News

Your daily news update straight from the City PM newsroom in London

Dutch lenders hit as DSB Bank goes bankrupt

October 19, 2009

A Dutch court last night declared aggressive mortgage lender DSB Bank bankrupt, leaving other Dutch lenders liable for up to €3.25bn (£2.96bn) in deposit guarantees. The finance ministry rejected a last-minute rescue proposal that included a €100m injection of government cash because of the risk it would disappear “into a black hole”. The bank’s founder [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAS THE CITY LOST ITS CHAMPION?

October 19, 2009

DAVID COLES ATLAS PARTNERS“Boris changes his mind every five minutes. He is now simply jumping on the bandwagon of bashing the banks. But, who knows? Next week he might change his tune again. The City doesn’t take much notice of the London Mayor anyway – but Boris is a fickle character.” CARLOS PEREZGROVAS DAIWA SECURITIES“I [...]
US FINANCIALS BEAT EUROPE FOR GROWTH

October 19, 2009

THE US cemented its dominance in financial markets in 2008 at the expense of Europe, according to the International Financial Services London (IFSL) annual report. The Financial Market Trends Europe vs US report showed that the US financial markets had increased in size compared to Europe across eight different indicators, such as foreign equity trading, [...]
Billionaire Carl Icahn says he offered a $6bn loan to stricken US lender CIT

October 19, 2009

Corporate raider Carl Icahn said he offered to underwrite a $6bn (£3.7bn) loan to CIT Group and complained that trading between the troubled lender and its largest creditors was harming other bondholders. In a letter to CIT’s board yesterday, Icahn said the cash-strapped commercial lender is offering certain large bondholders the opportunity to purchase $6bn [...]
MORE DELAYS FOR HERITAGE

October 19, 2009

HERITAGE Oil’s planned merger with Turkey’s Genel Energy has been delayed again, as the Kurdistan Regional government – which will hold 20 per cent of the merged company – is taking longer than expected to elect a new cabinet to sign off on the deal. But the company said it still hopes to close the [...]
FSA outlines its crackdown on mortgages

October 19, 2009

CITY watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has unveiled a crackdown on the mortgage-lending market that includes plans to ban the self-certification loan industry. FSA chief executive Hector Sants unveiled a range of proposals including a ban on the self-cert, or “liar loans” industry, where borrowers are able to get mortgages without giving proof of [...]
Crystal Amber cuts JJB stake and takes profits

October 19, 2009

CRYSTAL Amber Fund, one of JJB Sports’ largest shareholders, yesterday said it had cut its stake from 14 per cent to just under eight per cent, ahead of the retailer’s £100m fundraising. Crystal Amber made a 45.3 per cent profit on the sale of 13.6m shares that it bought when the stock was 22.4p a [...]
BANKS FACE THREAT OF TAX BOMBSHELL

October 18, 2009

THE government risks driving droves of companies overseas and losing out on billions in revenues if it goes ahead with imposing a stricter tax regime on the banking sector, the City warned yesterday. The stark warning from City leaders came as it emerged that the government is considering a sweeping change to the fiscal burden [...]
Post unions in rage over hiring plan

October 18, 2009

TRADE UNIONS warned employment agencies wanting to get involved in the Royal Mail dispute that they might face crippling fines, exacerbating already fraught tensions between the two sides. The GMB joined the Communication Workers Union (CWU) – which has called for national strikes over modernisation objectives – in slamming Mail plans to hire in 30,000 [...]
Liar loans set to be banned

October 18, 2009

THE Financial Services Authority will today unveil reforms to the mortgage market, including rules to ensure that they are only given to those who can keep up the repayments. Self-certified mortgages – where a borrower is not required to prove their income – are expected to be banned as part of the watchdog’s review of [...]