaster blocking its call for a shareholder vote. Court defeat would set an ugly governance precedent. Victory, however, risks blowing up the transaction.
Finding China’s Moderna is a financial long shot 6 Jan 2022 The U.S. biotech giant’s Covid-19 vaccines have inspired copycats in the People’s Republic, where cities are scrambling to contain fresh outbreaks. With foreign jabs yet to be approved, the $13 bln Walvax looks promising. Feverish valuations leave little margin for error.
Wall Street will find ways to satisfy crypto envy 3 Jan 2022 Banks have mostly been shut out of the $2 trln digital asset craze. Many want in, but they will have to deal with murky regulation, a 24/7 market and patchy legal protections. A fight for profit and customers may also obscure other risks in a market untested by the mainstream.
Not all merger boutiques will be equal in 2022 30 Dec 2021 The crackdown on big deals will put a crimp on fees for shops that advise large companies, like PJT or Goldman. The most successful ones will be those that focus on transactions worth less than $1 billion, like Moelis, or big private equity. Houlihan Lokey tops that list.
Viewsroom: More 2022 predictions and prescriptions 30 Dec 2021 M&A bankers will need to think small, in size, but big when it comes to helping clients meet net-zero climate targets. Watch for Big Pharma to tool up in the data arms race. And the Great Resignation will hit executive suites because running companies remotely is no fun.
Banker pay surge prompts rise of the robot analyst 30 Dec 2021 Junior dealmaker salaries blew past $100,000 in 2021 as Morgan Stanley, UBS and others vied for talent. That gives banks a reason to use machines rather than twentysomethings for gruntwork. Old-school bosses may resist, but financial incentives to automate will prevail in 2022.
Bankers fall under China’s offshore shadow 30 Dec 2021 Beijing is requiring foreign financial institutions that help Chinese companies list overseas to register and be monitored. Theoretically it’s easy enough to fill in the forms. In practice it means more due diligence and retroactive risk.
Vulture funds will have to learn how to fly again 28 Dec 2021 Distressed debt investors are looking like the pterodactyls of finance. Defaults are low, thanks to rock-bottom interest rates. Specialists like Oaktree can push into more opaque assets like private credit or far-flung places. But new risks will favour the bigger predators.
India’s tech stock bubble is poised to deflate 28 Dec 2021 Investors will continue to afford banks and consumer firms dizzying valuations but will increasingly give their money-losing digital brethren a shorter leash. Some mix of rampant competition, slowing user growth and rising data charges will crash the party for the startup crew.
Capital Calls: Enel’s payments punt 24 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The 70 bln euro utility is paying up to 361 mln euros for a relatively pricey punt on fellow Italian payments firm Mooney.
Capital Calls: Hedge fund fine 22 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: Britain’s FCA fines BlueCrest Capital 41 mln pounds, a third of the fund’s U.S. penalty.
Capital Calls: McDonald’s makes ex-CEO pay 16 Dec 2021 Concise views on global finance: The fast-food chain settled its lawsuit with ousted boss Steve Easterbrook, recovering compensation now worth $105 million.