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☆ UK house prices to fall by up to 10% this year, Lloyds Bank CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Fog shrouds the Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions Citigroup Inc., State Street Corp., Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and the commercial office block No. LONDON — U.K. house prices will fall by up to 10% this year, as higher mortgage rates and the broader cost of living crisis curtail home buying, Lloyds Bank CEO Charlie Nunn told CNBC on Tuesday. The U.K. property sector remained sluggish in recent months, as the Bank of England continued to hike interest rates aggressively in order to reel in double-digit inflation. Inflation hit 10.7% in November, and the Bank has hiked rates at nine consecutive policy meetings to lift its main rate from 0.1% to 3.5%. A report from British property website Rightmove on Monday showed asking prices for homes rising slightly in January for the first time in two months.

☆ Big Investors Expected to Scrap ‘Dark Green’ Labels on More EU Funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

SFDR rules require EU-marketed funds to be designated as one of three categories: “dark green” Article 9 funds, which aim for sustainability or decarbonization; “light green” Article 8 funds, which advance one or more environmental, social and governance objectives; and Article 6 funds, which don’t have any specific ESG-related objectives. Upgrades and downgrades in classifications typically occur with “similar frequency,” but since September, more than 80% of reclassifications have moved Article 9 funds to Article 8, analysts at Jefferies said in December. At the end of November, there were around $452 billion in Article 9 funds, nearly $4.2 trillion in Article 8 funds and $3.9 trillion in Article 6 ones. In November, BlackRock moved 16 funds representing around $26 billion to Article 8 from Article 9, but also retained 13 dark-green funds valued at about $13 billion. Another challenge is for fund managers to gather and report required ESG data—such as greenhouse-gas emissions, gender pay gaps and water use—for individual stocks and bonds in a fund.

☆ Europe's BNP Paribas appoints senior executives to Global Markets Americas division
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 7 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA) has appointed several senior executives to its Global Markets Americas division, the European bank said on Wednesday, in a move to further consolidate its presence in the United States. The French bank appointed former Morgan Stanley executive Kunal Maini as the co-head of Global Macro - Americas and he will be responsible for globalizing the US Rates franchise. In addition, BNP also hired a string of executives to strengthen its credit portfolio at a time when global fixed income markets have come under immense pressure from soaring inflation and outsized interest rate hikes. John Hanisch was appointed the co-head of Secondary Credit Americas and Global Head of Securitized Products Trading; Charlie Shah the Head of IG & CDS Trading Americas and Bo Bazylevsky the Head of LatAm Flow Credit Trading. BNP's move to hire across divisions sharply contrasts global banks including HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.L) and Goldman Sachs (GS.N), which axed jobs to rein in costs.

NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday dismissed an indictment against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL], formally ending a criminal sanctions case that strained U.S.-China relations. U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn dismissed Meng's indictment with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again. A lawyer for Meng and a spokeswoman for Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the day Donnelly approved that agreement, Meng flew home to Shenzhen. On Nov. 25, the Biden administration banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from Huawei and China's ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) because they posed an "unacceptable risk" to national security.

☆ Huawei CFO's U.S. bank fraud charges to be dismissed
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Karen Freifeld | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Thursday asked a judge to dismiss bank fraud and other charges against Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] whose 2018 arrest strained relations between the U.S. and China. Meng had been accused of bank fraud and other crimes for misleading global bank HSBC Holdings Plc about the company's business in Iran to obtain banking services in violation of U.S. sanctions. The charges against Huawei include everything from bank fraud to sanctions busting to conspiracy to steal trade secrets from U.S. technology companies and obstructing justice. The United States also waged a global campaign against Huawei, warning that the Chinese government could use the company's equipment to spy. A lawyer for Meng declined comment and a spokesperson for Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Royal Bank of Canada Set to Buy HSBC Bank Canada for $10 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Adriano Marchese | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

All of HSBC Canada’s earnings from June 30 of this year through the close will accrue to Royal Bank of Canada. Royal Bank of Canada has agreed to buy the Canadian unit of the British banking and financial-services giant HSBC Holdings PLC for 13.5 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to US$10 billion. The Canadian financial institution said it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the common shares of HSBC Bank Canada, which will see C$134 billion in assets and around 130 branches transfer over to Royal Bank.

☆ HSBC Set to Sell Canadian Arm to Royal Bank of Canada for $10 Billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Adriano Marchese | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

All of HSBC Canada’s earnings from June 30 of this year through the close will accrue to Royal Bank of Canada. Royal Bank of Canada has agreed to buy the Canadian unit of the British banking and financial-services giant HSBC Holdings PLC for 13.5 billion Canadian dollars, equivalent to US$10 billion. The Canadian financial institution said it has entered into an agreement to acquire all of the common shares of HSBC Bank Canada, which will see C$134 billion, or roughly US$99.6 billion, in assets and around 130 branches transfer over to Royal Bank.

☆ RBC Bets on Immigration in $10.1 Billion HSBC Canada Deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Vipal Monga | Josh Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Royal Bank of Canada said it would pay US$10.1 billion for HSBC Holdings PLC’s Canadian operations, a move meant to position Canada’s biggest bank to expand during an expected immigration surge. HSBC, a London-based bank with a huge Hong Kong presence, serves more than 780,000 customers through 130 branches in Canada. As part of the deal, it will refer clients who are moving to Canada to RBC, said Dave McKay , RBC’s chief executive.

