Banks

Breaking the news gently must have been the goal of Standard Chartered plc (LSE:STAN) on releasing its performance for the first quarter of the year – the only one of the BIG FIVE in London that does that. But no matter how hard one tries to carefully craft the words, the glaring truth of the […]

Okay.  I admit it.  We’ve been hard on HSBC (LSE:HSBA) this past 12 months.  In fact, I gave them a pretty strong poke in the eye just two weeks ago today on 23 April, when I berated them for their treatment of the “little people.”  And I was a wee bit sarcastic about them about […]

Some folks believe that George Osborne stepped a bit over a political “red line” when he gave instruction to Sir Mervyn King and the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) of the Bank of England to focus on short-term growth as opposed to financial stability.  King responded to the seemingly unusual demand, saying that the FPC would […]

I’m usually pretty hard on Lloyds (LSE:LLOY), I believe, rightfully so, in light of how the bank has conducted itself over the last decade.  On the other hand, there is no sport in kicking a man who is trying to get back up. When Lloyds released its First Quarter results this morning, its share price […]

The bank will receive shares equivalent to approximately 1.8 per cent of the total issued share capital as part of the deal. Lloyds Banking Group have announced that it will sell its Spanish retail banking operations, including Lloyds Bank International S.A.U and Lloyds Investment España SGIIC S.A.U, to Banco Sabadell, S.A (Banco Sabadell). The sale […]

This week was all about GDP growth. With on-going fears about whether China (7.7% YoY) is slowing or not, it was the turn of the UK and US to release Q1 preliminary estimates. The UK’s 0.6% YoY beat expectations (consensus flat), helped by a strong services sector. Good news also that a triple-dip recession was […]

“An extension of the deadline avoids the need for a forced sale or flotation while markets are weak”. Ratings agency Fitch have today argued that Lloyds and RBS are likely to join the ranks of the banks that have had to request from the European Commission an extension of the deadline originally set for the […]

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) has a small problem. Question:  When is the best time to sell something? Answer:  When someone wants to buy it. Situation:  Lloyds Banking Group needs to sell 630+  bank branches. Problem:  No one wants to buy them. In December 2011 the news was that the Co-Operative Group was the preferred bidder […]

Barclays have announced a 35% fall in first quarter profits. Citing the cost of transforming the bank to become a “Go-To” bank profits fell by £609m to £1.8bn. An increase in European losses was a further contributing factor to the first quarter losses. In a statement the bank’s chief executive, Antony Jenkins, said  “We set […]

Is it just me or is HSBC (LSE:HSBA) more adept at shooting itself in the foot than most other banks?  Or have they simply understood something that the rest of us have only guessed at? That “little people” are irrelevant. In a span of less than 24 hours, the bank has announced 3,166 workers, i.e., […]