DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Shares of Italy's UniCredit jump 10% and hit eight-year high on earnings beat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A logo on the UniCredit SpA headquarters in Milan, Italy, on Saturday Jan. 22, 2022. Shares of Italian bank UniCredit hit their highest level since 2015 on Monday, after announcing that it would return 8.6 billion euros ($9.2 billion) to investors on the back of higher-than-expected profits. The Milan-based bank shared details of the planned payout after reporting fourth-quarter profits of 1.9 billion euros, almost three times analysts' expectations. Shares of the stock were up 10% by 11 a.m. London time. The payout, which will be delivered through a combination of buybacks and dividends, follows a strong year for the bank, which has been buoyed by higher interest rates.

Locations: Milan, Italy, London

☆ Global bank ranking removes Unicredit and moves up UBS, China banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsZURICH, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Monday removed Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) from the list of global systemically important banks and moved three banks, including Switzerland's UBS (UBSG.S), up a bucket. UniCredit, which was the only lender in Italy among those deemed as being of global systemic importance by the FSB, had no comment. UBS moved up a bucket after earlier this year taking over Credit Suisse in the first merger of two systemically important banks. Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank also moved up from bucket 1 to bucket 2.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Italy's, Noele Illien, Giulio Piovaccari, Louise Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UBS, UniCredit, Credit Suisse, China's Bank of Communications, Agricultural Bank of, China Construction Bank, Thomson Locations: Italy, Agricultural Bank of China

☆ UniCredit CEO says shareholders prefer buybacks to dividends
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) is using mostly share buybacks to return capital to shareholders, rather than dividends, because that is what investors prefer, Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said in a shareholders' meeting on Friday. "This is what shareholders tell us when we speak with them," Orcel told a meeting that approved a 2.5-billion-euro ($2.64 billion) share buyback. Presenting quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Orcel said that UniCredit would consider increasing over time the cash portion of its distribution, which is "arguably low." With shares trading at between 5 and 5.5 times the bank's forward earnings, "I think I am doing investors a favour by reducing the share count and boosting the yield going forward", Orcel said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, Orcel, UniCredit, Valentina Za, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson

☆ UniCredit revamps Buddy online banking service to ease cloud shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) on Wednesday announced improvements to its mobile banking service Buddybank, in a move that Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said would ease the eventual transition to a cloud-based core banking infrastructure. UniCredit had managed to unify the backend structure supporting traditional commercial banking operations and Buddybank, Orcel told a press conference. To shift to Buddy R-Evolution, UniCredit customers have only to download the application in order to access their current account without any changes to their bank details. A change of bank details caused disruptions this month for customers of rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) which is gradually shifting younger, digitally-savvy clients to its cloud-based mobile bank Isybank.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Buddy R, Orcel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Valentina Za, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson

☆ UniCredit beats third-quarter profit estimates, keeps 2023 outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Italian international banking group UniCredit stands on the facade of the group headquarters, located in the Porta Nuova district, as seen from the viewpoint of Palazzo Lombardia on September 29, 2023 in Milan, Italy. Italy's UniCredit on Tuesday beat third-quarter profit forecasts as higher rates boosted income, but kept its full-year profit goal, saying it needed time to decide how to best use this year's "exceptional" growth inearnings. Shares rose more than 2% in early trading. Income from the gap in lending and deposit rates, on which Italy in August slapped a surprise one-off tax, rose 45% year-on-year. After spooking investors in Italian banks with the extraordinary levy, Italy backtracked, giving lenders the option to set aside money as reserves instead of paying it.

Persons: Italy's UniCredit Organizations: Italy Locations: Porta Nuova, Lombardia, Milan, Italy

☆ Bargain hunters dig in to 'cheap' European banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Naomi Rovnick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Just before earnings season kicks off, European bank shares are sporting a dividend yield of almost 8%, making them cheaper on this basis than during the 2008 global financial crisis. European banks, which struggled during 2014 to 2022 as the ECB kept rates below zero, have had a major boost from hiking their loan costs in line with central bank rates. Analyst forecasts collated by European asset manager Amundi show European banks are expected to grow adjusted earnings per share by 25% this year, followed by a 6% gain in 2024. Generali's Morganti said he has moved his position on European banks from negative to neutral and was likely to add more. He did not forecast quick gains for European banks ahead, however.

