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☆ TD Bank reaches $1.2 billion settlement in Ponzi scheme lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —TD Bank will pay $1.2 billion to settle a lawsuit alleging its involvement in an infamous $7 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by disgraced financier Allen Stanford more than a decade ago. The lawsuit claimed TD Bank collected these deposits in US and Canadian dollar values and continuously ignored red flags about the Antigua-based bank over the years. “TD provided primarily correspondent banking services to Stanford International Bank Limited and maintains that it acted properly at all times,” the bank said. Additionally, HSBC will pay $40 million and Independent Bank, formerly Bank of Houston, will pay $100 million, the receivership’s counsel confirmed. Societe Generale reached a settlement of $157 million and Trustmark agreed to pay $100 million earlier this year.

In a Thursday filing in Manhattan federal court, the U.S. Virgin Islands said JPMorgan's wrongful conduct continued at least until August 2019, when Epstein killed himself. The U.S. Virgin Islands called Dimon "a likely source of relevant and unique information" about decisions to retain Epstein as a client, and discussions on Epstein's referrals of prominent and wealthy potential clients. According to the filing, the business referral relationship continued after Epstein stopped being a client. The U.S. Virgin Islands is suing JPMorgan for unspecified damages, saying the bank should have known about its "high-risk" former client's misconduct on a private island he owned there. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ JPMorgan says it is not liable for top banker's ties to Jeffrey Epstein
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. After leaving JPMorgan, Staley became chief executive of Barclays Plc (BARC.L) but resigned in November 2021 amid a dispute with British financial regulators examining his ties to Epstein. Epstein's victims are also suing JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), where Epstein was a client from 2013 to 2018. The case is Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

Say hi to Snow White," Staley emailed Epstein in July 2010, according to filings on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. "Beauty and the Beast," Staley allegedly responded, to which Epstein replied: "Well one side is available," according to the filing. According to the lawsuit, Staley exchanged around 1,200 emails with Epstein from his JPMorgan email account between 2008 and 2012. Staley allegedly wrote to Epstein on Nov 1, 2009, describing his relationship with Epstein as "profound". One month later, Staley allegedly wrote to Epstein to say how great it had been to give him "a long, heartfelt hug", after which Epstein allegedly sent Staley two pictures of young women.

☆ Markets are still underestimating the impact of China's reopening, CIO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | 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 EmailMarkets are still underestimating the impact of China's reopening, CIO saysWillem Sels, global chief investment officer for global private banking and wealth at HSBC, discusses the worldwide effects of China's reopening and low valuations across China and ASEAN.

☆ Gautam Adani fails to calm investors over market mayhem that wiped out billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New Delhi CNN —Indian billionaire Gautam Adani tried to reassure investors on Thursday after he abruptly abandoned his flagship firm’s $2.5 billion share sale. “Once the market stabilizes, we will review our capital market strategy.”This was the first time the tycoon has spoken about the stock market mayhem that has wiped billions off his logistics and energy business empire. A week-long meltdown in the value of Adani Group shares started when an American short seller accused the conglomerate of fraud. Despite the turmoil, the group’s flagship company, Adani Enterprises, managed to issue new shares worth $2.5 billion on Tuesday. Shares in Adani Enterprises were down almost 9% in Mumbai, while shares in his other companies plunged 5% to 10%.

Spokespeople for SEBI and Adani Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Among several allegations, Hindenburg accused Adani Group last week of using offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. On Tuesday, Adani Group mustered support from investors for a $2.5 billion share sale for Adani Enterprises, in what some saw as a stamp of investor confidence at a time of crisis. Reuters Graphics[1/5] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port in Haifa port, Israel January 31, 2023. The U.S. dollar-denominated bonds of Adani Ports maturing in February 2031 led the losses, falling 3.59 cents to 67.58 cents.

[1/5] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an inauguration ceremony after the Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa Port in Haifa port, Israel January 31, 2023. "The kind of fall that we are seeing in Adani stocks is scary," said Avinash Gorakshakar, head of research at Mumbai-based Profitmart Securities. After losing $86 billion in recent days, the seven listed Adani Group entities now have a combined market capitalisation of about $131 billion. LIC owned a 4.23% stake in Adani Enterprises as of end-December and more than 9% in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. Siddhartha Mohanty, one of LIC's managing directors, said in interviews on Monday that the insurer was engaging with the Adani Group but was positive on its investments.

