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NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The biggest U.S. banks are bracing for a worsening economy next year as inflation threatens consumer demand, according to executives Tuesday. "Those things might very well derail the economy and cause this mild to hard recession that people are worried about," he said. Consumers have $1.5 trillion in excess savings from pandemic stimulus programs, but it may run out some time in mid-2023, he told CNBC. Major banks' shares fell sharply on the day after a lineup of top bankers outlined the risks for the economy. "Economic growth is slowing," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at the same conference.

☆ LSEG CEO says recent volatility has exposed weak spots in markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 1 (Reuters) - London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSEG.L) Chief Executive David Schwimmer said on Thursday that large spikes in volume associated with algorithmic trading have exacerbated recent market volatility, exposing weaknesses in the global market infrastructure. At the onset of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, some banks reached out to LSEG, asking it to close its markets for a day or two so they could catch up with post-trade processing, he said. Another "weak spot" in global markets is in the private equity and debt markets, which have grown quickly in recent years, while using lots of leverage, but with very little transparency, he said. "A lot of people are sort of wondering and watching, how does that play out as rates continue to go up," he said. Reporting by Peter Thal Larsen and John McCrank in New York and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The volatility and market uncertainty have hit the initial offerings market hard, driving down proceeds by 93% this year, Lynn Martin, president of the New York Stock Exchange said on Wednesday. "There is a lot of uncertainty and there's a lot of different forces that are impacting markets," said Martin during an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference. Martin said companies "very much want to go public," but they are just all waiting for the volatility in the market to calm down. She also spoke about the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, pointing out FTX lacked a central counterparty for clearing its trades, which is why their bankruptcy is "a bit murky." "The FTX situation may have added a layer of complexity to to the crypto markets in general," Martin said.

☆ BlockFi tells U.S. bankruptcy court it is 'the antithesis of FTX'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationNov 29 (Reuters) - Lawyers for BlockFi, the first direct casualty of crypto exchange FTX's collapse, made their initial appearance in U.S. bankruptcy court on Tuesday, emphasizing that the U.S. cryptocurrency lender was "the antithesis of FTX." Sussberg went to great lengths to distance BlockFi from FTX, saying the company did not face the myriad issues apparently plaguing FTX. Sussberg said BlockFi also intends to seek a court ruling allowing customers in the BlockFi Wallet program to withdraw their funds during the bankruptcy case if they wish. "If it's in your wallet, it stays in your wallet," Sussberg said. Its Chapter 11 plan envisages that BlockFi Wallet customers would be paid back in full and other account holders and creditors would receive a mixture of cryptocurrency, cash, and new equity shares.

Many in the art and insurance world, however, say it may be only be a matter of time before art works are vandalised, especially if protests spread beyond climate activism. The art insurance market globally earns around $750 million in premiums. PRESSURE ON PREMIUMSLosses and levels of insurance availability tend to dictate insurance premiums. Commercial museums and galleries, however, buy art insurance, and its use is also more prevalent among larger museums in the United States than in Europe. While five insurers contacted by Reuters said they were not yet factoring climate attacks into premiums, some artists say they already face increased costs.

He is seeking the remainder from other funds, including current investors in FTX such as venture capital fund Sequoia Capital, the source added. Tether's chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, tweeted that it had "no plans to invest in or lend assets to FTX." FTX also got hit by the Bahamas Securities Commission, where the company is based, freezing assets of FTX Digital Markets "and related parties". In a tweet, FTX said it had reached a deal with Tron to establish a special facility that would allow clients to swap some crypto assets from FTX to external wallets. Bankman-Fried told investors that Alameda owes FTX about $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported.

☆ Insurer AIG profit slumps on hurricane costs, lower investment returns
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Insurer American International Group Inc (AIG.N) on Tuesday reported a more than 39% decline in quarterly profit as investment income fell by more than $1 billion and losses from Hurricane Ian pushed up catastrophe bills. read moreAIG - one of the world's biggest commercial insurers - reported $600 million of catastrophe losses in the quarter, out of which about $450 million was attributable to Hurricane Ian, the insurer said. Total consolidated net investment income fell 28% to $2.7 billion, hurt mainly by lower alternative investment income. The metric excludes catastrophe losses, and a ratio below 100 signifies that the insurer earns more from premiums than it pays out in claims. read moreReporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Insurance for humanitarian workers, journalists, engineers and others heading to Ukraine is now more expensive and harder to organise than during the Iraq war. The United Nations and other aid organisations in Ukraine said last week that the missile attacks had disrupted their humanitarian work. A shortage of providers is also adding to insurance costs, sources said, pointing in particular to reluctance among some U.S. insurers to offer Ukraine cover. AIG (AIG.N), which declined to comment, was drawing up broad exclusion clauses for Russia and Ukraine, Reuters reported earlier this year. ($1 = 1.0206 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by John O'Donnell and Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Insurer Travelers profit falls on hurricane costs, lower investment returns
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A U.S. flag is seen in a flooded rural area after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Arcadia, Florida, U.S., October 4, 2022. REUTERS/Marco BelloOct 19 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Travelers Companies Inc (TRV.N) reported a 20% fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by hurricane-related claims and lower returns on its investments. Insurers are bracing for a hit of up to $57 billion from Hurricane Ian in Florida and South Carolina, risk modeling firm Verisk said earlier this month. The insurance industry also faces hefty claims from the Ukraine crisis and greater uncertainty brought on by higher claims costs from inflation. Pretax net investment income dropped 23% to $593 million, Travelers said.

