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’Not the Kiss of Death Awards, 2009 edition
Much like the so-called Curse of the Magazine Cover, awards to financial institutions have proved to be an interesting contrarian indicator over the years.
As Fintag noted in May, past winners of the Hedge Funds Review’s European Performance Awards — or what he dubbed the “Kiss of Death”
The next wave of bank cash calls
Out of the parade of European banks to recently raise cash to repay their governments, Alpha Bank’s rights issue on Monday was never really likely to garner much attention outside of Greece.
In many ways the €986m call is merely a variation on a theme already carried forward by the likes of Unicredit,
Capitalising on recapitalisation…
… is something that can be done by buying European banks’ Tier 1 bonds — even hybrid ones — according to Société Générale credit analysts.
The whole thesis is based, firstly, on the idea that under new regulation (the strengthened Basel II,
CDS report: Mixed US data weigh on market
Gavan Nolan of Markit wrote this CDS report
The European credit markets took a turn for the worse this afternoon following another session of mixed US economic data. The Markit iTraxx Europe was trading around 88bp (3.5bp,
UniCredit boosts sector hopes
UniCredit, Italy’s biggest bank and a top lender to recession-hit east European economies, provided further evidence on Tuesday that the banking crisis might be easing with better-than-expected Q2 net profit of €490m ($706m).
In defence of EMH
Marco Annunziata, chief Economist at UniCredit Group, has fired a couple of rounds at critics of efficient markets hypothesis, including Soc Gen’s GMO’s James Montier and the FT’s Gillian Tett.
He says simplistic attempts to throw EMH out of the window will not help improve our understanding of financial markets or strengthen institutions to limit the risk of future crisis.
Italy’s banks upbeat on Q1 earnings
Italy’s three top banks – UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo and Generali - are profitable and relatively optimistic about prospects for the year, according to Q1 earnings reports this week. Income and profits at the three banks were significantly lower than a year ago,
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- UniCredit posts 58 per cent drop in Q1 net profit — statement.
- MUFG to increase acquisition of Morgan Stanley common stock by 17 per cent — Reuters story.
UniCredit to seek €4bn aid
UniCredit, one of Italy’s top two banks, said Wednesday it will seek up to €4bn in state aid from the Italian and Austrian governments. UniCredit, which by some measures is the biggest lender in central and eastern Europe,
CDS update: Bear markets rally, too
This CDS report was written by Markit’s Gavan Nolan
European credit continued to lose ground as another round of grim economic data reminded investors that all bear markets have rallies. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was around 2bp wider at 191bp,
CDS report: Financials weigh on credit markets
European credit markets were marginally weaker on Tuesday morning, tracking performances in stock markets. The iTraxx Crossover index of sub-investment grade companies was at 1004.8bp, around 7bp wider from the close on Monday,
Libya to raise investment in Unicredit
Libya’s central bank agreed to buy an extra €250m ($326m) of convertible bonds issued by UniCredit, potentially making it the biggest shareholder in the Italian bank. The move makes the Libyan government agency a potentially crucial actor in a clash between management at UniCredit and its largest existing Italian shareholder.
UniCredit’s Eastern Exposure
Moody’s Market Implied Ratings group has an interesting – and bearish – note out on UniCredit, highlighting concerns about the bank’s exposure to Central and Eastern Europe.
The note, written by analyst Lisa Hintz,
State bail-out looms for Italian banks
Italian banks will need a capital injection of more than €21bn ($26.1bn) to bring their financial strength into line with their European competitors in the wake of the global banking crisis, according to a report by Italian investment bank Banca Leonardo.
Battered UniCredit to raise €6.6bn
UniCredit on Sunday night announced plans to raise up to €6.6bn ($9bn) in new capital as the embattled Italian banking group moved to shore up its defences against a sliding share price and the global financial crisis.