Before the critical report by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg, Adani had ranked third. The report by Hindenburg Research last week alleged improper use by the Adani Group of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. Adani Power (ADAN.NS) fell 5%, while Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) slumped 10%, down by its daily price limit. Headaches for the Adani Group are expected to continue for some time. Hindenburg said in its report it had shorted U.S.-bonds and non-India traded derivatives of the Adani Group.

The port-to-property group, led by Gautam Adani, one of the world's richest people, has denied the allegations and called them baseless, adding it has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures. "But from an offshore investor's perspective the allegations (made by Hindenburg) ... do not seem to be clearly addressed," he said. The U.S. short-seller has said Adani's "response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions." Australia's corporate regulator said on Wednesday it would review the Hindenburg report as concerns raised also relate to Adani's Australian operations. Adani Enterprises lost nearly 6% on Wednesday to bring its losses since the Hindenburg report to more than $8 billion.

☆ Central banks are fighting a war on inflation. They're not done yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —One of the main jobs of central banks is to keep prices under control, allowing households and businesses to plan for the future with some certainty on what things will cost. Tolga Akmen/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockPolicymakers face difficult questions about exactly when to pause interest rate hikes. The European Central Bank’s main rate is 2%, while the Bank of England’s is 3.5%. Still, investors are becoming increasingly confident that major central banks will change course soon. “Central banks are relatively close to the end,” Sels said.

☆ Why wealth management is Goldman Sachs' new 'crown jewel' with dealmaking at a standstill
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

CEO David Solomon acknowledged that a stronger wealth and asset management business would have helped the bank weather the storm. One of Solomon's three key priorities for Goldman Sachs is growing management fees in the asset and wealth management arm. Solomon touted the potential for its workplace wealth offering Ayco in October, but private wealth management is another opportunity. Of 43 job postings in asset and wealth management based in the US, 15 are within the private wealth unit. The wealth management business also boosts Goldman's other services, as the bank's co-head of asset management Julian Salisbury said in September.

☆ Factbox: Global banks cut jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The British investment bank has performed well in recent quarters, especially in fixed income trading, but a blunder in the United States that saw it sell more securities than permitted has cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov. 8. The cost savings reported are likely to involve more job cuts than previously announced for the first wave of reductions, including in its wealth business, Reuters reported. DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers. MORGAN STANLEY (MS.N)In December, the investment bank slashed about 2% of its workforce, a source familiar with the company's plans told Reuters.

It is likely to affect most of the bank's major divisions, with its investment banking arm facing the deepest cuts, a source told Reuters this month. "We know this is a difficult time for people leaving the firm," a Goldman Sachs statement on Wednesday said. Last year was challenging across groups including credit, equities, and investment banking broadly, said Paul Sorbera, president of Wall Street recruitment firm Alliance Consulting. [1/3] A trader works at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 16, 2012. Shares of Goldman Sachs have partially recovered from a 10% fall last year.

☆ Headwinds carried into 2023 will make it more uncertain: Economist
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | 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 EmailGlobal headwinds carried into 2023 from the past year will make it even more uncertain: EconomistSong Seng Wun of CIMB Private Banking discusses the outlook for Southeast Asian markets in 2023 and explains why there's still "room for optimism."

☆ U.S. inflation is peaking, but it isn't out of the woods, HSBC says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | 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 EmailU.S. inflation is peaking, but it isn't out of the woods, HSBC saysJames Cheo of HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth says inflation in the services sector is "still quite sticky."

The U.S. central bank hiked rates by 50 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, slowing down from four back-to-back 75 bps hikes, although Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recent signs of slowing inflation have not brought any confidence yet that the fight had been won. The Fed's policy-setting committee projected it would continue raising rates to above 5% in 2023, a level not seen since a steep economic downturn in 2007. Money market participants currently expect at least two 25 bps rate hikes next year and borrowing costs to peak at 4.9% by May next year, before falling to around 4.4% by year-end. Wall Street's main indexes have staged a strong recovery since hitting 2022 lows in October on hopes of a less aggressive Fed, but the rally stalled in December due to mixed economic data and worrying corporate forecasts. Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) fell 2.9% after CEO Elon Musk disclosed another $3.6 billion in stock sales, taking his total near $40 billion this year and frustrating investors as the company's shares wallow at two-year lows.

