Category: Financial Services

Santander bank
February 14, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Santander Says It Did Not Violate US Sanctions on Iran

An internal communication, initially disclosed by Bloomberg News and subsequently verified by Reuters, revealed that Santander's global head of communications announced the bank had undertaken an extensive examination of connections to entities and individuals mentioned in the FT report. The investigation concluded that there were no sanctions breaches within any segment of Santander's international operations.…

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ANZ bank
February 12, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

ANZ Bank’s Shares Rise to a 22-Month High on Q1 In-Line Revenues

By 2320 GMT, the shares had climbed nearly 1% to A$27.93, reaching levels not seen since April 21, 2022, in contrast to a 0.3% decrease in the broader market index. The bank's institutional banking services have seen a surge in demand, leading to a record annual profit last year, boosted significantly by a payments platform…

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Mediobanca
February 09, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Italy’s Mediobanca’s H1 Profits Surged Higher, Beating Estimates

Nagel emphasised the transformative nature of the recent performance, highlighting it as a manifestation of the group's new strategic direction. "Our progress has been substantial and highly efficient in generating and utilising capital," he remarked. This was underscored by the bank's core capital ratio, which stood at 15.3% of risk-weighted assets, surpassing analysts' forecasts from…

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Barclays office building
February 09, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Barclays Announces Plans To Curb Fossil Fuel Funding

This decision is a critical component of its newly unveiled Transition Finance Framework (TFF), introduced amid growing scrutiny from environmental advocates concerning its energy financing policies in light of rising emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Starting in 2025, the financial institution plans to limit its financing to companies that are not diversified, such as those…

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Gruppo Intesa Sanpaolo
February 08, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Italy’s Intesa Bank Is on Track To Exit Its Russian Operations Fully

The move was further supported in September when President Vladimir Putin issued a decree allowing for transactions involving these assets. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, CEO Carlo Messina revealed that Intesa has significantly reduced its exposure in Russia to a "minimal" level. Yet, the bank has struggled to wholly disentangle itself from its subsidiary…

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PBB Deutsche Pfandbriefbank
February 08, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

PBB, a German Bank, Says It Can Handle the US Real Estate Crisis

PBB, a part of the SDAX small-cap index that strongly emphasises real estate financing, made this reassurance in its second extraordinary disclosure in as many days as its equity and debt instruments experienced market pressure. The bank had previously characterised the current situation in the U.S. market as "the most significant real estate crisis since…

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Banca_Monte_dei_Paschi_di_Siena_in_Pisa
February 07, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Monte Paschi Bank Announced Its First Dividend Payout in 13 Years

Alongside major Italian banks such as Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) and UniCredit (CRDI.MI), MPS has benefited significantly from the rise in interest rates. Additionally, the bank has gained from positive outcomes in several legal disputes with former executives, alongside ongoing restructuring efforts led by CEO Luigi Lovaglio. Thanks to the favourable court decisions, the bank could…

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New York Community Bancorp
February 07, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

New York Community Bancorp Appoints a New Executive Chair

The rally higher helped mitigate the recent downturn triggered by the bank's disclosure of significant provisions for potential bad loans in the commercial real estate sector, an unexpected quarterly loss, and a reduction in dividend payments. The decline in shares previously erased around 60% of the bank's market value, bringing it down to just over…

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JP Morgan Chase & Co.
February 06, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

JP Morgan Plans To Open 500 New Bank Branches in the US by 2027

This expansion strategy is set against a backdrop where some financial institutions are scaling back their physical locations. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, the total number of U.S. bank branches stood at 77,690, following 123 closures and 80 openings in October alone. At the end of 2023, JPMorgan boasted the largest branch network,…

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Interactive Brokers
February 02, 2024 BY Simon Mugo

Interactive Brokers Registered an 11% DARTs Increase in January

Furthermore, Interactive Brokers noted a climb in ending client equity to $424.0 billion, a 26% increase year-over-year, with the figures remaining consistent with the previous month's tally. The data also highlighted ending client margin loan balances of $44.3 billion, showing a robust 12% growth year-over-year, with stability month-over-month. Client credit balances, which include $3.8 billion…

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