Persons: Guy de Blonay, Sebastiano Pirro, Roger Lee, Amundi, LSEG, Michele Morganti, Italy's Unicredit, Banks, Pirro, Generali's Morganti, Naomi Rovnick, Joice Alves, Dhara Ranasinghe, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters Graphics Banks, Jupiter Asset Management, Algebris Investments, European Central Bank, Reuters, ECB, Bank, Generali Investments, Monetary Fund, Thomson

People walk past a logo of French bank Societe Generale in front of the company's skyscraper at the financial and business district of La Defense near Paris, France September 14, 2023. The bank sees the business as non-core, having sold part of its operations in 2020, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But a transaction may not happen soon because difficult market conditions weigh on the unit's valuation, they said. Societe Generale Equipment Finance provides equipment leasing and financing solutions to manufacturers, dealers and vendors in sectors ranging from transport to industrials. Rather than naming non-core businesses, Krupa is more likely to outline the group's growth areas, said one person familiar with the bank's thinking.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Slawomir Krupa, Krupa, Italy's, SocGen, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Mathieu Rosemain, Andres Gonzalez, Amy, Jo Crowley, Elisa Martinuzzi, Silvia Aloisi, Jane Merriman, David Evans Organizations: Societe Generale, La Defense, REUTERS, Finance, Reuters, Deutsche Bank, BNP, Societe Generale Equipment Finance, Basel Committee, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, PARIS, Basel

☆ Gazprom subsidiary files $472-million lawsuit against UniCredit in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMOSCOW, Aug 7 (Reuters) - RusKhimAlyans, 50%-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), has filed a lawsuit seeking 45.7 billion roubles ($472 million) from Italy's UniCredit [RIC:RIC:UCCDB.UL], a guarantor of a project held up by EU sanctions, Russian court documents show. The court documents were filed at the Court of Arbitration of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. In January, the same court ordered nearly $500 million of assets belonging to Linde , to be frozen at RusKhimAlyans's request. ($1 = 96.8150 roubles)Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Linde, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Gazprom, Deutsche Bank, Linde, Industries, Ust, Thomson Locations: Petersburg, Leningrad Region, Baltic, Ust, Russia, Ukraine

☆ BNP Paribas beat estimates on debt financing, cost management
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

BNP Paribas , the euro zone's biggest bank, beat estimates in the second quarter as the corporate debt financing business and strong cost management partly offset a slump in securities trading. Group revenue fell 1.5% to 11.4 billion euros, also above expectations, while the cost of risk — money put aside for failing loans - came in lower than expected at 689 million euros. By contrast, sales from global banking activities within CIB - which comprise bond issues, syndicated loans and cash management — jumped by 17.5% in the second quarter at constant scope and currencies. BNP's bottom line in the second quarter also suffered from a set of exceptional items that totaled 723 million euros after tax. These included an 125 million euro provision for an unspecified litigation.

Persons: —, Italy's UniCredit Organizations: BNP, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of, CIB, European Central Bank, Spain's Santander Locations: Bank, FICC, France

The French lender's second-quarter net income fell 4.9% on a reported basis to 2.81 billion euros ($3.12 billion), beating the 2.49 billion euro analyst consensus compiled by the company. Group revenue fell 1.5% to 11.4 billion euros, also above expectations, while the cost of risk - money put aside for failing loans - was lower than expected at 689 million euros. BNP's bottom line also suffered from a set of exceptional items that totalled 723 million euros after tax. These included an 125 million euro provision for unspecified litigation. The group's 5 billion euro share buyback programme will proceed as planned, it confirmed, adding that the second tranche of 2.5 billion euros had been approved and will be launched from early August.

Persons: Italy's, Mathieu Rosemain, Christopher Cushing, Jason Neely, David Goodman Organizations: BNP, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of, European Central Bank, Spain's Santander, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Bank, France

☆ ECB urges banks in Russia to leave quickly
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, June 13 (Reuters) - Euro zone banks in Russia should leave quickly, the bloc's top supervisor said on Tuesday, making a rare explicit call on those lenders to wind down operations more than a year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I think that it is important that banks remain very focused on reducing further their exposures and, ideally, exiting the market as soon as they can," Andrea Enria, the European Central Bank's chief supervisor, told a conference. More than a year into the war in Ukraine, a handful of European banks, including Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) and Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI), are still making money in Russia. Raiffeisen and UniCredit, which both say are shrinking their businesses in Russia, play an important role for Russia's economy, which is grappling with sweeping Western sanctions. Raiffeisen, the most important Western bank in Russia, has said it is examining a spin-off or sale.

