All articles by Dan Jones
Dan Jones
Singapore banks suffer under weight of growing loan loss provisions
Singapores three leading banks DBS, UOB and OCBC have all reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter of 2009, but all three, nonetheless, saw profits fall year-on-year. DBS, which reported a net profit of S$433 million ($296 million) versus a same-period 2008 result of S$603 million, saw allowances for loan losses almost treble to S$414 million versus S$140 million a year previous
0% housing loan means extended opening hours at Handelsbanken
Thommy Mossinger, head of the regional bank in Stockholm for Swedens Handelsbanken, says his banks recently launched 0 percent, no-fee housing loan product proved so popular that the bank had to open the majority of its branches on a Saturday to cater for demand Dan Jones reports.Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedens largest retail bank by branches, has hit its domestic market with a new 0 percent interest loan exploiting a new tax break launched by the government The ROT loan standing for repair, renovation, extension in Swedish allows householders to borrow up to SEK100,000 ($12,600) at 0 percent interest and without charges for one year
Commerzbank agrees Women’s World Cup deal
Germanys second-largest bank, Commerzbank, has signed up as a national supporter of the FIFA Womens World Cup The deal augments the banks existing sponsorship agreement with Germanys football association (DFB)
Emirates NBD buoyant after ‘fantastic year’ in retail banking
After a successful 2008, in which the bank recorded net profit of over $1 billion, Emirates NBD is continuing its expansion by rolling out more branches and more products as part of a drive to increase cross-sell ratios The group is on the verge of completing the integration of its two constituent entities, Emirates Bank and the National Bank of Dubai (NBD), and the lengthy merger between the two, which first came together as Emirates NBD in October 2007, is now nearing its final phase. In early May Emirates moved across to Infosys Finacle core banking system, with NBD due to follow within the next three months
Robust quarterly trading at Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered, which reported strong banking results for 2008 despite the difficult trading conditions (see RBI 608), has released an equally bullish interim management statement for the first quarter of 2009 The group said the strong quarter delivered record levels of income and profit, adding: Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment and the continuing difficulties in the financial markets, the group remains in very good shape and we are selectively growing the business.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Stress tests find $75bn capital shortfall at 10 leading US bank groups
The results of the US banking stress tests have adjudged 10 of the 19 banks surveyed to be in need of extra capital totalling $75 billion, with Bank of America alone required to raise $33.9 billion. The other capital shortfalls amounted to $13.7 billion at Wells Fargo; $11.5 billion at GMAC; $5.5 billion at Citigroup; $2.5 billion at Regions Financial; $2.2 billion at SunTrust; $1.8 billion at Morgan Stanley; $1.8 billion at KeyCorp; $1.1 billion at Fifth Third; and $600 million at PNC Financial American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, BB&T, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, State Street and US Bank were found to require no additional funding
Danske reports Q1 net profit of DKR1.6bn
Denmarks largest banking group, Danske, has posted a net profit for the first three months of DKR1.6 billion ($295 million), compared to DKR2.6 billion in the first quarter of 2008 The net profit was affected by large loan impairment charges that were to a large degree offset by sharply higher net trading income. Total income of DKR17.2 billion for the period was the groups highest quarterly income to date, with the increase due mainly to exceptionally high earnings at Danske Markets
GE Money becomes latest institution to offer card customisation
GE Money in the US has become the latest financial institution to offer its card customers customisation technology, giving them the option to design and personalise their cards. The Photocard technology, available for eBay MasterCard and PayPal Plus credit card holders and supplied by UK-based Serverside Group, enables customers to upload images and photos which can then be used to adorn the front of their cards for a cost of $4.95 per customisation Serverside says the customised cards generate loyalty, brand connection and encourage front-of-wallet placement in a recent statement, one of its clients, Blom Bank in Lebanon, said usage was up 60 percent for customised cards compared to non-personalised ones.
UniCredit announces a ‘Green Deal’ with WWF
Italys UniCredit has signed a strategic partnership with environmental body WWF aimed at integrating environmental sustainability and climate change into the groups banking business in accordance with CEO Alessandro Profumos vision of making UniCredit become a European leader in sustainability. The first goal it has set is to reduce CO2 emissions by 30 percent by 2020, supporting the EUs own energy goal known as 20-20-20 set out in the Climate & Energy Package The group says it plans to develop an innovative model that will measure the actual environmental impact of the loan portfolio in terms of emissions, and therefore make it possible to steer lending decisions according to these criteria.
First-class competition?
The 11,500-branch-strong UK post office says it is interested in expanding the range of retail financial services products it sells, especially mortgages The managing director of the UKs postal service has said that the organisation plans to extend its financial services reach both this year and into 2010, citing a return to a climate of traditional retail banking as one in which the UKs postal service could flourish.