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Tag: financial services

Nigeria asks investors to throw good money into its bad bank

Mar 28, 2013 3:48pm by Andrew Bowman
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Two years on from the start of its cleanup operation for Nigeria’s banking crisis, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) – the country’s ‘bad bank’ – is courting foreign investors.

Since its establishment in 2010, Amcon has issued five series of zero-coupon bonds with a combined face value of just under N5.7tn – that’s almost $36bn – which it has used to buy non-performing loans and recapitalise struggling banks. The first series – face value N1.7tn ($11bn) – matures in December 2013, and with African sovereign debt in high demand, Amcon is considering turning to international markets for refinancing. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Africa, Nigeria |

Nigeria’s banks: a rosy 2013 in store?

Mar 18, 2013 5:33pm by Rob Minto
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Or he could take it to the bank

In the last few years Nigeria’s banks have been to the bottom and back again, with the 2009 crisis, bailouts, mergers and the creation of a bad bank, Amcon. So is 2013 the year when they get a chance to shine?

According to a report from rating agency Standard & Poors, The Nigerian Banking Sector Outlook 2013: At The Start Of A New Cycle, the mixture of strong economic growth in Nigeria and political stability should underpin a year of expansion. Could anything go wrong? Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Africa, Nigeria |

Citi to sign out of Brazil card business

Mar 8, 2013 12:57am by Joe Leahy
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Another foreign bank is looking to exit at least part of its business in Latin America – this time Citi with its Brazil credit card division.

Brazilian newspaper Valor Econômico reports that the local branch of Santander and domestic institution Bradesco are interested in the division, called Credicard. The group is said to be looking to sell the card unit and its consumer finance division, Credicard Financiamentos, for R$1bn and R$1.5bn in time to clock the sale in its first quarter results. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Brazil’s football coach tackles bankers

Nov 29, 2012 9:17pm by Samantha Pearson
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Football bosses are not normally ones to mince their words, but Brazil’s new coach really surpassed himself on Thursday. Luiz Felipe Scolari, or Felipão (Big Phil) as he’s known, has only been in the job a few hours but he’s already managed to spark a national scandal, it seems.

At a press conference to announce his appointment, the former Chelsea manager was asked about the pressure the Brazilian team would be under to win the World Cup on their home turf in 2014. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Indian brokers pay $1.8m to settle with SEC over alleged registration violations

Nov 27, 2012 6:52pm by Pan Kwan Yuk
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Whoops, looks like some Indian brokerages got a bit ahead of themselves in trying to attract US investors.

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged four financial services firms in India for providing brokerage services to US institutional investors without being registered. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Asia, India |

Hungary repels S&P’s charges

Nov 26, 2012 1:31pm by Kester Eddy
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The Hungarian government of Viktor Orban puts great stress on the country’s history and culture: hence the lead story on the government website on Monday was of a squadron of hussars – light cavalry – parading in a show of pomp and colour around Buda’s Castle District on Saturday.

Good for local pride, perhaps, but buried six stories below (and only in Hungarian), was an item from late Friday that might have more bearing on the local pocket – the official riposte to Standard & Poor’s downgrading Hungary from BB+ to BB, with the outlook changing from negative to stable. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Europe, Hungary |

Guest post: Fulfilling Myanmar’s economic promise

Oct 18, 2012 4:08am by beyondbrics
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By Elizabeth Buse of Visa Inc

After years of international isolation, the government of Myanmar has a golden opportunity to create a fully-inclusive financial system. It should take it. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, Myanmar |

Banco Cruzeiro: good riddance

Sep 14, 2012 9:42pm by Samantha Pearson
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It may be one of the sturdiest in the world, but Brazil’s banking system can still be a rather unpleasant place for investors.

After three months of looking for a buyer for the mid-sized bankrupt lender, Banco Cruzeiro do Sul, the central bank gave up on Friday and announced it would liquidate the bank. It also shut down Banco Prosper, which Cruzeiro do Sul had been in the process of buying. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Bancolombia adds $1.2bn to war chest

Sep 10, 2012 6:54pm by Andres Schipani
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The ballyhoo sparked by the peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government dominated headlines last week, shadowing a banking milestone: Bancolombia borrowed a record $1.15bn in international debt markets. It also added $50m more during Asian market hours, bringing it to a total of $1.2bn. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Colombia, LatAm |

Santander Mexico IPO: will others follow?

Sep 7, 2012 12:30am by Adam Thomson
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Could Banco Santander’s partial float of its local subsidiary on Mexico’s stock market be the start of a trend? This week, the Spanish-based bank launched a listing of its Mexican arm, which at the top end of its pricing range, would value the Mexican operation at more than US$17bn.

The plan is to list about 25 per cent of the subsidiary – 20 per cent of that on the Mexican stock exchange and the remaining 80 per cent in New York via American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in LatAm, Mexico |

Venezuela’s Banesco makes foray into Colombia

Sep 6, 2012 9:43pm by Benedict Mander
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Hugo Chávez is not dearly loved by Venezuela’s business community, who have to negotiate a web of regulations and controls, not to mention put up with the constant threat of expropriation hanging over them.

But things are going all right for Banesco, Venezuela’s second biggest bank which on Thursday confirmed that it will set up operations in Colombia after getting the green light from regulators in the neighbouring country. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in Colombia, LatAm, Venezuela |

Airtel to sell Sanlam insurance in Africa

Sep 4, 2012 4:51pm by Neil Munshi
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India’s Bharti Airtel – the world’s fifth largest telecoms company by customer base – on Tuesday announced a tie-up with South African financial services group Sanlam to distribute insurance and healthcare funding products.

The agreement will see Sanlam selling its life, general and health insurance products through Airtel’s network in seven countries: Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Malawi and Nigeria. Analysts said that while it might not boost profits at Airtel’s still struggling African operations, it is a sound move in a competitive market. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in India, South Africa |

Amber Gold: all that glitters…

Aug 13, 2012 7:24pm by Jan Cienski
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The collapse of Amber Gold, an unregulated Polish lender and investment firm which on Monday announced it was liquidating itself, is denting the perception of both the common sense of Polish investors as well as the effectiveness of Poland’s financial markets regulators.

On the investor side, the hunt for above-market earnings in a low interest rate environment is common around the world, but when a firm offers 16.5 per cent “guaranteed” returns for investments in gold and other precious metals, even the greediest investor should approach with caution. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , , Posted in Europe, Poland |

Brazil’s Caixa: lend, lend, lend

Aug 10, 2012 12:41am by Joe Leahy
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Brazil bulls. They do exist. Beyondbrics has found one in the form of Caixa Economico, the Brazilian bank wholly owned by the government.

The country’s largest mortgage lender on Thursday said it planned to increase its loan book by a whopping 42 per cent this year as it looks to take advantage of its private sector rivals’ retrenchment. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , , Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Czech banks: a beacon of stability

Jul 31, 2012 8:15pm by Nicholas Watson
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The average Czech’s financial conservatism is legendary – and Tuesday’s first-half results from Erste Group Bank perfectly illustrate this.

The Austrian bank, which together with Raiffeisen Bank International and UniCredit Group, make up the triumvirate of emerging Europe’s largest lenders, reported first-half operating profit down 11 per cent to €1.75bn as the bank was unable to cut costs at a fast enough rate to make up for the 6.7 per cent decline in revenue. Continue reading »

Tags: , , , Posted in Czech Republic, Europe |
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Number of the day

-0.2% Fall in Polish retail sales in April, rather worse than 1.1 per cent growth expected.

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