Warehouse IPO reroutes Asian investment bank fees 21 Oct 2019 Warburg Pincus-backed logistics firm ESR is trying a Hong Kong market debut again after postponing an effort in June. Morgan Stanley has been enlisted to lead the $1.4 bln deal over Deutsche Bank and CLSA. Given the industry shakeup, it may be a sign of things to come.
Lazard limits fallout in Paris M&A meltdown 21 Oct 2019 Top dealmaker Matthieu Pigasse, head of the Wall Street firm’s French outfit, is leaving to set up a business “beyond investment banking”. At least he’s not joining or creating a direct rival. That gives boss Ken Jacobs a chance to stave off more departures as competitors circle.
BofA, Citi make the best of Wall Street wobbles 17 Oct 2019 Morgan Stanley is No. 1 in equities, Goldman in M&A and JPMorgan in debt. But with investment banking and trading under pressure this year, the two lenders often cast as supporting actors have shown better staying power. Even so, competing for top billing still looks a stretch.
New Wells boss taking on even bigger fixer-upper 15 Oct 2019 Charlie Scharf doesn’t just have a problem culture to fix and regulators to appease, as the $220 bln bank’s latest results suggest. Strip out $1.6 bln in litigation costs and other one-offs, and higher expenses and falling interest income leave Wells a shell of its former self.
Dimon’s fortress is sturdier than Solomon’s mines 15 Oct 2019 JPMorgan’s earnings grew, while the WeWork debacle helped send Goldman Sachs’s lower. The Wall Street firms have different challenges. Jamie Dimon’s relies on interest income, which suffers as rates fall. David Solomon’s is more exposed to volatile markets and bad investments.
U.S. banks are heading deeper into earnings mire 11 Oct 2019 M&A and stock deals are at multi-year lows. Falling rates are hitting interest income. Trading looks flat. That’s before throwing in risks like repo, recession, tariffs and elections. Wall street bosses talk a good game, but the summer share-price drops may just be the start.
Mediobanca’s new activist has oddly retro ideas 10 Oct 2019 Luxottica eyeglass emperor Leonardo Del Vecchio wants the $9 bln Italian lender to beef up its investment bank, defying the finance lessons learned since 2008. CEO Alberto Nagel’s push into wealth management is serving shareholders well. Del Vecchio is pushing a losing bet.
Deutsche Bank’s new director isn’t worth the fuss 9 Oct 2019 It’s hard to find experienced board members with no conflicts of interest. But the German lender’s latest appointee Juerg Zeltner runs and owns a stake in wealth management rival KBL. That’s unusual even for incestuous European banks. Chairman Paul Achleitner should think again.
Kazakh IPO fail is only partly about WeWork 8 Oct 2019 Kaspi.kz postponed its $5 bln float blaming markets spooked by the U.S. group’s own pulled listing. But the firm is more a bundle of payments and banking pursuits than a fintech star. Add Kazakhstan’s status as a risky emerging market and there was lots not to like.
Swiss bank spy fiasco puts UBS succession in frame 4 Oct 2019 While Credit Suisse embarrassed itself with its recent surveillance of Iqbal Khan, the fiasco raised questions about who will succeed Sergio Ermotti atop arch-rival UBS. Strong internal contenders have departed, and Khan just arrived. Ermotti may need to postpone his retirement.
Viewsroom: Mark Zuckerberg is stuck in 2006 3 Oct 2019 That’s when the Facebook CEO rejected Yahoo’s $1 bln takeover bid. Now he uses the decision to justify his grip on control and decisions on data, privacy and the chance of a breakup under a Democratic president. Plus: How a spat over shrubbery almost felled Credit Suisse’s CEO.
Europe’s IPO bankers more like badgers than dodos 3 Oct 2019 Proceeds from stock raises are at a seven-year low, and fees are stingier than in the U.S. Add structural threats, and equity arrangers might appear to face extinction. In fact, the need to maintain client ties means the sector faces a badger-style cull, not a dodo-style fate.
Fiddling with bank capital can help the planet 27 Sep 2019 Financial regulators are caught in a bind over climate change. They want lenders to favour environmentally sustainable projects, but also want to prevent them from going bust. A decision by France’s Natixis to apply green criteria to its balance sheet may help break the stasis.
Boutique bank rides Chinese unicorns downhill 27 Sep 2019 Since its IPO a year ago, China Renaissance has lost half its market value. Hot tech clients cooled off and new funding dried up. Boss Fan Bao is counting on his own startup investing and a new brokerage to help steady things. If the downturn lasts, however, it will impede both.
Viewsroom: WeWork overhaul won’t be enough 26 Sep 2019 Adam Neumann lost his CEO role and control of the shared-office provider after its valuation plummeted in preparation for a now-postponed IPO. But WeWork’s business model remains a problem. Plus: Thomas Cook’s collapse hits China’s Fosun. And: parsing financial climate pledges.
SoftBank woes give tech funding rivals more space 25 Sep 2019 Masayoshi Son’s firm has poured billions into Silicon Valley, sometimes deploying sharp elbows. Trouble at holdings like WeWork may slow it down. That helps rival investors like Sequoia. It’s also good timing for Blackstone’s new growth fund as it prepares to start investing.
JPMorgan shares too much space with WeWork 19 Sep 2019 Jamie Dimon’s outfit has helped line up $6 bln in credit for the office sublessor and lent millions to CEO Adam Neumann. Funds advised by the bank are also one of the firm’s largest investors. With WeWork’s IPO increasingly in doubt, the ties call into question JPM’s tech savvy.
Ultra-low rates raise bar for new UBS wealth tsar 13 Sep 2019 Star private banker Iqbal Khan will jointly lead the Swiss bank’s $2.5 trln global wealth business. Under his watch, Credit Suisse’s smaller international wealth division doubled its pre-tax income. With interest rates at record lows, replicating that performance won’t be easy.
Some Aramco IPO banks look more equal than others 12 Sep 2019 The Saudi oil giant has picked nine banks as global coordinators for its revived listing. They all get bragging rights. Yet despite the implied equality, they won't all do the same job. Banks that led the first stab at the IPO, like JPMorgan, will still probably call the shots.
Holding: Insider-trading law fix is within reach 11 Sep 2019 The U.S. Congress seems closer than ever to clarifying rules that have perplexed investors, watchdogs and judges for decades. With prosecutors pushing legal limits and dodgy traders slipping through loopholes, reform is overdue. Bipartisan support suggests it may finally happen.