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☆ Monte dei Paschi to pay 125 million euros in fees for share sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MILAN, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) (BMPS.MI) said a new share sale to raise up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.4 billion) would cost it 125 million euros in fees to financial institutions backstopping the issue. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAfter difficult negotiations that risked derailing the capital raising, the eight banks have agreed to guarantee the share issue for up to 807 million euros. Algebris is backstopping up to another 50 million euros. The fees amount to nearly 15% of the guaranteed sum and compare with a market value of just 99.8 million euros for MPS on Friday. The cost of the capital increase, which totals 132 million euros, would shave 15 basis points off that target, MPS said.

☆ Investing Club: The week in review, the week ahead — Oct. 14, 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Club trades for the week Monday Bought 20 shares of Constellation Brands (STZ); Trust owns 390 shares of STZ. On Wednesday, the September producer price index was reported to have risen 0.4% monthly, double the expectation. On Thursday, the September consumer price index was also reported to have increased 0.4% monthly, above the expectation for a 0.3% increase. Excluding automobile sales, sales were up 0.1% slightly ahead of the expectations. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Premarket stocks: A 'tectonic shift' in global wealth that will take years to recover from
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Investors could be betting that the stronger-than-expected inflation report means price increases are near their peak. “The context of rising interest rates and the higher cost of living could pose a risk to household balance sheets,” reported researchers. The takeaway: Allianz calls these changes a “tectonic shift” in global wealth that will take years to recover from. Mortgage rates hit a 20-year highMortgage rates in the US rose again this week — inching even closer to 7%. Today, a homeowner buying the same-priced house with an average rate of 6.92% would pay $2,059 a month in principal and interest.

☆ Monte dei Paschi to pay 125 mln euros in fees for share sale
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MILAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) said a new share sale to raise up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.4 billion) would cost it 132 million euros, mostly due to fees paid to financial institutions backstopping the issue. Monte dei Paschi said it was set to pay 125 million euros in fees to a group of eight banks led by global coordinators Bank of America (BAC.N), Citigroup (C.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), plus London-based fund Algebris. ($1 = 1.0263 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Valentina Za, editing Gianluca SemeraroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Up to 200 million euros of the capital will come from France's AXA (AXAF.PA), MPS' partner in an insurance joint-venture. Another 50 million euros are being guaranteed by London-based fund Algebris, whose founder Davide Serra is a close associate of Lovaglio. The state will put in 1.6 billion euros towards the capital raising, based on its 64% stake. Local banking foundations in Tuscany - charitable organisations overseen by Italy's Treasury - have already put in some 30 million euros. After its market value shrunk to just 256 million euros, MPS will sell the new shares with a discount of only 8.6% over Wednesday's closing price stripped of subscription rights.

Another 50 million euros are being guaranteed by London-based fund Algebris, whose founder Davide Serra is a close associate of Lovaglio. The state will put in 1.6 billion euros towards the capital raising, based on its 64% stake. If MPS gathers less than the maximum 2.5 billion euros, the state's contribution will be proportionally reduced so as not to exceed 64% of the total. At least 100 million euros will come from France's AXA (AXAF.PA), MPS' partner in an insurance joint-venture. After its market value shrunk to just 256 million euros, MPS will sell the new shares with a discount of just 8.6% over Wednesday's closing price stripped of subscription rights.

☆ JPMorgan, Citigroup say higher capital requirements may hurt lending
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Leaders from U.S. banking giants on Thursday said strict capital requirements, which were bolstered after the 2008 financial crisis, could restrain economic activity. Higher capital requirements for big banks may curb lending and amplify a potential recession, Citigroup (C.N) Chairman John Dugan told attendees at the Institute of International Finance conference in Washington. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterRestraining banks from lending during a slowdown could "amplify the recessionary effect," he said. The U.S. Federal Reserve is conducting a "holistic" review of bank capital requirements and might impose tougher rules on large regional lenders, its new regulatory chief said last month. But the biggest banks, which face the strictest set of capital requirements and have lobbied for years for relief, face an uphill climb with regulators.

HONG KONG, Oct 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Leaders from the West’s biggest financial firms will land in Hong Kong next month — in most cases their first trip to the city in three years — with some tough questions for their hosts. They arrive amid the worst U.S.-Sino ties in decades, with Hong Kong unhappily stuck in the middle, bringing frustration for companies who have invested much capital and time in the country. Investment banking fees have dried up everywhere, but it’s particularly bad in mainland China and Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been a big beneficiary of their ambitions. Reuters GraphicsFollow @ywchen1 on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe Hong Kong Monetary Authority will host the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit on Nov. 2.

☆ Punishingly strong dollar is still a fair trade
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

NEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Everybody wants the dollar; everybody hates the dollar. That makes dollar assets relatively more attractive and puts pressure on other central banks to raise rates too. The strong dollar kicks other countries in the shins, with varying degrees of pain. Follow @johnsfoley on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe International Monetary Fund and World Bank are holding their annual meetings in Washington from Oct. 10 to Oct. 16. The dollar is up 21% since October 2020, according to the U.S. Dollar Currency Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies.

