All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Sallie Mae launches first retail products
US-based education loan management company, Sallie Mae, the holder of a banking charter since 2005, has launched its first two retail banking products: an online savings account offering an interest rate of 1.35% and online certificates of deposit (CD). Sallie Mae vice-president of retail deposits Kelly Christiano, said in a statement it was critical for Sallie Mae to offer an expanded range of products so that it could help more conservative investors save for further education.
Northern Rock slashes losses, eyes unit sale
Nationalised UK lender Northern Rock narrowed its losses to £257.4m ($383m) in fiscal 2009 from a deficit of £1.36bn the previous year, despite a 23% increase in loan impairments to £1.1bn. The results represented the failed lenders last consolidated earnings following its division on 1 January into two parts: a small retail bank incorporating £19.5bn of retail deposits and £10bn of mortgages and a so-called bad bank containing £50bn of riskier assets including mortgage loans.
Pandit stresses Citi’s mass affluent focus
In an upbeat presentation, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit told analysts the bank was on track to return to profitability But Pandits comments related to the already profitable Citicorp unit, with little information given as to progress in disposing of assets at its non-core Citi Holdings unit
QNB and MasterCard launch co-branded card
Qatar National Bank (QNB) has partnered with MasterCard to roll out the QNB Qatar Airways Titanium MasterCard credit card. The first MasterCard Titanium card programme in Qatar, the card offers a range of benefits, including insurance packages, extended warranty options and airport lounge access as part of Qatar Airways loyalty programme. In addition to accumulating Qmiles 1 Qmile for every QAR8 spent ($2.20) cardholders will also have access to MasterCard Moments, an exclusive online repository of privileges.
Thanachart snaps up rival Siam City
Thanachart Bank, part-owned by Scotiabank, Canadas self-styled most international bank, is to pay $2.2bn for Siam City Bank to become the fifth-largest bank in Thailand by assets and branches
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Attijari profits up 26%, eyes African growth
Moroccos largest lender, Attijariwafa Bank, has posted net profits for fiscal 2009 of MAD3.9bn ($474.4m), an increase of 26.4% compared with the previous year, on a 20.9% increase of revenue to MAD13.3bn. In the past year, the bank has grown its branch network by almost 25% to 1,806 outlets serving 4.2m customers; it has set a target of serving 6m clients by 2012.
EPC publishes annual report
The European Payments Council (EPC), the coordination and decision-making body of the European payments industry, has highlighted substantial progress achieved in delivering several initiatives for the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) within its 2009 annual report. In November 2009, the EPC successfully launched the SEPA Core Direct Debit Scheme and the SEPA Business to Business Direct Debit Scheme
UK credit card reforms to “save consumers millions”
The UK Cards Association, which represents the countrys credit card industry, and the UK government have agreed a range of measures which they say will save consumers millions of pounds and give them more control over their finances.
Emirates NBD launches range of Visa debit cards
In addition to a standard debit card for the mass market sector, it has rolled out a platinum debit card targeted at the mass affluent segment, the Infinite debit card for the private banking segment and a business banking debit card catering to SME’s.
Virgin Money launches charity credit card
Virgin Money has launched its first product since it gained a banking licence in January: a credit card which will help raise money for charity. The Virgin Charity Credit Card will donate the equivalent of 1 percent of all spending to a charity of the cardholders choice, unlike the majority of existing charity cards which are affiliated to a specific charity. According to Virgin, it is the only card issuer adding Gift Aid to all donations, increasing the amount of money the charity gets by 28 percent for UK taxpayers.