All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
HSBC eyes up majority stake in South Africa’s Nedbank
It is the smallest of South Africas Big Four banks and the weakest in terms of retail market share, but Nedbank is set to be snapped up by HSBC. In the cards loans and advances sector, for example, Nedbank has a market share of only 13%; First National Bank (FNB) has 20% while market leaders Standard Bank and Absa have 33% and 26% respectively.
US credit card spend at 20-year high
US credit cardholders spending is at a 20-year high, according to Mail Monitor, the syndicated credit card tracking service from market researchers Synovate.
HSBC awards data integration deal to Experian
HSBC has selected data integration software from Experian, the global decision analytics business, to support the banks lending decisions around the world.
European interims offer moderate cheer
Europes leading banking groups have reported a mixed set of results, with standout performances notable from a number of lenders including HSBC, BNP Paribas and Socit Gnrale But the common theme of the interim results was one of caution as regards growth prospects for the rest of 2010
Fees threaten dash from debit to cash
Introducing fees on debit cards in the US will force the majority of cardholders to use cash instead, according to a report from Mercator Advisory Group. The study, sponsored by the National Payment Card Association (NPCA), reported that a $10 monthly fee would result in the majority of cardholders suspending use of debit cards. Of the 1,000 US adults surveyed, more than three quarters earning over $75,000 said they would stop using their cards across all store types should fees be introduced.
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First Direct tops Which? survey
turns its attention to the UKs retail banking sector, the nations financial institutions swallow hard, take a deep breath and read the results with more than passing interest. In its latest bank customer satisfaction survey, HSBCs direct banking subsidiary First Direct came top in three of the four categories current accounts, savings and mortgages giving it an average score of 82%.
M-banking texts to treble to 90bn a year by 2015
Mobile banking service text messages will treble to 90bn per year by 2015, if banking lenders utilise new message-based services, according to a report from consultants Jupiter. The study forecasts that mobile banking users could receive one text message every two days, if mobile banking lenders exploit the possibility of new services. As well as using text messages to deliver basic banking alerts the report said that messages could be sent during applications for products such as mortgages and loans to increase efficiency.
ING to develop a full service UK bank
Since setting up shop in the UK in 2003, Dutch-headquartered online banking pioneer ING Direct has been a financial disaster, losing more than 254m in the process Now, it is fighting back and plans to fill in the gaps in its UK product line-up to become a full service bank
ICBC posts H1 net profit up 27.3%
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Chinas biggest lender, has posted a net profit of CNY84.6bn ($14.43bn), up 27.3% from the year ago period. Net interest income grew by 24% to CNY143.3bn, but lending growth of only 10% (down from 19% a year earlier) highlighted the slowing demand for credit. In the six months to 30 June, ICBCs non-performing loans balance and NPL ratio declined for the 11th consecutive year
Lloyds attracts almost 2,000 complaints a day
The UKs biggest retail banking group, Lloyds, received 288,717 customer complaints in the six months to 30 June, almost 2,000 complaints every working day.