London midday: Rally stalls
3rd Aug 2010 12:09
A mid-morning rally petered out just before noon leaving the FTSE 100 index still in negative territory, though not by much. Specialist banking group Investec is the heaviest faller in the FTSE 100. It has raised £104.5m through a placing of 22m shares at 475p each. The placing increases the share
Read moreSantander nears RBS branch buy
3rd Aug 2010 11:40
Spanish bank Santander is expanding its overseas empire with the acquisition of 318 branches being sold by government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The sale, thought likely to make about £2bn, is part of a deal agreed with the European Commission as RBS's punishment for borrowing billions fro
Read moreRBS fined for anti-terror lapses
3rd Aug 2010 10:28
The City regulator has fined Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) £5.6m after deciding inadequate systems and controls could have given terrorists access to funds. A Financial Services Authority (FSA) investigation into the bank's compliance with UK anti-money laundering regulations found deficiencies in i
Read moreLondon close: Footsie fights back
3rd Aug 2010 09:28
Footsie fought hard to finish in the blue after easing back following yesterday's surge, and was just a whisker short of positive territory at trading's close. An improvement on Wall Street after a shaky start breathed life into London's leading share index. Insurance colossus Aviva , scheduled to
Read moreLondon open: Profit taking clips Footsie
3rd Aug 2010 08:49
London's top stocks have run into some profit taking after yesterday's big gains both here and on Wall Street. Banks are mixed after confusing figures from state-owned Northern Rock. Now split into its "good half" and "bad half", the "bad half" bounced back into profit while the supposedly "good"
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: HSBC, Santander, Wheat prices
3rd Aug 2010 06:52
HSBC, Britain's biggest bank, emphatically rejected suggestions yesterday that it was needlessly denying credit to small companies and claimed that most business customers were paying a lower rate of interest than before the credit crisis hit three years ago. Douglas Flint, its finance director, in
Read moreSociete Generale To Become UK Gilt Primary Dealer
2nd Aug 2010 16:21
LONDON (Dow Jones)--French bank Societe Generale SA will become a primary dealer of U.K. government bonds, known as gilts, from September 1, 2010, the bank said Monday. Societe Generale will now participate directly in gilt auctions and take an active role in the issuance, distribution and marke
Read moreSector movers: HSBC kicks off banks' results with a bang
2nd Aug 2010 15:19
The banking sector has jumped on soaring profits from HSBC. It gave a signal that the banking sector may be returning to normality after the credit crisis as it posted interim profits that more than doubled on the back of a sharp reduction in bad debts. In the half year to June 30, the bank saw pre
Read moreLondon open: Strong start for Footsie
2nd Aug 2010 08:53
Banks and miners are in favour this morning, helping Footsie make a bright start. The banks' interim results season kicks off later today with HSBC's first half figures and predictions at the weekend were for strong numbers across the sector. Lloyds, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland are all hig
Read moreBanks chided again on small cap lending
1st Aug 2010 18:34
Britain's banks have again been warned over bonuses and lending to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) with the top four tipped to post over £8bn in collective first half profits this week. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, UK chancellor George Osborne said the the government would not tol
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Bank profits, BP, ITV
1st Aug 2010 11:59
Royal Bank Of Scotland could break back into the black this week, boosting hopes that taxpayers could make a profitable exit from the government's bank bailouts. Analysts expect RBS to post a pre-tax profit of about £200m for the first six months of the year, ending a two-year run of multi-billion
Read moreFinancial News: Banks Seize EUR50B Of Private Equity-Backed Cos
1st Aug 2010 00:01
By Toby Lewis Of FINANCIAL NEWS Banks are finally getting tough with private equity. They have taken control of almost EUR50 billion ($65 billion) of private equity-backed companies in Europe since the beginning of 2009 as a result of those companies defaulting on their debt. This activi
Read moreInfotel Broadband Raises $500 Mln From Royal Bank of Scotland-Led Consortium - Report
31st Jul 2010 07:35
MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--India's Infotel Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd., a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd. (500325.BY), has raised $500 million from a consortium of lenders headed by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.LN), the Economic Times reported Saturday, citing three unnamed people familiar with the deal.
Read moreRBS To Announce Branch, Worldpay Sales Early As Tues -Sources
30th Jul 2010 14:59
By Patricia Kowsmann and Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) is likely to announce two asset sales worth up to a total of GBP4.3 billion as early as Tuesday, as it continues its efforts to shrink its balance sheet, people familiar
Read moreEARNINGS PREVIEW:UK Banks 1H Good On Charges, Hit By Mkt Woes
29th Jul 2010 15:24
By Patricia Kowsmann Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TAKING THE PULSE: U.K. banks will likely report higher pretax profit for the first half of the year on lower impairment charges, although investment-banking activities could disappoint following a shaky second quarter, analysts say. "Overall, t
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