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☆ Analysis: ECB is on back foot and for once it's down to Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) is pictured outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. This is forcing a change of tune at the ECB -- from ruling out a pause in its steepest and longest streak of interest rate hikes to openly talking about one as soon as next month. Higher borrowing costs hurt manufacturers particularly hard because they depend on investment and no euro zone country has a larger industrial sector than Germany. "They've made a mistake in accentuating underlying inflation too much," said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro for ING Research, said. And ECB board member Fabio Panetta then made the case for "persistence" in keeping rates high rather than raising them further.

Persons: Kai Pfaffenbach, Richard Portes, It's, Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, Ralph Solveen, Portes, They've, Carsten Brzeski, Ricardo Reis, Fabio Panetta, Francesco Canepa, Mark John, Christina Fincher Organizations: European Central Bank, REUTERS, ECB, London Business School, Berlin, ING Research, London School of Economics, ABN, AMRO, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, FRANKFURT, Greece, Italy, China, Russia, United States, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Europe, Ottoman Empire, Ukraine

☆ ECB is on back foot and for once it's down to Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

☆ European markets climb with inflation, Italian banks in focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — European markets advanced on Wednesday, as traders digested China's disinflation and Italy's weakening of a surprise windfall tax on banks. The European blue chip index closed the Tuesday session 0.2% lower, with banks shedding 2.7% after the Italian government announced a surprise windfall tax on excess profits. Shares of Italian banks took a tumble on Tuesday as a result of a tax on net interest income announced on Monday. Citi analysts estimated that the levy represent around 19% of Italian lenders' net profits for the year. A Reuters poll of economists produced a consensus forecast for the July print of 3.3% year-on-year, up from 3% in June.

Persons: Hong Kong, Moody's Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Monday, Citi, Global, U.S, CPI, Federal, ABN Amro, TUI Locations: Stocks, China, Hong, Europe

☆ ABN Amro profit jumps on higher rates, may miss 2024 cost targets
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An ABN Amro Group NV bank branch in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022. Dutch bank ABN Amro beat second-quarter net profit expectations with growth of 83% on Wednesday, but said it no longer expects to reach its 4.7 billion euro ($5.16 billion) 2024 cost saving target due to rising inflation and anti-money laundering (AML) measures. Full-year costs for 2023 improved and are now expected around 5.2 billion euros, the group said, from 5.3 billion euros previously. The lender reported a net profit of 870 million euros for the three months to June, beating a company-compiled poll by analysts forecasting a net profit of 570 million euros, up from 475 million euros a year before. Rival ING Groep, the largest Dutch bank, last week also reported a forecast-beating 83% jump in second-quarter net profit, as higher interest rates helped income from lending and fees grow, as well as low loan provisions.

Persons: Robert Swaak Organizations: ABN Amro Group, ABN Amro, ABN, ING Groep, ABN Amro's Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - The spectre of rising corporate debt defaults exacerbating a global economic slowdown has for months been largely brushed aside by resilient credit markets. Now, long-feared corporate debt woes are starting to hit home, while more companies are being downgraded to a junk credit rating - facing higher borrowing costs as a result. Retailer Casino, with 6.4 billion euros ($7.19 billion) of net debt, is in court-backed talks with creditors; Britain's Thames Water is in the headlines with its 14 billion pound ($18.32 billion) debt pile. For FACTBOX: Corporate debt woes are on the rise, click here. Nonetheless, not all firms may be able to survive the challenges of vast debt, higher interest and business costs and declining profits.

Persons: Julius Baer's, Markus Allenspach, Guy Miller, Miller, it's, Aymen Mahmoud, McDermott Will, Emery, Elena Lieskovska, Chiara Elisei, Dhara, Christina Fincher Organizations: SBB, P Global, U.S, Reuters, ICE, Zurich Insurance, ABN AMRO, European Central Bank, London Finance, Bain Capital, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Spain, Europe

☆ Goldman names under-the-radar global stocks to buy — and says one could soar 80%
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Goldman Sachs has named several European stocks to buy that it expects to outperform the market — and that other investors could be missing. The list includes Norwegian hydrogen producer Nel , which Goldman says has potential upside of 80% to its 12-month price target. Analyst Michele Della Vigna likes the stock for its strong growth outlook and focus on the North American market. Goldman also picked wind power company Vestas , saying its stock could rise by 48% over the next year. It also chose chemicals company IMCD , with 57% potential upside, and drinks company Remy Cointreau , with 54% potential upside.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, John Sawtell, Goldman, Nel, Michele Della Vigna, Ajay Patel, Remy Cointreau, Elisa, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: ABN Amro, Veritas Locations: Norwegian, Finnish

