All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
ING beats forecasts, denies Australian unit on the block
ING has posted a net profit for the three months to 31 March of 1.38bn ($2.03bn), an increase of 12.2% from the same period last year. On an underlying basis before tax, gross profit at INGs banking division increased by 32.2% to 1.69bn; profit before tax at the insurance unit almost quadrupled to 461m.
BNP Paribas’ Q1 net profit rises by 14.6%
BNP Paribas (BNPP) has posted a net profit of 2.62bn ($3.89bn)for the three months to 31 March, an increase of 14.6% from the same period a year ago. Pre-tax profit at BNPPs retail division increased by 25.2% year-on-year to 1.6bn.
Erste Q1 net profit increases by 2.1%
Erste has posted a net profit of 260.6m ($387.7m), an increase of 2.1% from the same period a year ago, for the three months to 31 March. Erstes net interest income declined by 2.1% to 1.29bn following a 15 basis point fall in the net interest margin from 3.03% a year ago to 2.88%.
Barclays Q1 profit down by 5%
Barclays has posted a first quarter net profit of £1.24bn ($2.04bn)for the three months to 31 March, down 5% from the corresponding period a year ago. But profits before tax at Barclays Retail and Business Banking division increased by 21% year-on-year to £692m. UK retail profit before tax also rose by 21%, to £288m (2010: £238m) but Barclays retail unit in Europe fell to a first quarter loss of £59m, compared with a profit of £17m in the year-ago quarter.
A work in progress
Customer attrition has become a key issue in a low-growth retail banking environment, so best-practice banks have taken a methodical approach to managing customer loyalty
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Emirates NBD posts Q1 net profit increase of 27%
Emirates NBD has recorded net income of AED1.4bn ($381.2m) for the three months to 31 March, an increase of 27% from the corresponding period last year Less positive was a 5% year-on-year decline in Emirates NBDs net interest income for the quarter to AED1.65bn; non-interest income recorded a year-on-year decline of 26% to AED612m. Impairment charges in the first quarter of AED1.37bn were up 140% from the same period a year ago.
Nedbank implements FICO Model Builder
Nedbank is to implement FICOs Model Builder tool across its retail business to develop predictive models, including models needed for compliance with Basel regulations Douglas Blakey speaks with John Linfield, head of the retail credit lab at Nedbank, about how the tool will simplify audit and governance processes. Nedbank, the smallest of South Africas Big Four banks and the weakest in terms of retail market share, has gone live with FICOs Model Builder 7.1 software modelling solution.
US: customer satisfaction on the up
Once again, smaller banks outperform their larger counterparts, with Bank of America in the bottom 3 in 10 out of the 11 regional surveys
Mashreq unveils rewards programme
UAE-based lender Mashreq has rolled out one of the regions most innovative rewards programmes to promote its strategy of retaining and developing primary relationships with its existing customers. The loyalty scheme Salaam by Mashreq rewards customers with benefits by means of financial and lifestyle rewards via two key programme pillars, Salaam Mosaic and Salaam Rewards. According to Mashreq, Salaam Mosaic has been designed as a “revolutionary financial tool that visually demonstrates the power of consolidating a banking relationship with Mashreq.
Driving forward innovation
At the end of last year, Citigroup head-hunted Tracey Weber from bookseller Barnes & Noble to take over as managing director of internet and mobile for its North America consumer banking division