04 Mar 2005 05:56 AM

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.79% for the week ending March 3, from 5.69% last week, according

02 Mar 2005 05:02 PM

Aiming at greater efficiency, the two world banks, Citibank and HSBC, are introducing a single platform for their legacy payment. HSBC is striving to meet the European Union’s demands for low-cost cross-border payments between EU member states and is opening three major processing centers in the US, the UK and in Hong Kong. Citibank has launched its UK processing center, with another center in Frankfurt, Germany, to go live

28 Feb 2005 05:56 PM

US banks are to spend $118 billion on IT in 2005, more than in the previous year, while spending by financial services firms is predicted to grow by 4.7 per cent per year through 2008 up to 136 billion, according to the TowerGroup. Banks will account for the largest chunk of spending in 2005, at USD 50 billion, with insurance companies at USD 36 billion and securities / investment firms in third place at USD 31 billion. Payments, security

28 Feb 2005 10:52 AM

HSBC, a major UK bank that operates in Europe, Asia and the Americas, has announced record profits in 2004, but the bank’s shares lost 2% ending at 875 p on the news that Amicus, Britain’s biggest private sector union, is going to call for a strike to push the bank management to revise its compensation policies.

25 Feb 2005 04:38 PM

Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui assured on Thursday that the central bank would not bring down its target for liquidity despite the bank’s recent difficulties in pumping excess cash into the financial system. Mr. Fukui said there was no chance that liquidity in the system would fall below the central bank’s target. Some

23 Feb 2005 11:03 AM

Weakened lending controls could help promote nonbank lending, providing a source of funding for small and midsize firms and individual borrowers, said a senior official of China’s central bank. Easing some controls on lending would help promote financing through "social funds," said Wu Xiaoling, central bank vice governor.

23 Feb 2005 10:49 AM

South Korea’s central bank said it has no option to sell its dollar holdings so far. The dollar rose on the news. The dollar traded at 104.45 yen at 8:07 p.m. EST, 0.4% rise during the day and 1.5% surge as compared with Tuesday. The euro was at 138.40 yen, gaining 0.4% in the day.

23 Feb 2005 10:44 AM

Banking executives worldwide regard the costs of regulation as the greatest threats to their business, a study has found. A survey of 440 bankers and banking experts in 54 countries in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia found that "too much regulation” was cited as the biggest threat to bank profitability.

22 Feb 2005 05:24 PM

Bank of America Corp. plans to sign a deal with Société Générale SA of France on selling a financing unit, according to the people familiar with the matter. The unit finances so called "fund-of-fund" companies that make investments in a number of hedge funds on behalf of institutional investors and wealthy families. Despite Bank of America’s attempts to shrink certain hedge-fund-related businesses, people familiar with the matter

21 Feb 2005 06:05 PM

Citigroup’s Chief Executive Officer Chuck Prince released a five-point plan with emphasis on staff training and independence, according to an internal memo. The move from the world’s largest bank follows a high-profile bond-trading debacle in Europe and loss of its private

21 Feb 2005 02:51 PM

The Bank of England on Wednesday upped its projection for British inflation over the next two years warning that inactive consumer spending remained the main risk to economic growth. The Bank’s quarterly inflation report presented a mixed picture for interest rates in the coming year. Sterling fell

19 Feb 2005 12:03 PM

Nomura Holdings Inc. of Japan and London-based Rothschild group joined their efforts in merger-and-acquisition advisory services, inspiring optimism that the number of Japanese companies engaged in cross-border deals will grow in number. The

18 Feb 2005 01:50 PM

Barclays PLC, accused of deceiving German Lender HSN Nordbank of derivatives trade, has settled a legal dispute with HSM one week prior to official court sitting. According to the legal claim filed in September, Barclays’ fraud on derivative trade cost HSH $150 million. Negotiations on the settlement of this matter intensified recently during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

17 Feb 2005 05:24 PM

The French Treasury reproached Citigroup Inc. for bank’s multibillion-dollar “Dr.Evil” bond trade in August doing harm to the European markets. "Citigroup created havoc in European government-bond markets," said Bertrand de Mazières, chief executive of the

17 Feb 2005 03:46 PM

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.62% from 5.57% for the week ending Feb. 17, according to Freddie Mac.