☆ Analysis: Dutch pension fund reform spells investment rethink
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Yoruk Bahceli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The idea is that pension funds will allocate more risk to younger cohorts and less to those nearer retirement. The new rules also mean pension funds can be less strict in protecting against swings in interest rates and exchange rates using derivatives like swaps. Commerzbank expects a "seismic" change to the market, where Dutch pension funds are key players. Pension funds are surveying their members to understand how much risk different age groups are willing to take. Ultimately, interest rates determine how much risk pension funds need to take to generate future payments.

Persons: Eva Plevier, Wim Barentsen, Frank Vinke, Vinke, Jaap Teerhuis, Commerzbank, Onno Steenbeek, PGGM's Vinke, Achmea's, Gerard Moerman, Yoruk Bahceli, Dhara Ranasinghe, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, ABN AMRO, European, Achmea Investment Management, European Central Bank, Asset Management, Reuters Graphics, Aegon Asset Management, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, AMSTERDAM

☆ TenneT lines up 8 bln-euro credit ahead of German operations sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, June 14 (Reuters) - Electric grid operator TenneT Holding (IPO-TTH.AS) said on Wednesday it has signed an 8 billion euro ($8.63 billion) credit facility to support its spending plans as it awaits a deal to sell its German operations to the German state. Governments of the two countries have said they hope to agree a deal on the sale of TenneT Germany this summer and close a deal by the end of 2023, though talks have been going slowly. TenneT, which had a debt-heavy balance sheet of 38.5 billion euros at the end of 2022, in March estimated equity needs at its German arm of 15 billion euros and of 10 billion euros at its Dutch arm. TenneT said the 2.5-year facility is provided by BNP Paribas, ABN AMRO, BNG, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, ING, Rabobank, Santander, SMBC Nikko, and UniCredit. ($1 = 0.9271 euros)($1 = 0.9268 euros)Reporting by Toby Sterling, Editing by Louise Heavens and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: TenneT, Toby Sterling, Louise Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: TenneT, BNP, ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, ING, Rabobank, Santander, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Dutch, Germany, Netherlands, BNG, Nikko

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Major banks and fintech companies claim to be piling into generative artificial intelligence as the hype surrounding the buzzy technology shows no signs of fizzling out — but there are lingering fears about potential pitfalls and risks. Chalapathy Neti, head of AI at global bank messaging network Swift, described the progress made with ChatGPT and GPT-4 as "mind-boggling." The Netherlands' ABN Amro is one banking giant that's piloting the use of generative AI in its processes. It's also using it to help its employees gather data on customers to assist with answering queries and avoid repetitive questions. Indeed, the banks appeared unanimous in their hesitation to roll out ChatGPT-like tools to customer-facing scenarios.

Persons: Vreugdenhil, It's, Mariana Gomez de Organizations: ABN Amro, ABN, Mariana Gomez de la Villa, ING Bank Locations: Warsaw, Poland, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Amsterdam

☆ How to thrive in a new era of AI with trust and confidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Ibm With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But success in applying AI, whether based on the most advanced machine learning (ML) or the latest generative AI leveraging foundation models, is not just measured in speed. Whether based on ML or foundation models, the more customized your AI models are to those priorities, the better you will be able to serve your customers and deliver real business value. A hybrid cloud architecture provides the data foundation for extending AI deep into the business. If the models contain bias, or if AI models are misleading, "hallucinate," or are not explainable, the risk and cost of reputational damage and regulatory fines could be high. Three opportunities to put AI into actionHere are the best opportunities to derive benefit from AI in your business today:1.

