- April 23, 2009 - Commerzbank May Sell Dresdner Units In Switzerland, Luxembourg
Germany’s Commerzbank will have to sell German bank Eurohypo, along with its Dresdner Bank operations in Switzerland and Luxembourg, as part of a state aid package from the German government, according to media reports.
It is understood that the package would see Commerzbank receive a total of €18. 2 billion ($23.
- April 22, 2009 - RBS's Asian Bank Asset Disposals Face Regulatory Snags - Report
Regulatory uncertainties surrounding the sale of Royal Bank of
Scotland’s Asian assets could limit the price that bidders are prepared to offer and possibly delay any divestment, according to people familiar with the sale, the Financial Times said.
The UK bank, which is the parent of private banking businesses Coutts, RBS Coutts and Adam & Co, has started to offload its retail and commercial operations in eight Asian countries. The move has attracted interest from large groups including HSBC, Standard Chartered and ANZ, the Australian bank, as well as smaller domestic players.
- April 21, 2009 - Germany's Allianz Forges Indian Fund Joint Venture
Germany's
Allianz will take a majority stake in an Indian asset management joint venture with financial services firm
Bajaj Finserv, as Europe's largest insurer extends its operations in
India.
The two companies said in a statement yesterday that Allianz Global Investors, the insurer's asset management arm, would take a 51 per cent stake and Bajaj Finserv would hold 49 per cent.
Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Finserv, and Joachim Faber, chief executive of Allianz Global Investors, signed the agreement at a function held at Bajaj Bhawan, Mumbai, yesterday.
- April 21, 2009 - Pictet Aims To Increase Jobs, Sounds Upbeat Business Outlook - Report
Swiss private bank Pictet & Cie aims to add 64 jobs this year to keep pace with its expanding business, the head of its French unit said on Monday, in contrast to many of its rivals, which have had to cut jobs, Reuters reported.
"There's constant growth due to the fact that we had invested in distribution (channels)," Herve Thiard, chief executive of Pictet & Cie France, said in an interview.
Geneva-based Pictet, which has $1.
- April 14, 2009 - Allianz Faces Lawsuit in California Over Auction Rate Securities
A class action is being brought in
California on behalf of those who bought the common shares of certain mutual funds offered by Allianz Global Investors Fund Management.
The complaint says the defendants did not disclose that the funds lacked effective controls and hedges to minimise the risk of loss and risk of liquidity from a large exposure to auction rate securities, a class of debt instrument that has been particularly hard-hit by the credit crunch.
The credit crunch and its aftermath have seen a flurry of lawsuits against financial services companies and investment h.
- April 2, 2009 - Rabobank Strenghthens Structured Products Team
Dutch banking group Rabobank has made three appointments aimed at integrating all trading, structuring and engineering of structured products across all asset classes. Jasper van Wel has been appointed European head of client structured products, Xavier Ducros has been named European head of structuring and Franz Maier is to be global head of financial engineering.
Structured products are widely used by wealth managers for their clients, although this sector has been hit by events such as the bankrutpcy of Lehman Brothers last autumn, as Lehman was a prominent manufacturer.
- March 18, 2009 - Julius Baer Chairman Bullish On Swiss Banks, Shrugs Off Secrecy Fears - Report
Swiss banks should still be able to attract foreign clients currently unnerved by changes to the country's rules on banking secrecy, Julius Baer chairman Raymond Baer said in a newspaper interview.
"International clients will continue to appreciate the financial privacy traditionally anchored in
Switzerland," the chairman of
Switzerland's biggest dedicated wealth manager said in an interview with Finanz und Wirtschaft.
Switzerland last week offered to relax strict bank secrecy in some tax evasion cases in a response to a global crackdown on tax havens that has.
- March 17, 2009 - Northern Trust In Expansive Mood, Says Crisis Will Boost Custody Business
Northern Trust’s wealth management division is setting its sights on the Swiss and Asian markets, as it seeks to exploit what it expects to be a surge in demand for independent custodian banks amid the credit crisis and Bernard Madoff scandal.
The financial turmoil and the Madoff Ponzi scheme fraud will drive demand for independent custodian banks that provide much of the financial “plumbing” to the financial system, a service that, like plumbing, tends to be most valued when there is a breakdown, Douglas Regan, president, wealth management group at the Chicago-based bank, said in a. .
- March 13, 2009 - Australian Bank Slashes Dividend, Does Not See Mass Job Cuts - Report
National Australia Bank, which includes a wealth management operation, will cut its dividend for the first time in 18 years and restructure its institutional business to secure the bank against the economic downturn, but does not anticipate mass jobs cuts, according to the
Canberra Times.
New NAB chief executive
Cameron Clyne signalled yesterday he wanted to adopt a stronger focus on the group's businesses in
Australia, where the economy is faring better than others, the publication said. Mr Clyne said NAB will intensify its focus on its Australian franchise by growing it.
- March 11, 2009 - Allianz Launches European Equity Dividend Fund
Allianz Global Investors, the asset management unit of the German insurers, is launching the Allianz RCM European Equity Dividend fund, to be managed by investment platform RCM. The fund will invest in the stocks of high quality, European blue chip companies and will aim for a high but sustainable level of income.
Neil Dwane, European chief investment officer at RCM, and Joerg de Vries-Hippen, co-chief investment officer of European equities at RCM, will co-manage.
