“Ex-Japan” title may take a final bow with Goldman 21 Nov 2023 The retirement of Japan President Masanori Mochida gives the US firm the option to follow its rivals and have his successor report into the Asia CEO. After a long lull, Japan’s markets are hot. But shape-shifting foreign banks may opt to bring the country into the regional fold.
Carlyle’s next takeover target should be itself 16 Nov 2023 Boss Harvey Schwartz lacks the small-investor firehose or balance-sheet heft of listed rivals that public investors crave. A muddled handover by the firm’s founders slowed progress. They could help now by joining with outside capital to buy the private equity giant out.
For global banks, India could soon be worth it 7 Nov 2023 CEOs have descended on Hong Kong for a summit, but investment bankers based in the city are spending time elsewhere in Asia as revenue from China shrinks. In India, IPOs are on the rise and fees are improving. Buyout firms’ behaviour suggests those trends will continue.
Morgan Stanley’s new CEO inherits rich pickings 2 Nov 2023 Ted Pick has the money and backing of predecessor James Gorman to make acquisitions that will help the $120 bln Wall Street firm service more of the global elite. While many potential targets look cheap, he can take his time. The most enticing prospects aren’t for sale yet.
Apollo deal drought is swamped with success 1 Nov 2023 The $630 bln investment firm delivered disappointing profit and underscored plans to give shareholders less dealmaking lucre. Its market value jumped 8% on the bad news. Increasingly prized fee income helps boss Marc Rowan’s empire overcome higher interest rates squeezing alpha.
Tough dealmaking conditions dull Waystar’s shine 31 Oct 2023 The healthcare technology firm is angling for a stock-market listing on the back of rapid, acquisition-fueled growth. With a sale looking difficult and heavy debt bearing down, an IPO may be its private equity backers’ best option, but a mooted $8 bln valuation looks steep.
Hedge fund battle turns mountain into molehill 27 Oct 2023 Daniel Och is backing a $720 mln sale of Sculptor, the investment firm he founded, after buyer Rithm raised its bid again. The extra $15 mln he gets seems out of proportion to his rage against earlier terms. Maybe sweating the small stuff is what makes millionaires billionaires.
Wall Street’s glum rainmakers deserve more love 26 Oct 2023 Income from dealmaking is moribund; trading revenue is lumpy. No wonder investors in firms like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs promote the relative appeal of less temperamental businesses like wealth management and credit cards. Before long, though, what’s down may be up again.
Europe’s investment-bank push is far from a shove 25 Oct 2023 Deutsche Bank has bought a $500 mln UK boutique, BNP is bulking up in markets and Santander has hired 50 Credit Suisse bankers. Yet no one is trying to go back to 2010, when the region had 48% of the debt-trading business. That’s good for US rivals, and the Europeans’ investors.
Blackstone’s business is lumpy and that’s OK 19 Oct 2023 The asset manager regularly touts its steady, rising fund fees as a cushion against the stop-start business of buying and selling assets. The problem is that choppy markets have dampened both. They’ll no doubt return – it’s just a reminder that there’s no escaping the cycle.
David Solomon’s Goldman remix is audibly off-key 17 Oct 2023 The Wall Street firm is well short of a 15% return on equity goal, even absent consumer-bank snafus and property writedowns. Its CEO gave up DJ-ing, but promises Goldman can spin a new tune focused on more stable income. It will take much more to prove that’s attainable.
Jamie Dimon makes anxiety a feature not a bug 13 Oct 2023 JPMorgan’s boss is again fretting about the future: interest rates, regulation, war. Yet his bank’s latest results confirm it’s doing just fine. Income is growing faster, and expenses slower, than expected. Dimon can afford to spread the dread; most rivals don’t have the luxury.
Microsoft becomes unwitting fiscal honeypot 12 Oct 2023 A $29 bln back-tax bill amounts to 40% of the tech firm’s yearly earnings. It’s also enough to fund a new round of Ukraine aid, two years of tax collection or a decade of substance abuse treatment. Uncle Sam may lose the fight, but when budgets are tight there’s more to play for.
KKR and Carlyle play zero-sum game in credit 11 Oct 2023 The two investing giants are foregoing any cut of profit for their latest European debt funds, further eroding the 2-and-20 standard. Amid a potential industry shakeout, it’s a sensible way to keep management fees flowing, which are more highly prized by public shareholders.
CFPB opponents gamble with US financial stability 3 Oct 2023 The 12-year-old consumer finance watchdog has amassed powerful enemies, partly because of combative boss Rohit Chopra. But a Supreme Court challenge to its funding threatens other regulators like the Fed too. Making crisis-fighting departments beg Congress for cash is dangerous.
Jeffrey Epstein leaves small mark on Wall Street 27 Sep 2023 JPMorgan will fork out another $75 mln to settle claims over its ex-client, winding down the sordid mess for financiers. The sex offender cost two industry CEOs their jobs, while banks now monitor such reputational risks more closely. The effects are likely to fade soon, however.
Capital Calls: UBS Russia risk 27 Sep 2023 Concise views on global finance: The Swiss bank’s value fell by $3 bln after Bloomberg reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating the recent acquisition of Credit Suisse over possible compliance failures.
Hong Kong bankers play an anxious waiting game 26 Sep 2023 Fewer IPOs in the city mean firms such as UBS and Bank of America are more willing to handle middling transactions like Tuhu’s $150 mln offer. But as big deals stir in New York and beyond, the downsizing increasingly will look like an awkward stopgap for Wall Street.
Nomura is merely first in line for new China risk 25 Sep 2023 Charles Wang Zhonghe, the firm’s Hong Kong-based chair of investment banking for the People’s Republic, is barred from leaving the mainland. Overseas banks committing to bulk up in the country may no longer be able to avoid the effects of President Xi Jinping’s crackdowns.
Ukraine war gives wings to India bond index debut 22 Sep 2023 JPMorgan will add the country’s sovereign debt to its emerging market index, easing concentration issues following Russia’s exclusion. It drags foreigners into a $1 trln market. New Delhi sees new gains from opening but it may have to bend on taxes and more to win wider backing.