☆ Banking giants and New York Fed start 12-week digital dollar pilot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lananh Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Global banking giants are starting a 12-week digital dollar pilot with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the participants announced on Tuesday. Citigroup Inc , HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), Mastercard Inc (MA.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) are among the financial companies participating in the experiment alongside the New York Fed's innovation center, they said in a statement. The project, which is called the regulated liability network, will be conducted in a test environment and use simulated data, the New York Fed said. The pilot will test how banks using digital dollar tokens in a common database can help speed up payments. Earlier this month, Michelle Neal, head of the New York Fed's market's group, said it sees promise in using a central bank digital dollar to speed up settlement time in currency markets.

☆ Oracle Hires Chief Legal Officer From Facebook’s Blockchain Project
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Oracle Corp. said it has hired the former chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc.’s now-closed cryptocurrency project as its new legal chief, the company said Thursday. Stuart Levey until June served as the CEO of the Diem Association, Meta Platform’s cryptocurrency project, also formerly known as Libra. Mr. Levey joined the Diem Association in August 2020 after working at HSBC Holdings PLC for more than eight years, including serving as the bank’s chief legal officer and managing more than 900 lawyers. Between 2004 and 2011, Mr. Levey served as the U.S. Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, one of the agency’s top officials in charge of imposing sanctions and combating illicit finance. Representatives for Oracle declined to make Mr. Levey available for an interview.

☆ HSBC’s Top Shareholder Steps Up Pressure for Big Overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Josh Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HSBC says Ping An’s criticism of the bank is based on statistics that didn’t include its performance in recent quarters. LONDON— HSBC Holdings PLC’s top shareholder called for a radical reorganization of the banking giant—including possibly selling a chunk of its business—to boost its profits and flagging share price. Ping An Insurance Co. of China called for slashing the bank’s costs and accelerating a shift in capital and personnel to Asia, in comments distributed to media outlets Friday. The insurer—which owns 8.3% of HSBC shares, more than any other investor—also said it would potentially support spinning off part of the company.

LONDON— HSBC Holdings PLC’s chief financial officer decided to leave the company after becoming impatient with the timetable for the chief executive job to open up, according to people familiar with the matter. Ewen Stevenson , 56 years old, in recent months told board members he wanted to be HSBC’s CEO and didn’t want to wait too long, the people familiar with the matter said. The board was unwilling to provide timing for a change or an assurance that Mr. Stevenson would get the job, the people said. CEO Noel Quinn has said he plans to stay for several more years.

☆ HSBC's Canada unit loses National Bank, CIBC as bidders, Global and Mail reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HSBC disclosed on Oct. 4 that it was considering selling HSBC Bank Canada, a unit that analysts estimate to be valued around C$8 billion ($5.88 billion) to C$10 billion ($7.35 billion). The Globe and Mail, in its report on Friday, quoted sources familiar with the process as saying that the field of contenders to acquire HSBC Bank Canada from the British lender was narrowing. HSBC Bank Canada includes four divisions covering HSBC's commercial banking, personal banking, investment banking and markets services business in the country. National Bank of Canada declined to comment on the Global and Mail report. HSBC, CIBC and BMO did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ HSBC Promotes Veteran Banker to CFO; Profit Falls on Higher Credit Losses
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Josh Mitchell | Elaine Yu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

HSBC Holdings PLC reported a 46% drop in third-quarter profit and named a veteran banker as its new chief financial officer, putting him in the mix as a possible successor to the top job at the global banking giant. The bank has appointed Georges Elhedery , 48 years old, as its new finance chief. He is replacing Ewen Stevenson , who is stepping down from the job at the end of the year and leaving the bank in April. HSBC Chief Executive Noel Quinn called Mr. Elhedery “an exceptional leader” in a statement.

☆ HSBC Profit Falls on French Retail Disposal, Rising Credit Provisions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Josh Mitchell | Elaine Yu | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pedestrians passed an HSBC sign in New York earlier this year. Global banking giant HSBC Holdings PLC reported a drop in third-quarter profit, caused by the planned sale of its French retail banking business and rising provisions against credit losses. Profit fell 46% to $1.9 billion in the July through September quarter from a year earlier, HSBC said Tuesday. Analysts had expected it to report about $1.15 billion in profit, according to estimates compiled by the bank.

☆ HSBC’s COP26 Climate-Change Ads Were Misleading, U.K. Watchdog Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A U.K. advertising watchdog ruled that HSBC Holdings PLC posted misleading advertisements in the run-up to last year’s United Nations climate summit, serving a warning to companies marketing their environmental credentials. In October 2021, ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP26, in Glasgow, HSBC UK placed ads promoting its efforts to plant trees and supply financing to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions. “Climate...

☆ HSBC warns investors to avoid European stocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fog shrouds the Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions Citigroup Inc., State Street Corp., Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and the commercial office block No. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty Imageswatch now"We think that the emphasis should be on quality. With earnings season set to kick off in earnest next month, analysts broadly expect earnings downgrades to dominate worldwide in the short term. This need was exacerbated early this month when Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom cut off gas flows to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. "The energy needs of the European chemical industry were equivalent to 51 million tonnes of oil in 2019.

Standard Chartered (STAN.L), a competitor of HSBC in emerging markets, said earlier this year it would end all direct coal financing for clients by 2032. The Global Coal Exit List, which tracks finance firms' ties to the coal sector, said HSBC's fund arm exposure was $3.4 billion at end-November. HSBC said it will have engaged with all listed companies in its actively managed portfolios with more than 10% of revenues from thermal coal by next year. HSBC said in its 2021 annual report that the bank's thermal coal loan exposure was $1 billion, or 0.2% of its total wholesale loan book. When it comes to holding the boards of companies with significant thermal coal exposure to account, HSBC said its fund arm would vote against the election of board chairs at companies planning to expand production and use of thermal coal.

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