Persons: IBM Watson, Carhartt, Let's Organizations: IBM Consulting, IBM, Dutch Bank ABN AMRO, IT, Insider Studios

☆ ABN Amro Q1 net profit jumps 77% on higher rates and lower costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, May 10 (Reuters) - Dutch bank ABN Amro (ABNd.AS) on Wednesday beat analyst expectations with a 77% jump in first-quarter net profit to 523 million euros ($576 million), helped by rising interest rates and lower costs. Analysts in a company-compiled poll on average had predicted a net profit of 370 million euros for the first three months of 2023, up from 295 million euros a year before. Improving deposit margins drove net interest income up 24% to 1.6 billion euros, while impairments for bad loans fell to 14 million euros as economic growth in the Netherlands remained strong despite surging inflation. The lender was re-privatised in 2015, following a bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, but the Dutch state has held a majority stake since then. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ferrovial shareholders vote on Dutch move in possible prelude to U.S. listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, April 13 (Reuters) - Ferrovial (FER.MC) shareholders vote on Thursday on a plan to move the Spanish construction group's holding company to the Netherlands, paving the way to a listing in the U.S. and potentially access to subsidies available there. The government fears more companies could follow suit and argues that a full U.S. listing is perfectly possible for a Spain-based company, although there are no such precedents. The move must be approved by a majority of shareholders to go ahead in a meeting that starts at midday (1000 GMT). Several investment funds have said they will vote in favour and two independent proxy advisers recommended backing the move. Ferrovial also wants to approach institutional funds in the U.S. willing to buy stakes if it gets a listing there.

☆ Dutch online bank Bunq applies for U.S. banking licence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, April 4 (Reuters) - Bunq BV, a prominent European online banking start-up, formally filed for a banking licence with U.S. regulators on Tuesday, the company's CEO told Reuters in an interview. Bunq raised $228 million at a $1.9 billion valuation in 2021. Bunq, which competes with Britain's Revolut and Germany's N26, said that as of March 14, it had deposits of around 2.3 billion euros, up 27% from 1.8 billion euros at the end of 2023. Bunq offers savers in its native Netherlands 1.56% interest on deposits, a percentage point above rates offered by the three big banks that dominate Dutch banking, ING, ABN Amro and Rabobank. Bunq makes some mortgage loans but keeps more than half of its reserves at the European Central Bank's deposit facility, which Niknam said should reassure depositors.

☆ Check out the 9-slide pitch deck Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, used to raise $129 million at a $1.8 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Quantexa, a data intelligence startup, has become a unicorn following its latest funding round. The London-based company has raised $129 million in a round led by GIC. The startup positions itself as a "decision-making" platform that provides companies with the best data available to help reduce costs and optimize growth. The new investment values the business at $1.9 billion, bringing Quantexa's total funds raised to $370 million. The company had seen a lot of inbound interest from investors leading into this funding round, Marria added.

☆ Analysis: Market turmoil is doing central bankers' jobs for them
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Yoruk Bahceli | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde reckons market turmoil may do some of the ECB's tightening for it if it dampens demand and inflation. Financial conditions reflect the availability of funding in an economy, so they dictate spending, saving and investment plans of businesses and households. Central banks have been trying to tighten them by raising rates to slow rising prices. Signs of tightening financial conditions were plentiful. "Central banks no longer have a good idea about the true tightness of monetary policy," he said.

☆ UBS could see big gains after forced Credit Suisse merger. Big U.S. banks may also be winners, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

UBS ' acquisition of Credit Suisse could lead to big gains for the Swiss bank. UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs, or around $3.2 billion, in a forced deal announced Sunday. As part of the deal, Credit Suisse shareholders receive 1 UBS share for every 22.48 Credit Suisse shares they hold. But Barclays analyst Amit Goel wasn't so sure, cutting his view on European banks to neutral from positive on Monday. Wells Fargo's Mike Mayo, meanwhile, sees opportunity for U.S. banks coming out of the UBS takeover of Credit Suisse.

☆ Instant View: Banking stocks tank again as Credit Suisse woes rock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO: A Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a the roof of a branch in Geneva, Switzerland, November 3, 2022. European banks shares slid over 6%, European stocks were down more 3% and U.S. stock futures pointed to a weak start for Wall Street shares. MARKET REACTION:STOCKS: Credit Suisse share trading was halted after heavy losses, last down over 20%, ING Group, ABN AMRO were4 down over 6%. “But in general, the balance sheet is in a much better position, with the European banks all highly regulated. So, it is important that the European regulator make clear that the underlying systemic risk, not only for deposits, but in the overall European banking market, is rather low.”

