All articles by Hugh Fasken
Hugh Fasken
Asia-focused HSBC paid $1.5bn to rescue struggling Taiwanese lender
HSBC has been given $1.5 billion by the Taiwanese government to rescue the Chinese Bank, a financial institution that has been managed by Taiwans bad debt agency since January 2007 after a run on deposits. The payout by the governments Central Deposit Insurance Corporation is being supplemented by a $300 million to $400 million injection of HSBCs own capital to shore up the balance sheet.
A world of social finance
A world of social finance Recent research concluded that US consumers will turn to online peer-to-peer lending networks to pay off credit card debt, and the amount borrowed for this purpose is expected to surge from $38 billion to $159 billion over the next five years
Targeting the professionals
A new report from VRL KnowledgeBank looks at the growing market in dedicated banking services to professionals such as doctors and accountants and their businesses Professionals are attractive as they are in higher income brackets and demand a mix of personal, business and wealth management services. Professional banking is an umbrella term used for the provision of dedicated banking and financial services to the professional segment
Visa settles expensive American Express anti-trust lawsuit
Visa has agreed to pay rival card operator American Express $2.25 billion in settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit The suit was filed in November 2004, and alleged that Visa and MasterCard, plus eight major banks, acted to obstruct Amexs access to the bank-issued card market in the US. Amex stated at the time that it had been effectively locked out of the bank-issued card business in the US, and sought damages for business lost as a result of anti-competitive business practices.News of the outcome is likely to put pressure on Visa to come to a similar deal with Discover Financial, which also filed suit in 2004
Internationalising Israel
Bank Leumi reported net profit for the second quarter of ILS913 million, an increase of 142 percent compared with the second quarter of 2006
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Double whammy for Japan’s banks as US subprime woes hit earnings
Mitsubishi UFJ, the countrys largest financial group, reported its first-half net profit fell 49 percent to 256.7 billion ($2.36 billion) from 507.2 billion a year ago, reflecting write-downs for its struggling credit card subsidiary UFJ Nicos and losses related to its subprime loan exposure
Prepaid spending set to soar in Europe
While the prepaid card market in the US has flourished in a myriad of forms including gift, remittance and corporate cards during the past decade, it has only recently begun to establish a cultural and financial foothold in Europe. Sensing the opportunity for customer acquisition and branding in previously untapped markets, a multitude of financial players have been entering the prepaid space either as issuers or co-branders Analysts from financial research and consulting company Tower Group recently predicted that prepaid spending in Europe will reach 75 billion ($107 billion) by 2010, with 375 million cards in circulation
Global retail banking map redrawn as RBS consortium gets ABN AMRO
Global retail banking map redrawn as RBS consortium gets ABN AMRO Retail banking markets in the US, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, India, Pakistan, Taiwan and across Asia-Pacific will all be rejigged following the successful albeit slow and troubled 71.1 billion ($103 billion) acquisition of ABN AMRO by the Royal Bank of Scotland-Santander-Fortis consortium in what is by far the worlds largest banking acquisition to date
A wealth of profits
The affluent segment is usually the most profitable segment for a retail bank; hence the focus on this group by banks across the world, from emerging economies such as China to mature ones such as the US A new report from VRL KnowledgeBank looks at, among other things, the profit benchmarks for affluent banking.
China’s retail banking industry steams ahead
The 30 percent surge in China Construction Banks (CCB) share price on the day of its Shanghai-based initial public offering (IPO) on 25 September was a stark indication of the continuing strength of Chinas banking industry, a market relentlessly being driven forwards by banks such as CCB, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and a growing body of smaller domestic and foreign players. CCB moved into third place, overtaking Bank of America (BofA), on the day of its IPO: CCBs value grew to $226.9 billion, compared to Bank of Americas $224.5 billion, Citigroups $231.8 billion and ICBCs $278.6 billion.In its half-yearly report, CCB which is 8.19 percent owned by BofA and 5.7 percent by Singapores sovereign fund, Temasek said that its profit before tax increased 54 percent to CNY50.54 billion ($6.7 billion)