☆ Bank of America CEO says U.S. consumers still in good financial health
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan said U.S. consumers are still in good financial health. "Right now, they're in very good shape," Moynihan told attendees at an Institute of International Finance conference in Washington. He cited high savings rates, strong credit quality, and a 10% increase in consumer spending so far in October. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Lananh Nguyen and Saeed Azhar Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

By late on Wednesday six banks, including global coordinators Bank of America (BAC.N), Citigroup (C.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), had signed the guarantee contract, the sources said. Five years after an 8.2 billion euro ($8 billion) bailout that handed the state its 64% stake, MPS plans to raise the extra cash to lay off staff and bolster capital. The eight banks due to underwrite the MPS issue are willing to backstop only a third of the 900 million euro private portion of the capital raising, one of the sources said. MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio had until recently not produced the written commitments, triggering a race in the last few days to get all the necessary documents signed. The Tuscan bank has so far secured support from its insurance partner AXA (AXAF.PA), local banking foundations and asset manager Anima Holding (ANIM.MI).

☆ BofA's clients use virtual assistant over 1 billion times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Bank of America (BAC.N) on Wednesday said 32 million customers had used its virtual assistant, which allows them to check bill payments, account balances and track spending on the mobile banking app, more than 1 billion times since its launch in 2018. "Bank of America has invested $3 billion or more on new technology initiatives each year for over a decade, including significant investments in AI," said Aditya Bhasin, chief technology and information officer, in a statement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterBofA said Erica, the virtual assistant of the second largest U.S. bank, has been averaging 1.5 million client interactions a day. Customers use Erica to locate past transactions across accounts, get notifications on merchant refund and duplicate charges, among others. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Typically, banks would sell the debt to investors and pocket an underwriting fee. Elon Musk vs TwitterThe debate, currently a topic of conversation among investment bankers and debt investors, provides a window into the havoc wreaked on Wall Street by Musk’s U-turn last week. Musk, however, conditioned his proposal on his ability to secure debt financing and now has until Oct. 28 to close on the transaction. VARIOUS OPTIONSThe debt financing package is comprised of leveraged loans, which are risky because of the amount of debt the company is taking on, as well as secured and unsecured bonds. In September, banks financing the Citrix buyout undertook a similar restructuring.

☆ Markets won’t go back to normal until the Fed stops hiking rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

What’s happening: Markets and the Federal Reserve have conflicting temperaments, said Blinder. Markets are capricious while the Fed remains calm. Markets on average, said Blinder, overreact to inflation-related data by a factor of three to 10 times more than they should. The central bank announced Monday that it would provide extra support to UK markets, beefing up its efforts to ensure financial stability, reports my colleague Julia Horowitz. The research is especially relevant today as rapid interest rate hikes to combat inflation have sent markets into turmoil, drawing comparisons to 2008.

Wells Fargo Bank branch is seen in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. Profits at big banks got a boost last year as they released funds reserved for potential COVID losses. In the third quarter of last year, they released about $4 billion of loan provisions, according to data from Refinitiv. read moreThe biggest U.S. bank by assets kicks off third-quarter results on Friday, followed by Wells Fargo (WFC.N), Citigroup (C.N) and Morgan Stanley. Shares of the big six U.S. banks have plunged between 14% and 34% so far this year.

☆ U.S. banks cut donations to federal candidates, up Democrats' share ahead of mid-terms
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Following the 2007-09 financial crisis when Democrats cracked down on banks, lenders have typically looked to business-friendly Republicans for support in Congress. And of the top-20 congressional recipients of bank PAC donations this cycle, 10 are Democrats compared with six in 2020, three in 2018, and one ahead of the 2016 election. Reuters GraphicsThe shift in giving patterns shows how banks are rethinking their allegiances amid increased political partisanship. To be sure, the party in power commonly enjoys a bounce in donations and banks are also spreading their bets ahead of a tightening contest, said Ballentine and the other sources. Nine of the top 10 recipients of industry donations are Republicans, including Representative Patrick McHenry who is likely to chair the House finance panel if Republicans win that chamber.

☆ Stocks week ahead: Get ready for earnings season
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-09 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

We’ll get a better sense this week when several top financial firms and consumer companies report third-quarter earnings. The robust greenback will hurt sales and profits for these firm’s international operations. “Bank balance sheets and capital positions both remain in solid shape,” said KBW analyst David Konrad in a bank earnings preview report. The US government will report the latest monthly reads on consumer prices and wholesale prices next week. The consumer price index, or CPI, is the one investors will be watching most closely.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: AMD, Levi Strauss, DraftKings and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here are the companies that are making headlines before the bell:Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – AMD slid 5.3% in the premarket after cutting its sales forecast. Levi Strauss (LEVI) – Levi Strauss took a 5.3% premarket hit after cutting its full-year sales and profit outlook. CVS Health (CVS) – CVS shares fell 5% in premarket trading, following a downgrade of one of its Aetna Medicare Advantage plans in annual ratings issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Lyft (LYFT) – Lyft fell 2.6% in the premarket after RBC downgraded the ride-hailing service's stock to "sector perform" from "outperform." RBC said its driver supply analysis points to a less bullish outlook for Lyft and that competitor Uber (UBER) enjoys "structural advantages" over Lyft.