Persons: Andrea Enria, Italy's, Enria, Raiffeisen, Balazs Koranyi, John O'Donnell, Andrew Heavens, Emelia Organizations: Central Bank's, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

Banks typically sold these perpetual bonds - known as AT1 bonds - with five years before an option to repay was triggered. In the past, investors got their money back, and banks replaced the bonds with new ones, but some are changing tack. The banks' actions show how the wipeout of billions of dollars of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds still reverberates around this market, which is estimated at roughly $275 billion. "The AT1 market is splitting," said Alessandro Cameroni, a portfolio manager at asset manager Lemanik. SHOCK ABSORBERThe AT1 bonds were designed to help banks absorb losses, and they count towards their capital buffers.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Banks, Alessandro Cameroni, Lemanik, Peter Harvey, Federated Hermes, Italy's, Morgan Stanley, Karsten Junius, J . Safra Sarasin, Chiara Elisei, Carlo Giovanni Boffa, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Suisse, Raiffeisen Bank, Reuters, Deutsche, Aareal Bank, Credit Suisse, Investors, Federated, Lloyds, Societe Generale, UBS, Santander, J ., Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine, Swiss, Schroders, Russia

There are some signs that the broader $275 billion AT1 market is recovering. Reuters GraphicsLast month, Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) was the first major global bank to sell AT1s since the March rout. With time, analysts expect UBS to sell AT1s aplenty to meet its capital requirements. It has a 700 million Singapore dollar ($755 million) AT1 bond repayable in November followed by a heftier $2.5 billion bond in January. RATINGS GAMEInvestor appetite for a UBS AT1 could also hinge on its future credit profile.

☆ Morning Bid: Bank reverb frames Fed decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While there was some minor repricing of Fed probabilities in the futures market, the latest bout of bank stock nerves is unlikely to change the Fed's course on its own. A White House economist on Tuesday said Fed rate hikes were having a negative impact on the banking sector. Signs of some loosening of a very tight labor market may also encourage the Fed that its rate hiking job is done after this week. Private sector job readings for April are due later today along with service sector surveys for the month. With the Fed in view alongside the debt ceiling crunch and bank stock retreat, longer-term Treasury bonds rallied.

☆ Top banking CEO warns of further volatility and predicts more U.S. rescues
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A top banking executive highlighted a possible divergence in fortunes for the finance sector in both Europe and the U.S., suggesting that more rescues of American regional lenders are likely. "In the U.S., it is about distressed banks being rescued, I don't see any distressed bank being rescued in Europe," Andrea Orcel, the CEO of UniCredit, told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche Wednesday. JPMorgan on Monday acquired a substantial majority of assets of First Republic, which included about $92 billion of deposits. Leading economists have told CNBC that further rate increases could expose more fragilities in the U.S. banking sector. But banking authorities in the European Union, where Italy's UniCredit is headquartered, have repeatedly said they do not see the same level of risk in the region, arguing European banks are well-capitalized and face stronger regulation.

☆ UniCredit raises 2023 goals after stronger-than-expected quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

UniCredit forecast a 2023 profit above 6.5 billion euros ($7.2 billion), up from January guidance that broadly matched its 2022 result of 5.2 billion euros. Net profit in the first three months came in at 2.06 billion euros, well above an average analyst forecast of 1.3 billion euros in a bank-provided consensus, boosted by an 18% yearly jump in revenues. Net interest income in the quarter topped expectations rising 43.6% year-on-year to 3.3 billion euros. Net fees also unexpectedly strengthened 10.7% from the previous quarter, surpassing forecasts at 2.0 billion euros. "There are a number of opportunities we see across Europe [but] financially we still represent the best value proposition for our investors," he said.

