finance

european banks2

80% of European banks beat expectations in pre-tax profit, +35% year-on-year and +4% quarter-on-quarter

Morgan Stanley: This has been another quarter in which banks have once again posted excellent results. 80% of banks beat in terms of PBT, up +35% year-on-year and +4% quarter-on-quarter, with capital beat also 830bps better, and no signs of deterioration in asset quality (provisions were -26% below our expectations and cost of risk remains conservative at around 55bps in 2023. The management teams highlighted that in deposits the mix…


Luis Solana

Luis Solana: “Finance and energy sectors need to be closely monitored” (I)

MADRID | By Fernando Barciela | As the election day approaches, we bring you a series of special interviews focused on economic perspectives for the EU citizens and companies. Today we focus on the telecom sector, which is experiencing a deep transformation in the continent. Former chairman of Spanish Telefonica Luis Solana, currently responsible for the company’s entrepreneurship activities, comments on the main challenges ahead, as well as the need of surveillancance over the EU banking and energy sectors, and the inevitable downsizing of the welfare state in the region. Nonetheless, he was a socialist elected MP in Spain for five years during the transition period.


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“Financial development can become a drag on growth”

NOTE: The following article is based on a paper by Economic Adviser at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Stephen G. Cecchetti and his colleague Enisse Kharroubi. The full publication is available at BIS website. You can also download it here. One of the principal conclusions of modern economics is that finance is good for growth. But recent experience has led many people to question whether this conclusion is definitive….


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ACS’ Edmonton highway construction project gets financial go ahead

MADRID | Spain’s ACS Group confirmed the financing for the construction of the Edmonton highway in Alberta, Canada, was in after the success of an initial bond issuance that obtained 500 million of Canadian dollars or €380 million. It is a 34-year duration contract valued at €1.4 billion. The financial City of Madrid welcomed the news as a proof that capital is still available for attractive projects. Foreign deals will…


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UK emerging SMEs to receive EU funds

LONDON | The UK’s Coalition government launched Tuesday a new joint enterprise capital fund that will invest at least £40 million in high-growth potential small and medium sized companies in the country. The fund is called Notion Capital and is the eleventh and largest finance support programme for SMEs in the European Union. According to the official press release, a total of £62.9m has already been committed to it from the…


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Bankers, ministers, economists: you’d have to be out of your mind to fix the crisis

WASHINGTON | Our brains do not seem to have been made for a modern-day economy. They are much better suited for deciding among a limited —a very limited— set of options. This could make sense when we were living in caves —for several tens of thousands years, let’s not forget—, and the main selection we had to make was to pick a partner to mate with or a mammoth to take…


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BofA's political football

NEW YORK | Bank of America’s decision to charge customers $5 a month to use their debit cards starting sometime next year has risen an enormous outrage in the US. The company’s stock price has fallen (as of October 4, earnings estimates had fallen to 19 cents a share from 27 cents on Aug. 1). Customers have complained. The bank’s website has experienced significant problems that some believe might be…


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BofA’s political football

NEW YORK | Bank of America’s decision to charge customers $5 a month to use their debit cards starting sometime next year has risen an enormous outrage in the US. The company’s stock price has fallen (as of October 4, earnings estimates had fallen to 19 cents a share from 27 cents on Aug. 1). Customers have complained. The bank’s website has experienced significant problems that some believe might be…