The bank will now have three operating segments - asset and wealth management, global banking and markets, and platform solutions. Goldman Sachs outlined leadership changes for the new units, with Marc Nachmann becoming global head of the asset and wealth management division. In the consumer and wealth management business, Goldman saw revenue jump 18% to $2.38 billion in the quarter, reflecting higher demand for loans and higher fees from managing assets. Goldman said its consumer unit will be folded into two separate businesses - wealth management and the newly created platform solutions. The Platform Solutions unit will include GreenSky, the fintech lender Goldman bought in a $2.2 billion deal.

☆ Factbox: These are the leaders who want to reshape Goldman Sachs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (<GS.N>) unveiled a plan to reorganize its business into three units in another overhaul in less than three years by the Wall Street giant, which also reported a smaller-than-expected 44% slump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday. The bank will now have three operating segments - asset and wealth management, global banking and markets, and platform solutions. Following is the leadership structure at Wall Street's foremost investment bank in the newly organized units:Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAsset & Wealth Management (AWM): The new unit integrates the bank's investing and wealth activities into a single businessGlobal Banking & Markets (GBM): Integrates Goldman's investment banking and global markets into a single businessPlatform Solutions: The bank's new business will bring together its fintech platforms including GreenSky, that Goldman bought in a $2.2 billion deal in 2021Source: Goldman SachsRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Manya Saini, Niket Nishant, and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar and Lananh Nguyen in New York Editing by Nick ZieminskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

JPMorgan reported a 17% drop in third-quarter profit to $9.74 billion, although that was less than had been feared. Banks set aside more money in preparation for a hit from a potential economic slowdown. While investment banking and investment management were impacted by the market environment, he said fixed income and equity divisions "navigated challenging markets well." Morgan Stanley's earnings showed that investment banking revenue more than halved to $1.23 billion with declines across the bank's advisory, equity and fixed income segments. Corporations' interest in mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings dried up, particularly hitting banks strong in investment banking.

REUTERS/Andrew KellyOct 14 (Reuters) - Profits slid at Wall Street's biggest banks in the third quarter as they braced for a weaker economy while investment banking was hit hard, but investors saw a silver lining with some banks beating estimates. Banks set aside more money in preparation for a hit from a potential economic slowdown. Marinac said investors would want to see banks build reserves at this point in the economic cycle. Morgan Stanley's earnings showed that investment banking revenue more than halved to $1.3 billion with declines across the bank's advisory, equity and fixed income segments. Corporations' interest in mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings dried up, particularly hitting banks strong in investment banking.

☆ Wells Fargo profit falls on higher loan loss reserves
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Wells Fargo Bank branch is seen in New York City, U.S., March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah MoonOct 14 (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) on Friday reported a decline in profit for the third quarter as the bank set aside more money in preparation for a hit from a potential economic slowdown. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe outlook has been further clouded by the Russia-Ukraine war and fading stimulus measures. Higher borrowing costs have also shackled demand for mortgages and car loans, crimping banks' revenues. The fourth-largest U.S. lender reported a profit of $3.53 billion, or 85 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with $5.12 billion, or $1.17 per share, a year earlier.

☆ JPMorgan profit down 17% as sluggish dealmaking, loan loss reserves weigh
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 14 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) reported a 17% drop in third-quarter profit on Friday, as a worsening economic outlook curbed dealmaking and prompted the largest American bank to boost its reserves for possible defaults. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterDimon, however, cautioned that rising interest rates, inflation and geopolitical turmoil pose significant headwinds. The bank set aside $808 million in reserves, as the Fed's interest rate hikes stoke fears of an economic downturn. By comparison, in the same quarter last year, the bank had released $2.1 billion of reserves that it had kept aside for potential COVID losses. The bank reported $32.72 billion in revenue for the quarter, up from $29.65 billion last year.

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