BANKS

Companies 8th January 2015

Botín steers Santander ship into fresh water

MADRID | By Fernando G. Urbaneja | Spanish bank Santander is a powerful battleship, the euro zone´s largest by market cap, one of the world’s leaders, with an outstanding presence on both sides of the Atlantic. It is therefore a complicated engine to move, even slowly. The unexpected death of the company´s chairman, Emilio Botín, in September 2014, brought about the accession of his daughter Ana to the bank´s top post. The younger Botín possesses unquestionable professional credentials, but nonetheless has had to allay fears that any change in leadership can bring about.

In Europe 30th December 2014

EU Banks: Surprises for 2015

MADRID | The Corner | The ECB’s non-conventional measures, the banking restructuration and the adaptation to the new regulation make 2015 a crucial year. According to experts at Morgan Stanley, the many stories about restructuration, dividends and regulatory changes will allow to differentiate the performance of the different assets.

Markets 28th December 2014

Less than 300 people to resolve major eurozone banks’ concerns

BRUSSELS | By Alexandre Mato | Just 15 people will supervise the restructuring and liquidation of financial institutions from the beginning of 2015. The Single Resolution Board (SRB) will be composed of around 50 staff for this important task when it undertakes the remit in the spring.

In Europe 9th December 2014

Greek economy: 2014 is not 2012

ATHENS | By Yiannis Mouzakis via MacroPolis | Since the eurozone crisis kicked off towards the end of 2009 in Greece there has been no other institution that has gained in prominence like the European Central Bank.

Companies 25th November 2014

Ana Botín replaces Santander’s CEO after only 2 years in the job

MADRID | The Corner | Banco Santander CEO Javier Marín will leave eurozone’s largest lender after only two years in the role. Ana Botín, in charge of the bank after her father Emilio Botín died in September, announced Marín’s replacement by Jose Antonio Álvarez, who has spent the past decade as CFO. Ana Botín also made several changes to its board of directors. Shares in Santander rose 1.8% to 7.22 euros in Madrid following the announcement.

Markets 5th November 2014

EU’s low growth hits financials

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Central banks all over Europe bombastically hailed the stress tests results as solid evidence the banking system enjoyed enviable health. Their diagnosis utterly failed to impress the markets. Ten days later, financials are plunging to fresh lows as low growth rates signify dire prospects ahead. Investors feel increasingly uneasy faced with dwarfish interest rates and dwindling intermediary receipts, leading to chronic underperformance and under-sized profits. Many fear that an inability to raise their own funds to plug gaps in their balance sheets might weigh on mounting impairment, sending shivers down the spine. Banks may face rough times ahead should deflationary bouts keep the European economy close to stagnation.

World economy 22nd October 2014

For China’s property market, all is not lost

BEIJING | By Liu Ligang via Caixin | Pessimistic voices are saying China’s property market is nearing a Japan-style collapse of the late 1980s, but this ignores the fact urbanization will continue to create demand for homes.

In Europe 20th October 2014

Greek banks may soon breathe sigh of relief on capital needs

ATHENS | By Manos Giakoumis via MacroPolis | Greek banks are always at the forefront of domestic market developments. Despite the strong rebound of 6.4 percent on Friday, their shares still recorded cumulative losses of 7.8 percent last week and 23.9 percent over the past three months. Concerns about the outcome of the upcoming comprehensive assessment European Central Bank are one of the key factors weighing on investors’ minds.

In Europe 9th October 2014

Eurozone: fundamental flaws

MADRID | By JP Marín Arrese | Potential mismatches between overall demand and supply can provide rather upsetting lessons. As Keynes proved, sticking to stability policies in a recession only widens the gap as slackening demand and production drag each other down in an endless spiraling circle. Moreover, he cast serious doubts on the strategy of combining loose monetary policy with balanced budgets for putting the economy back on track. His liquidity trap theory mirrors Draghi’s current warnings on the ECB’s limits in coping with a huge GDP gap.

Markets 8th October 2014

ECB will push for DTA to be replaced by core capital

MADRID | The Corner | The ECB doesn’t like the idea of allowing banks to use Deferred Tax Assets (DTA) to boost their capital buffers, a practice that was meant to be phased out under new European Union rules. The central lender fears that losses would be imposed on taxpayers should entities run into trouble in the coming years, as the WSJ reported. Even if the ECB doesn’t have the power to change that, and is not likely to make any move before the upcoming stress tests, it might push for DTA to be replaced by core capital.

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