All articles by Farah Halime
Farah Halime
TSB Bank 21% jump in pre-tax profit
TSB Bank, 100% owned by the New Zealand government, posted a pre-tax profit of NZ$74.3mn ($50.3mn) in the 12 months ended 31 March, a jump of 21% from a year earlier, as strong consumer confidence buoyed results
OFT begins review into UK retail banking sector
The UKs Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has launched an investigation into the hurdles new banks face when entering the retail banking sector in an effort to review competitiveness in the market The watchdog is investigating obstacles new and small retail banks face when attempting to enter, exit or expand in the UK after the financial crisis led to substantial changes to the banking industry
Monitise and Visa to launch joint venture in India
Monitise, the mobile money networks and technology group, is teaming up with credit card giant Visa to offer mobile financial services to customers in India The firms 5050 joint venture will provide a technology platform for financial institutions and mobile network operators to boost services such as banking, bill payments, ticketing services, mobile top-up to consumers India is the worlds second largest mobile market with an estimated 584 million mobile phone subscriptions as at the end of March, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Axis Bank targets boost in retail loans
Axis Bank, the private sector bank, said it plans to increase its retail loan book to account for 25% of its total loan book by 2012 as part of a drive to place more focus on personal loans Axis Bank currently has the smallest network of branches among the leading players in India with 1,040 outlets compared to State Bank of Indias 10,500 and Punjab National Banks 4,668 (see RBI 632-633)
Nationwide looks at branch closures as profits drop
Nationwide Building Society has reported a 46% drop in underlying pre-tax profit to £212mn in the year to 4 April 2010, almost half of the £393mn ($480.2mn) recorded for the comparable period of the year before The UKs largest building society said low interest rates continued to hit earnings with the forecast for the next fiscal year expected to reap lower levels of profitability
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Spain’s savings banks in 4-way merger
Four Spanish regional savings banks, with total assets of more than EUR135bn ($166bn), have preliminarily agreed to merge to create the fifth largest banking group in the country amid growing pressure to strengthen the beleaguered financial sector The agreement involves Caja de Ahorros de Mediterrneo, Cajastur, Caja de Extremadura and Caja Cantabria and comes after the Bank of Spain took control of CajaSur savings bank as its agreement with Unicaja fell through (see Spain siezes control of CajaSur).
Capital One to rebrand Chevy Chase branches
Washington-based regional bank Chevy Chase will officially rebrand its branches to Capital One later this year, in line with a drive to strengthen its retail banking arm. Contractors are in the process of preparing the internal and external signage replacement in Chevy Chase bank branches throughout the Mid-Atlantic by installing permanent Capital One bank signs with temporary Chevy Chase Bank covers,” said a spokeswoman for the bank in a statement.
BPS claims Europe’s first biometric cash point
Polands co-operative bank BPS has become the first in Europe to install a biometric cash point, allowing clients to use their fingertips rather than a bank card to withdraw money. The bank machine, developed by IT provider Wincor Nixdorf, scans the unique network of fingertips allowing customers to identify themselves and make transactions.
Nationwide brings comedy to UK small screen
Nationwide has unveiled a new advertising partnership featuring characters from the UK-based comedy show, Little Britain, as part of the building societys drive to emphasise its mutual model. The three television ads, the first commercial work in which comedy double act Matt Lucas and David Walliams have been involved, feature characters from their hit sketch show as customers interacting with Nationwide employees.
ANZ worst for customer satisfaction
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is the worst bank in New Zealand for customer satisfaction, according to a survey by trade union pressure group Better Banking. The research, carried out for bank workers union Finsec, showed that 39% of customers surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with ANZ, with 46% claiming the bank is moving in the wrong direction.