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Citigroup Upgrades Royal Bank of Scotland, Downgrades Barclays

Mark Fightmaster — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades, Lloyds TSB Group plc ADS (LYG), Barclays plc ADS (BCS)

Citigroup decided to take some action on banks, upgrading Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to buy from hold, and cutting Barclays (BCS) to hold from buy. Citigroup cited valuation as the main reason for the RBS upgrade. In the U.K., RBS finished the day nearly 1.3% higher.

The brokerage firm said it downgraded Barclays because in its view "the 'new' theme that the first-half 2010 results highlighted is the effects that economic deleveraging is having on the loan books and revenues of the banks." Citigroup added that "A much higher proportion of revenues are linked to new business levels than are costs. To tackle this earnings threat, banks need a combination of pricing power, margin expansion and a strong cost story." In overseas trade, BCS finished the day more than 1% lower.

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Citigroup Upgrades Royal Bank of Scotland, Downgrades Barclays originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Government Gave Bank Regulators Millions in Bonuses During Financial Meltdown

Connie Madon — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Management, Scandals, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis

During the 2003 -- 06 boom years, three agencies, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave out millions of dollars in bonuses to regulators of these agencies.

The bonuses were supposedly given out for "superior" performance. Records show that at least $19 million in bonuses was awarded.

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Government Gave Bank Regulators Millions in Bonuses During Financial Meltdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CEO turnover down, not out

Tom Johansmeyer — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST

Filed under: Management, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), CIT Group (CIT)

It's still a tough time to be a CEO. In October, 89 top dogs moved on (by choice or not). Though this is 15% lower than the 105 in September and 29% off the whopping 125 CEOs who turned over a year earlier, it's still a sign that "stability" doesn't equal "recovery."

The latest study that Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed to BloggingStocks reports that October was the eighth month this year in which CEO turnover was down year-over-year. Through the end of last month, 1,028 CEO positions changed hands -- down 18% from the 1,257 by the same point in 2008. In fact, the tally for the first 10 months of 2009 is the lowest since 2004, when the big office found only 561 new inhabitants.

The financial industry remains the toughest place for CEOs, with 19 leaving the job last month. Even though the situation has gotten easier, this industry still has the highest turnover. For the year, approximately 10% of all CEO departures (106) have been in the financial sector. "The financial industry is still incredibly volatile, as both October and September saw major announcements from leading companies including JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and last month's bankruptcy of CIT Group, which led to the exit of CEO Jeffrey Peek," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says.

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CEO turnover down, not out originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bernanke is going on a buying spree with your money

Connie Madon — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Market Matters, Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee minutes reveal that the Fed is going on a buying spree. The Fed plans to buy $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage backed securities, $200 billion of agency debt by the end of the year, and $300 billion of Treasury securities.

One can only guess from these numbers that the Fed is extremely worried about the financial sector and is still trying to prop up the banks by buying their junk securities to get them off the hook.

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Bernanke is going on a buying spree with your money originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. and European central bankers meet to discuss woes

Connie Madon — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST

Filed under: Industry, Annual Meetings, Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Financial Crisis

Every January, central bankers from the U.S. and Europe meet to discuss the financial industry's issues and problems.

This year's meeting in Basel is especially unique in that it takes place in a post-crisis setting. To emphasize its importance, chief executive bankers from JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), UBS (NYSE: UBS) and Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) have been invited. The presence of this wide array of key executives underscores the importance and need to hammer out guidelines for central bankers in the U.S. and Europe.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which sets world banking regulations, has signalled plans to encourage banks to hold greater capital assets in the future and to make provisions for future bad debts throughout the economic cycle. They are also working on guidelines to ensure that banks hold greater liquidity reserves than they do now.

What is your opinion on these guidelines? Is it too little, too late?

U.S. and European central bankers meet to discuss woes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bank of America, Citigroup takeover targets? Pschaw.

Sarah Gilbert — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 15:29:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Wachovia Corp (WB)

I worked at Wachovia Corporation (NYSE:WB)'s predecessor, First Union, in the heady early years of banking consolidation. My boyfriend at the time worked for the cross-town rival, NationsBank, now Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC). Our bosses were married, coincidentally, so we got lots of peaks into the personalities behind some of the biggest banks in the country. At the time, I was in Loan Syndications, meaning that each month brought a new opportunity to meet & greet the local frontliners in all the world's banks -- and every time a new bank acquisition came across the pike, we had both one fewer contact and instant access into merger scuttlebutt.

Let's just say that, when I read in the Chicago Tribune about the Morgan Stanley report claiming that both Bank of America and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) were leading takeover targets, I said (much like blogger Ticker Sense), what the flip? Hardly. Not only, as Ticker Sense points out, are Bank of America and Citigroup the fourth- and fifth-largest companies in the country, and as a result: entirely too big to be bought out. But, also, it's just not in their corporate personalities. Hugh McColl, longtime CEO of Bank of America and, though he's retired, a manager whose spirit will always be redolent in the corporate decision-making, is a buyer, not a seller. He and his counterparts at Citigroup have been locked in a battle of one-ups-manship to secure the title of biggest bank in the nation for years, and neither would be likely to give up said title for a little (questionable, in the huge conglomerate that would result from any acquisition) value for shareholders.

There's going to be no takeover here, not with Bank of America or Citigroup at the short end of the stick. Maybe the two company's stocks are cheap (Bank of America closed today at $54.56, a decline of 7 cents and only a dollar away from its 52-week high; while Citigroup closed at $50.31, a $0.46 decline, and also about a dollar away from 52-week high), but that says "buying opportunity" to me, not "takeover target."

Want to buy a buyout possibility? Now Wachovia ... that's a possibility.

Bank of America, Citigroup takeover targets? Pschaw. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Nov 2006 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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