REUTERS/Pierre AlbouyMILAN/LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Short-sellers who bet against European banks are set to lose a substantial amount of money in April after the sector bounced back from the shock downfall of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) in anticipation of strong quarterly earnings. The STOXX European banks share index (.SX7P) has risen as much as 18% from late March's lows. But a Bank of America survey showed fund managers cut bank exposure in April to the lowest since May 2020, as they piled into more recession-proof defensive sectors. Ortex estimates short interest on European banks is close to 1% of the free share float, an 11-month high. One area of concern is exposure to commercial real estate and investors will be alert to any sign of emerging stress as European lenders report earnings next week.

☆ UniCredit CEO expects ECB to take 'balanced approach' on rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, April 6 (Reuters) - The head of Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) expects the European Central Bank (ECB) to take a 'balanced approach' on interest rate hikes, acting on the basis of economic data as they become available given the high level of uncertainty. "I believe that in the end the (European) Central Bank will take a balanced approach, probably raising rates by more than what 'doves' would like, but by less than what 'hawks' would," CEO Andrea Orcel was quoted as saying by Il Messaggero daily on Thursday. Orcel added he expected the ECB's deposit rate could peak in the summer. Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] The Credit Suisse logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., March 16, 2023. Credit Suisse AT1 bondholders get nothing under the UBS merger deal. A WisdomTree exchange traded fund that tracks a broad index of bank AT1s, has dropped 11% in the past fortnight. Credit Suisse AT1s made up less than 3% of the fund just before the Swiss bank's rescue, the asset manager disclosed. Deutsche Bank AT1 debt is trading at 74 cents on the dollar, off last week's lows around 67 cents but still below levels seen before the Credit Suisse writedown, Tradeweb data shows.

[1/5] The logo of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is seen on their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerVIENNA, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is pressing Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) to unwind its highly profitable business in Russia, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. One person said such a plan could include the sale or closure of its Russian bank. A Raiffeisen spokesperson said that it was examining options for its Russia business "including a carefully managed exit" and that it was "expediting" its assessment, adding that it had also reduced lending in the country. HIGH STAKESIn January, the U.S. sanctions authority launched an inquiry into Raiffeisen over its business related to Russia.

As part of the overhaul announced in October, it is seeking to spin off merger advice and leveraged finance into a new entity named Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), for which it has been seeking buyers. Credit Suisse is most valuable in separate parts, and there are high-level M&A talks taking place, said a senior banker who advises banks on deals. TAKEOVERSelling off parts of Credit Suisse could require time, which markets may not give. The two have complementary investment banking businesses -Credit Suisse is stronger in credit and UBS in equities. However, some have faith that Credit Suisse can still make it safely to the end of the tight rope.

☆ Italy's UniCredit, Intesa fall as investors fret over bond portfolio risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view of the Unicredit headquarters of which many employees are working from home due to a coronavirus outbreak, in Milan, Italy March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Yara NardiMILAN, March 10 (Reuters) - Shares in leading Italian banks UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) fell sharply on Friday following a sell-off in U.S. and Asian banks driven by concerns lenders potentially face losses on their government bond portfolios. The rise in interest rates has hammered the value of those portfolios, with Italian banks seen as particularly exposed given the risk premiums investors demand to hold Italian paper rather than higher-rated German government bonds. By 0820 GMT shares in UniCredit lost 4.5% and Intesa around 4%. Reporting by Valentina Za Editing by Keith WeirOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Europe's lenders sucked into global banks rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 8, 2023. The episode underscored the vulnerability of banks, many of which were propped up by taxpayers' cash following the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. Investors in SVB's stock had fretted over whether the capital raise would be sufficient given the deteriorating fortunes of many technology startups that the bank serves. But some startups have been advising their founders to pull out their money from SVB as a precautionary measure, the sources added. Writing By John O'Donnell; Additional reporting by Jo Mason; Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ One year of war in Europe: How the dollar, energy and food prices swirled
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted economies and markets around the world, from energy and food prices to European banks, emerging market stocks and the Russian currency. Below are five charts that show how Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two has shaped global financial markets in the last 12 months. But when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in late February, European natural gas prices rocketed by almost 400% in two weeks. Energy prices soared, bringing the threat of blackouts, recession and a worrying switch back to dirtier sources of fuel. Food price pressures are easing, but that does little to soften the blow for many developing nations, where food and energy prices make up a larger share of spending.

[1/4] A Russian police officer stands in front of a branch of the Raiffeisen Bank in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2016. It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Of UniCredit's more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros. Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.

Search resuls for: "Italy's UniCredit"

25 mentions found