Oct 28 (Reuters) - Elon Musk on Thursday closed the $44 billion deal announced in April to take Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) private and took ownership of the influential social media platform by firing top executives immediately. read more Earlier this month, Musk brought the deal back on the table after previously trying to walk away from it. Musk pledged to provide $46.5 billion in equity and debt financing for the acquisition, which covered the $44 billion price tag and the closing costs. That had left Musk in need for an additional $22.4 billion of funds to cover the equity financing portion of the deal. Musk would have needed to raise an additional $2 billion to $3 billion to complete the financing for the deal.

☆ Mega-bank status weighs on U.S. banking’s B-team
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The bosses of PNC Financial Services (PNC.N) , Truist Financial (TFC.N) and U.S. Bancorp (USB.N) joined jumbo-size counterparts on Capitol Hill for a grilling last week, their first appearance as what Congress terms mega-banks. Weighed on systemic significance, U.S Bancorp is around one-eighth as risky as JPMorgan, according to a U.S. Treasury analysis. They are also much simpler than their bigger rivals, lacking international networks and complex trading businesses. PNC boss Bill Demchak noted that his office is on Fifth Avenue, but the one in Pittsburgh, not Manhattan. Watchdogs say they fear a scenario where, say, U.S. Bancorp fails and needs to be absorbed by JPMorgan, making the biggest banks even bigger.

☆ This market is not the dot-com crash or the financial crisis. Here's how to play it
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +21 min

The S & P 500 never really got out of control back then — and, relative to bonds, it didn't either. The Fed chairman, correctly, feared the economy was going to crash, and he would have been right. I think that's certainly how people act. I think that most participants have decided there's no hope and they are using an analogue that's 2000-2001 (dot-com bubble bursting) or even 2007 (before the financial crisis and the Great Recession). Autos have been hurt by supply chain but I think that's coming to an end.

☆ US bank CEOs say they could exit China if it ever attacks Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Michelle Toh | Cnn Business | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Hong Kong (CNN Business) Leaders of America's biggest banks say they would follow any US directive on pulling business from China if Taiwan is ever attacked by Beijing. JPMorgan JPM Citi C Bank of America BAC CEO Jamie Dimon,CEO Jane Fraser, andCEO Brian Moynihan were all pressed on the subject Wednesday by US Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, from Missouri, in a Capitol Hill hearing"We'll follow [the] government's guidance, which has been for decades to work with China, and if they change that position, we'll immediately change it, as we did in Russia," said Moynihan, citing the corporate response to Russia's invasion of UkraineDimon said JPMorgan would "absolutely salute and follow whatever the American government says — which is you all — and what you want us to do." Asked what she would do if the decision was left to her, Fraser said that it was "highly likely that we would have a materially reduced presence, if any at all in the country."

Lawmakers also asked the CEOs to condemn China's "human rights abuses," in a departure from previous hearings that tended to focus on domestic issues like housing and consumer protection. JPMorgan & Chase (JPM.N) CEO Jamie Dimon and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser both concurred, saying their banks would follow government guidance if China were to invade Taiwan. When asked later by Republican Lance Gooden if she would condemn "ongoing human rights abuses in China," Fraser hesitated. JPMorgan's Dimon also warned the United States had to compete with global Chinese banks, which have grown in size over the last few years to become the biggest in the world. "I am going to do everything in my power to make sure we compete with the best Chinese banks in the world.

☆ Senior Republican chastises banks for social agenda that 'harms America'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Pete Schroeder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Senator Pat Toomey speaks in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.,U.S., May 10, 2022. Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The heads of the nation's largest banks faced pointed criticism from a top Republican Thursday, as he chastised firms for "embracing a liberal ESG agenda that harms America." Senator Pat Toomey, the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, urged banks to "cease and desist" from weighing in on social and cultural issues as chief executives appeared before Congress for an oversight hearing. They were joined by the CEOs of the country's largest regional lenders, US Bancorp (USB.N), PNC Financial (PNC.N) and Truist (TFC.N). read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Pete Schroeder Editing by Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Major U.S. banks threaten to leave Mark Carney's climate alliance - FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kenya's Finance Minister Ukur Yatani and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney attend the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File PhotoSept 21 (Reuters) - Major Wall Street banks have threatened to leave United Nations climate envoy Mark Carney's financial alliance over legal risks, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing several people involved in internal talks. Some members of the alliance have recently said that they "feel blindsided by tougher UN climate criteria and are worried about the legal risks of participation", the report said. The banks' legal departments are particularly anxious about U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules around climate-risk disclosures, the report added. The SEC will soon require formal disclosures in annual reports about governance, risk-management and strategy with respect to climate change.

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