Parmalat, UniCredit, near $475m deal
Parmalat is close to securing a €300m ($475m) payment from UniCredit, reports the WSJ, in what would be the latest in a string of legal settlements related to the Italian dairy company’s collapse in 2003.
Unicredit hires NewSmith debt team
Unicredit on Wednesday beefed up its fixed income operations by hiring a team of debt specialists from NewSmith Capital Partners, the UK-based advisory and asset management boutique. The Italian bank, which wants to build its investment banking business,
Hedge funds show UniCredit some Kazakh-style activism
It’s not every day that Kazakhstan’s banks (generally viewed dimly by the credit rating agencies) are the subject of a foreign financial punch-up; nor does Kazakhstan see much western-style hedge fund activism.
UniCredit resolves Sicilian rebellion
Italy’s UniCredit resolved an explosive internal conflict on Wednesday, with the board sanctioning the departure of the chairman of its Sicilian subsidiary, Banco di Sicilia, which accounts for 10% of UniCredit’s Italian branch network.
Global squeeze prompts UniCredit rethink
UniCredit, Europe’s third-largest bank, has started a fundamental rethink of its business model as it adapts to the global credit squeeze and the need to retain more loans on its balance sheet. Alessandro Profumo,
SIVs set for $43bn asset ‘firesales’
A liquidity crisis in the commercial paper debt market could force “firesales” of as much as $43bn in assets, according to an analysis by the Royal Bank of Scotland. A swathe of off-balance sheet vehicles run by banks and asset managers that buy bonds backed by mortgages and other debt are facing forced asset sales to fund their short-term liquidity requirements.
The plot thickens: UniCredit pledges Capitalia merger concessions
UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, on Wednesday promised a series of remedial actions to answer demands by Italy’s antitrust authority over its merger with rival Capitalia (formerly Banca di Roma), including the sale of a bigger portion of its post-merger stake in Mediobanca than previously stated,
UniCredit: “It is time for Central Banks to act”
This is no time for messing about, says Marco Annunziata, chief economist and global head of economics, fixed income and FX research at UniCredit.
But nor is it the time to cut interest rates, which the extensively-titled Mr Annunziata believes would be the wrong strategy.
Italian banker to stand trial over Parmalat
Cesare Geronzi, the veteran Italian banker and power-broker, was ordered on Wednesday to stand trial on charges of contributing to the fraudulent bankruptcy of Parmalat, the food group that collapsed in December 2003.
UniCredit in $2.3bn purchase of Kazakh bank
UniCredit, the Italian bank, is buying ATF, Kazakhstan’s third largest bank, for about $2.3bn in the first big investment in central Asia by a top western financial services group. The deal highlights the growing willingness of EU-based banks to invest in the former Soviet Union and the increasing attractiveness of oil-rich Kazakhstan.
Mediobanca to rejig structure
Mediobanca, Italy’s most powerful investment bank, is on Wednesday expected to approve the move to a single chief executive and dual-board structure – the latest effort by a large Italian financial institution to embrace reform.
New Italian deal follows UniCredit’s Capitalia buy
UniCredit on Sunday sealed its €22bn acquisition of Capitalia, an all-Italian deal which creates Europe’s second largest bank behind HSBC as two Italian mutual banks agreed to merge. The deals add to the astonishing changes in Italian banking since the resignation in 2005 of Antonio Fazio as Italy’s central bank governor.
UniCredit, Capitalia – and another Italian bank merger?
UniCredit and Capitalia were on Thursday night working through some final obstacles in hopes of finalising an agreement on their all-Italian bank deal at the weekend. An acquisition of Capitalia would give the enlarged UniCredit a market capitalisation of about €100bn and underline the renewed pace of consolidation in the sector,
Prodi hails “dynamism” in Italian banking as Capitalia and Unicredit talk
Capitalia and Unicredit on Tuesday night confirmed that they were in discussions about an all-Italian bank merger as politicians and investors appeared to give any union their blessing, writes Adrian Michaels in Wednesday’s FT.