All articles by RBI editorial
RBI editorial
ING Direct profit falls 140% to ?47m loss
ING lost 478 million ($598 million) in the third quarter, its first-ever quarterly loss, after write-downs totalled 1.5 billion ING Group net profit year-to-date is now 2.98 billion versus 6.76 billion for the first nine months of 2007.
Indian profits up, slowdown looms
While Indias leading banks have avoided the worst of the initial shock waves from the global credit turmoil, fears persist they face rising loan defaults and a liquidity crunch which will impact full-year results. But for the first half of the current fiscal year, analysts gloomy forecasts have been beaten with five of the countrys largest banks all posting increases in half year profits (see table). In particular, Bank of Indias profits in the first half are up by almost 80 percent while HDFC Bank posted profits up by more than 40 percent.
Time for a social spin for banks?
Netherlands-based BankTrack a membership organisation of social, sustainability and environmental bodies such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and WWF, whose aim is to monitor the business practices of the worlds banking industry has published its thoughts on the banking crisis and the steps and reforms both the industry and regulators now have to take, in its view, to put the market back on its feet.
Infosys supplement
Retail banking strategies for a changing world ‘Mobile banking is not a fad!’ All to play for in shifting UK market
ICICI fights back with profits rise
ICICI has reported better-than-expected earnings for the second quarter, a period in which Indias largest private-sector bank suffered a brief run on some of its branches in the south of the country, posting a rise in profits. Net profit was INR10.14billion ($205.3 million) in the quarter to the end of September, compared with INR10.03 billion in the same period last year, with net interest and fees and commission income up by 20 and 26 percent respectively. But while ICICI was able to report that deposits were only down marginally, by 2 percent, it has increased funds set aside for bad loans and losses on investments in the quarter to INR9.24 billion, up 43 percent compared with a year ago
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Asia is the engine of our future’
He said now was the time for innovation, but innovation based on experience.The global cards industry has benefitted from near-constant innovation over the past five decades, delivering payments security and convenience to over two billion consumers worldwide and, in the teeth of global financial instability, now is the time to increase innovation and the overall way banks manage customers and risk, according to Farhad Irani, Standard Chartereds global head of credit cards and personal loans The present market situation in the US, the worlds largest card market, was sobering, however, and should act as a warning to banks in Asia: 1.2 billion credit cards in issue; $1 trillion dollars of card debt; an average of seven cards per individual; $1,500 spent in average servicing interest costs per household; over 125 million people revolving their balances with about 30 million of them in a hard core revolver stage; credit card debt averaging $30,000; and a servicing burden up to 60 percent of disposable income.
MUFG, Mizuho cut earnings forecasts
Japans largest and third-largest banks by market capitalisation, Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) and Mizuho, have slashed their profit forecasts for the current fiscal year by 66 percent and 55 percent respectively, citing rising bad loan costs. And the countrys fourth-largest lender, Resona, added to the gloom by cutting its earnings forecast for the year from 150 billion ($1.51 billion) to 85 billion, citing rising credit costs and the economic downturn.
Clydesdale, Yorkshire banks do not need government aid
National Australia Banks (NAB), UK-based subsidiaries, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, will not need government assistance to boost their capital ratios, according to the banks UK chief executive Lynne Peacock. In the 12 months to September, NABs UK operation reported net earnings after tax were up 2.5 percent to £249 million ($404 million) with underlying profit up 11.9 percent to £518 million.
Account switching package goes live
Australias account switching package went live on 1 November, allowing customers greater freedom in changing their bank accounts. Banks, building societies and credit unions are now obliged to assist customers who are unhappy about fees and charges, or poor quality of service, to switch to a rival provider. This means Australian families and pensioners have genuine choice among financial institutions and have more flexibility to shop around for services that best suit their needs, said Australian finance minister, Wayne Swann.
RHB targets retail growth in 2009
RHB Islamic Bank, the Sharia division of Malaysias fourth-largest bank RHB, plans to increase its consumer lending next year at the expense of its corporate loans portfolio, in a bid to maintain its loan growth momentum.