All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Russian consolidation gathers pace
Much needed consolidation in Russias fragmented banking sector could be catalysed by the recently announced merger of MDM and URSA to form the countrys second-largest private sector banking group after Alfa Bank
A rebrand paying dividends
Over a year after it rebranded itself, Axis Bank, Indias third-largest private sector bank by assets, looks in relatively good shape It posted first half net profits up 82 percent to INR7.3 billion, boosted by growth in low-cost deposits and a strong rise in advances
A UK success story?
National Australia Banks two UK subsidiaries, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank, are enjoying a renaissance despite the woes of the wider UK market, according to Steve Reid, NABs director of UK retail banking He tells Douglas Blakey about the changes NAB UK has gone through in the past five years.In sharp contrast to beleaguered rivals such as Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, National Australia Banks two UK brands Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank and Leeds-based Yorkshire Bank are sitting pretty
The technology power list
Fiserv has nudged Fidelity National Information Services out of the top spot of this years Fintech Top 100 list, recording some $4.4 billion in financial services revenues in 2007 The company, an end-to-end business and technology solution provider for retail financial organisations, consumer finance institutions and credit unions, was ranked first in 2006, 2005 and 2004 but last year was nudged out by Fidelity National Information Services (FNIS)
Vernon’s back
Now, little more than a year after its sale to Toronto-Dominion for $8 billion, Hill is back centre stage with ambitious plans on both sides of the Atlantic, reports Douglas Blakey.Vernon Hill, one of the genuine retail banking stars of the past 30 years and among the industrys most outspoken commentators, is back Little more than a year after the sale of Commerce Bancorp the bank he launched with one branch, nine staff and $1.5 million in capital in 1973 to Canadas Toronto-Dominion (TD) for $8.5 billion (see RBI 580), the charismatic and energetic Hill has announced ambitious plans for new banks in both the US and the UK.
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Japanese interims crash
A wave of the countrys financial institutions are looking to raise capital amid concerns about the global market turmoil extending to Japan, reports Douglas Blakey.The optimistic view prevalent in the first half of 2009 that Japanese banks could escape the worst of the credit turmoil, based largely on their relatively low exposure to the nuclear waste of US sub-prime mortgages, is long gone Japans economy shrank in the third quarter of 2008, potentially entering its first recession since 2001, resulting in the decision of the central bank to trim the benchmark overnight rate to 0.3 percent from 0.5 percent on 31 October.
Danske retail focus helps stability
But while its domestic Danish market is among the healthiest in Europe, Danske has not escaped the worst of the wider market turmoil, as its head of investor relations, Martin Gottlob, tells Douglas Blakey.With a share price fall this year of more than 50 percent, third-quarter profits below analysts expectations, an expensive Danish guarantee programme to part-fund and the fall-out of problems associated with its take over of Sampo Bank, Danske Bank has not endured an easy 2008
Santander sets sights on lucrative UK packaged accounts market
Fresh from securing massive mortgage market share gains and boasting strong growth in retail deposits, Santanders main UK retail subsidiary, Abbey, has turned its guns on the current account market, with the launch of two new packaged accounts.In Abbeys sights are long-standing packaged account market leaders Lloyds TSB and Barclays
PNC becomes fifth-largest US player
The latest major reshaping of the US retail banking landscape PNCs acquisition of the struggling National City for $5.6 billion was more straightforward than JPMorgans firesale purchase of Washington Mutual and the legalistic complexities of Citigroup and Wells Fargos tussle over Wachovia PNC will become the fifth-largest US bank by deposits following the National City purchase, which will add $97.8 billion in deposits to PNCs existing $76.8 billion
Erste set for record Serbian earnings
Douglas Blakey talks to Jasna Terzic, director of retail banking at Erste Bank Serbia While the bank has signalled it expects a slowdown in loan growth, it has reported record earnings for the year to date, increasing its loans and advances by almost a quarter. Despite a marked deterioration in sentiment towards Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in recent weeks, the regions second-largest bank by assets, Austrian-headquartered Erste, has reported continued solid growth in the third quarter, helped mainly by loans expansion in its core CEE markets.