All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
Barclays is back
UK retail division will now benefit from an ambitious overhaul of its branch network.After years in the doldrums, when its UK retail arm posted sluggish growth, Barclays has launched an impressive fightback Erin Biertzer, the banks director of distribution, tells Douglas Blakey its re-energisedWhile Barclays has made no secret of its determination to allocate capital to the emerging markets in the past two years alone it has doubled its branch and sales points network outside the UK the UKs third-largest bank is enjoying a dramatic renaissance in its domestic retail market
Europe’s banks up focus on insurance
Facing significant pressure on some business lines such as mortgages and credit cards banks in Europe are putting more of their focus on insurance as a revenue driver According to research by RBI, looking at 10 of the biggest financial services groups in Europe, the contribution insurance made to group revenue grew on average 20 percent between H108 and H107.
All change in Germany
The biggest acquisition in German banking history has been agreed, as Allianz cuts its losses and sells Dresdner Bank to Commerzbank for 9.8 billion seven years after it paid 21 billion in an effort to build a bancassurance giant
Products key to Pekao plans
UniCredits Polish subsidiary Bank Pekao already the countrys largest bank in terms of assets, consumer credits and deposits, with a branch network of over 1,050 units and more than 5 million retail customers has unveiled an ambitious business plan for the next three years as it looks to maintain its market-leading position.
A confident future
Douglas Blakey talks to Alexey Marey, head of retail banking at Alfa Bank, Russias largest privately owned banking group Marey explains how superior customer service, product innovation and a big investment in multi-channel distribution will keep Alfa ahead and fend off competition from international raiders. In contrast to a number of its Russian banking peers which have welcomed strategic investment from Western raiders (see RBI 588), Alfa Bank has jealously guarded its independence and faces the future with confidence.
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The worst of the worst M&A deals?
Allianzs sale of Dresdner to Commerzbank for 9.8 billion ($13.8 billion) underscored the disastrous nature of the original purchase of the banking subsidiary in 2001 (see All change in Germany) It acquired Dresdner for 21 billion, in what is now regarded as one of the worst banking deals of the past decade, believing the bancassurance model would pay dividends.
Tesco threatens to put the retail into UK retail banking
Tesco, the UKs largest grocery and retailing store (and worlds third-largest after Wal-Mart and Carrefour), has taken full ownership of its £2 billion ($4 billion) banking joint venture from the Royal Bank of Scotland and announced plans to expand aggressively into all areas of retail banking. The company plans to put branches into its larger stores, expand its online distribution it already sells over 55 percent of its banking products online and add new products such as mortgages and current accounts to its established insurance, credit card and personal loan business lines.
Riding the wave
Bradesco, the largest private sector bank, is leading the charge, expanding its retail banking business lines and its already-vast distribution network as it looks to bring Brazils 190 million consumers into the banking mainstream.
Using humour to grow the brand
Douglas Blakey talks to Jedrzej Marciniak, Bank Zachodni WBKs head of brand management and investor relations, about the banks ambitious plans to double its domestic retail banking market share in Poland by 2012 Product innovation and an expanded branch network will be key as will British comedian John Cleese.Irelands largest banking group, Allied Irish Banks (AIB), posted a robust set of figures for the first half (a pre-tax profit of $1.89 billion down by only 1 percent compared with the same period last year)
PNC, Wells Fargo show their class
Despite the rapid collapse of IndyMac Bank, growing concerns over the health of around 100 other US banks, more regulatory and criminal investigations over lending practices in the run up to the subprime collapse, and widespread unease over the long-term viability and solvency of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, interim figures from the major US banking groups were not as downright terrible as many analysts feared. A truly awful set of second-quarter figures from Wachovia and WaMu, which reported the biggest quarterly losses in their histories ($8.9 billion and $3.33 billion, respectively), led to an initial surge in their share prices.