All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Spanish bail out fund to recapitalise 3 lenders
In the first quarter, the central bank said that all 114 registered financial institutions in Spain required to have a level of core capital of at least 8% of risk-weighted assets.
Shinsei Bank Card Loan-Lake: launch fixed for 1 October
Japan-based Shinsei Bank will begin offering its new unsecured personal card loan service, Shinsei Bank Card Loan Lake, from 1 October The product roll-out marks the full-scale launch of a new bank-based personal loan service, under the Shinsei Bank Card Loan Lake brand. Shinsei will become the first bank in Japan to offer full-scale unsecured card loan services for retail banking customers through a large-scale unmanned branch network.
NBNK statement confirms bid lodged for 632 Lloyds branches
Private equity banking start-up NBNK has confirmed that it has lodged a second round bid for the 632 Lloyds Banking Group branches being sold by the UKs largest retail bank. NBNK was formed for the purpose of making acquisitions in order to establish a significant UK retail bank and confirms that it has submitted a bid.
Editor’s letter: Select opportunity for Santander
If Santander can tap into the growing mass-affluent segment Latin America is being used as a launch pad for a wider marketing effort around the world it really could be onto a winner.
Ally drops ‘love’ to focus on ‘sense’
Ally Bank has rolled out an ad campaign focused on the notion of people sense the idea that the bank is centred on doing right by customers.
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Customer satisfaction lowest in Brazil
Retail banking customer satisfaction in Brazil ranks bottom of five major banking countries surveyed by marketing consultancy JD Power. According to the 2011 Brazil Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Index, low customer satisfaction is mainly due to customers experiencing problems with their lenders. In Brazil, 34% of customers surveyed say they had a problem with their bank
Capital One, Bank of Montreal, First Niagara on the up
Capital One, Bank of Montreal and First Niagara are among the biggest movers in the US top 50 banks taking into account acquisitions announced during the third quarter
Payments growth highlights resilience
Now in its seventh year, the World Payments Report from Capgemini, Royal Bank of Scotland and the European Financial Marketing Association assesses the state of the payments business as it faces challenges from more regulation, economic and competitive headwinds, technology advances, and customer expectations.
Santander linked with dropping US Sovereign brand
A spokeswoman for Spains largest bank, Santander, has declined to comment on US press speculation that it is set to drop its Sovereign Bank brand in the US. She told RBI that Santander would not comment on a story in The Boston Globe that Sovereign would adopt the corporate identity of its banking parent as early as next year. Sovereign Bank ended the second quarter of the current fiscal with deposits of $47bn and assets $93bn, the 20th largest US bank by that measure.
Yorkshire, N&P merger approved
Yorkshire and Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) Building Societies have confirmed that the Financial Services Authority has given its approval to the proposed merger between the societies.