☆ Futures slide as hawkish Fed quashes policy pivot hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sruthi Shankar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors currently expect at least two 25 bps rate hikes next year and borrowing costs to peak at 4.9% by May next year, before falling to around 4.4% by year-end. Both central banks are expected to hike borrowing costs by 50 bps. Shares of megacap companies, including Apple (AAPL.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Nvidia Corp , fell between 1.1% and 2.1% in premarket trading. Trade Desk Inc (TTD.O) slipped 4.1% after Jefferies downgraded its rating for the adtech firm to "hold" from "buy". Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Fed's policy-setting committee projected it would continue raising rates to above 5% in 2023, a level not seen since a steep economic downturn in 2007. Money market participants currently expect at least two 25 bps rate hikes next year and borrowing costs to peak at 4.9% in the first half, before falling to around 4.4% by the year end. Wall Street's main indexes have staged a strong recovery since hitting 2022 lows in October on hopes of a less aggressive Fed, but the rally stalled in December on the back of mixed economic data and worrying corporate forecasts. Investors also digested economic data on Thursday that showed a steeper-than-expected decline in retail sales in November and the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits falling last week, indicating a tight labor market. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 120 new lows.

☆ Factbox: Global banks take axe to jobs as cost pressures mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Banks typically trim jobs towards the end of the year, but 2022 has seen a bigger wave of redundancies and layoffs. Rising cost pressures as a result of inflation and shrinking revenues in many core business lines amid volatile markets are making bank bosses nervous about profitability in 2023. CITIGROUPCiti (C.N) eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported on Nov.8. CREDIT SUISSECredit Suisse (CSGN.S) is accelerating cost cuts announced just weeks ago, Chairman Axel Lehmann said on Dec. 2, confirming a Reuters report, as the bank races to slash its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.68 billion). DEUTSCHE BANKDeutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), Germany's largest bank, cut staff in its investment bank's origination and advisory teams in October, in a move than affected mostly junior bankers.

[1/4] A Christmas tree is decorated in front of the headquarters of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Zurich, Switzerland November 23, 2022. Credit Suisse declined to comment on job cuts in the Hong Kong private banking business. Credit Suisse said in October it intends to reduce its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.67 billion) to about 14.5 billion in 2025. Client outflows have partially reversed and very few clients have left entirely, Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann told a Financial Times conference on Thursday. The fresh round of private banking cuts signals challenges facing Credit Suisse as it shifts towards banking for the wealthy, after vowing to ramp up wealth management globally.

☆ Jeffrey Epstein's accusers are suing Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, accusing them of ignoring 'blatant red flags' that enabled 'commercial sex trafficking'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Accusers of Jeffrey Epstein are suing Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, filings show. Epstein would send money to young women and withdraw large sums to pay victims, per the lawsuits. A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank told Insider in a statement: "We believe this claim lacks merit and will present our arguments in court." Another unnamed accuser suing Deutsche says she was sexually abused by Epstein and trafficked to his friends from about 2003 until about 2018, during which time she was paid in cash. The suit says Deutsche ignored several "red flags" included multiple payments to young women and substantial cash withdrawals.

Around 60% of Credit Suisse's wealth business is exposure to what it calls growth markets such as the Asia-Pacific region and emerging markets, and the other main part is business with ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs. De Ferrari said some of the best opportunities come in the "high net" business, clients who have $5-25 million to invest. Credit Suisse had been rocked in early October by wild market swings and a social media storm. "Everybody said we love Credit Suisse. Key to wealth management's success as a core business at Credit Suisse is focusing on its offerings and its top 20 markets and exiting from some others, he said.

The macroeconomic environment is also not one that really favours aggressive investment at this point in time," Jaideep Khanna, who heads Barclays' Asia Pacific business told Reuters in an interview. We, as a business within the Barclays framework, are accretive to the firm and have delivered over the last three years," said Mumbai-based Khanna, who is also Barclays' India CEO. Khanna, the only regional CEO of a global bank to be based in India, took the role in 2017 after joining Barclays in 2001. The country is also home to Barclays' global services centre, where it employs more than 21,000 - its second-largest number of staff outside of Britain. In Australia, Khanna said Barclays would deepen its involvement with investment banking boutique firm Barrenjoey Capital Partners in which it nearly doubled its stake to 18.2% this year.

☆ The evolution of Credit Suisse over 166 years
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

1990The group takes a controlling stake in U.S. investment bank CS First Boston and buys Bank Leu, a Swiss private bank. 1997A reorganisation turns CS Holding into Credit Suisse Group and drops the SKA name; it also buys insurer Winterthur, a strategic partner. 2002A reorganisation creates two units: Credit Suisse Financial Services and Credit Suisse First Boston; two years later it splits into three units by adding Winterthur. 2005Credit Suisse and CSFB merge and stop using the Credit Suisse First Boston brand name. In March, U.S. investment fund Archegos implodes, saddling Credit Suisse with a $5.5 billion loss.

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