☆ Saipem shares drop, group says cannot explain why
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Saipem (SPMI.MI) does not have any information explaining Monday's share movements, a spokesman for the Italian energy contractor said, after the stock closed down 5.7%. More than 10% of the share capital of the group was traded on the Milan stock exchange, according to Refinitiv data. In July a pool of lender bought Saipem's shares worth almost 600 million euros after a cash call fell short of the 2 billion euro target. BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit were the joint global coordinators of the Saipem issue. Reporting by Francesca Landini and Giancarlo Navach, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Gavin JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ABN Amro announces 500 mln euro share buyback as Q4 profit beats forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Net profit of the largely state-owned bank dropped to 354 million euros in the last three months of 2022, down from 552 million euros the year before - but much better than the 105 million euros analysts on average had predicted in a company-compiled poll. Impairments were 74% lower than a year before at 32 million euros as economic growth in Europe held stronger than expected despite surging inflation. Since its bailout by the Dutch state in 2008, ABN has refocused its operations and orientation on the Dutch market, cutting thousands of jobs in the process. One of three dominant banks in the Netherlands, it was re-privatized in 2015, but the Dutch state still owns 56% of the shares and has sold none since September 2017. The state will participate in the share buyback, which has been approved by the European Central Bank and will maintain its relative stake, ABN said.

☆ ION starts to bring clients back online after ransomware attack - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - ION, the financial trading services group hit by a ransomware attack last week, started to bring clients back on to its cleared derivatives platform overnight, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Among the many ION clients whose operations were likely to have been affected by the attack and ensuing disruption were ABN Amro Clearing (ABNd.AS) and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), Italy's biggest bank, according to messages to clients from both banks that were seen by Reuters last week. The hackers who claimed responsibility for the breach at ION said last week a ransom had been paid, declining to say how much it was, or offer any evidence that the money had been handed over. ION declined to comment on whether the ransom had been paid. Reporting by Harry Robertson; Editing by Amanda CooperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hackers who breached ION say ransom paid; company declines comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Raphael Satter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The hackers who claimed responsibility for the disruptive breach at financial data firm ION say a ransom has been paid, although they declined to say how much it was or offer any evidence that the money had been handed over. Britain's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, told Reuters it had no comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days." ION was removed from Lockbit's extortion website, where victim companies are named and shamed in a bid to force a payout. As of late Friday, Lockbit's extortion website alone counted 54 victims who were being shaken down, including a television station in California, a school in Brooklyn and a city in Michigan.

ION Group, the financial data firm's parent company, said in a statement on its website that the attack began on Tuesday. "The incident is contained to a specific environment, all the affected servers are disconnected, and remediation of services is ongoing," ION Group said, declining requests for further comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days". It added that its staff had to process trades directly with the exchange. Intesa Sanpaolo told clients that its brokerage and clearing operations on exchange-traded derivatives had been "severely hampered" by IT problems at ION and that it was not able to handle orders.

☆ Insurer ASR to consider sale of bank acquired in Aegon deal, source says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON/AMSTERDAM, Jan 23(Reuters) - Dutch insurer ASR (ASRNL.AS) will consider a sale of its banking arm after completing its acquisition of rival Aegon's (AEGN.AS) domestic operations, a source close to the matter told Reuters. The lending business, however, is likely to be put up for sale, given ASR's previous stance on banking operations, the source said on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. ASR labelled its original banking arm, ASR Bank, as "non-core" in 2018 and sold part of it to rival Achmea the following year. Aegon Bank had 16.2 billion euros ($17.6 billion) in assets on its balance sheet at the end of 2021, with 735.2 million euros of equity. ASR paid 2.5 billion euros in cash for Aegon's Dutch operations, with Aegon to retain a 30% stake in the enlarged group.

☆ Energy is 'less relevant' to inflation now, says ABN AMRO CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEnergy is 'less relevant' to inflation now, says ABN AMRO CEORobert Swaak, CEO of Dutch bank ABN AMRO, gives his outlook for inflation, interest rates and the market for the year ahead during the World Economic Forum 2023.

☆ Bruce Batkin Turned a Love of Architecture Into a Financial Career
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( James R. Hagerty | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Bruce Batkin co-founded Terra Capital Partners in 2002 to package real-estate funds for investors, initially in Australia and later in the U.S.As a boy riding his bicycle on Long Island, Bruce Batkin often stopped at fancy homes and rang doorbells to request house tours, invariably granted to a cherubic child in the 1960s. Back inside his parents’ three-bedroom, one-bath ranch, he drew lavish floor plans. Later, at Cornell University, he earned a degree in architecture. He worked in real-estate finance for Merrill Lynch, ABN Amro Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank. In 2002, he co-founded Terra Capital Partners to package real-estate funds for investors, initially in Australia and later in the U.S.

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