ING rocked by new loss May 13, 2009 DUTCH financial services group ING reported a worse-than-expected first-quarter net loss as its insurance operation suffered from impairments on its equity and property investments. The group posted a net loss of €793m (£711m) for the three months, well below an analysts’ consensus of a €553m loss and a dramatic turnaround from last year’s €1.54bn profit in the [...]
ING rocked by new loss May 13, 2009 Jan Hommen took over from Michael Tilmant as chief executive of Dutch group ING in January.
THE DECLINE OF ING May 13, 2009 08 October 08ING Direct, the online banking arm of ING Group, said it was to acquire more than €3bn (£2.7bn) of British deposits from Icelandic online savings providers Icesave and Kaupthing Edge. 19 October 08The Dutch government announces it is preparing to inject €10bn into the group. 20 October 08The group says it will sell [...]
BARACK OBAMA TO OVERHAUL BANK PAY May 13, 2009 US PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday opened talks with regulators and advisers over a revolutionary overhaul of the pay regimes at financial services companies. In a move that signals a new era for Wall Street, Obama is expected to implement measures to force firms to align pay with long-term performance, even if those firms have not [...]
BARACK OBAMA TO OVERHAUL BANK PAY May 13, 2009 Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, said regulation should be looked at globally.
BT to slash 10,000 jobs May 13, 2009 BT is expected to announce it is axing more than 10,000 jobs today on top of a similar cull last November. The telecoms giant is also set to unveil writedowns of more than £1bn at its global services division, heavily reduced profits and a huge pensions deficit. The jobs news will further add to fears over unemployment. BT [...]
Rates to be low for year May 13, 2009 City analysts said yesterday that interest rates could remain at 0.5 per cent for a year or more after Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned that any economic recovery will be “slow and protracted”. “Any rise in interest rates is a long way off,” said Jonathan Loynes of Capital Economics.
Low interest rates are crippling savers May 13, 2009 SO the Bank of England agrees that the recession has bottomed out – but it is refusing to be too optimistic about the recovery, and expects interest rates to remain at 0.5 per cent for a year or so. All very sensible; but this only tells part of the story for borrowers and savers. As [...]
MBIA faces legal battle May 13, 2009 Barclays and HSBC are among 18 or more of the world’s largest financial institutions that yesterday started legal action against MBIA, the bond insurer, claiming its recent split into a good and bad business wrongfully cut their odds of getting paid out on policies. The banks filed their complaint in a New York State Supreme [...]
Barratt rules out rights issue May 13, 2009 Housebuilder Barratt Developments quelled talk of an imminent cash call yesterday, saying debt was in line with its plans. The group also said it expected to be able to meet loan covenants, helped by an “acceptable” start to 2009. Barratt, the UK’s fifth largest housebuilder by market value is saddled with £1.42bn debt as of [...]