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LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Swiss insurer Baloise (BALN.S) is in talks to sell around 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of life insurance policies in Belgium, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The efforts come as other traditional insurers sell non-core portfolios with a view to freeing up capital held against those liabilities. In 2020, the Swiss group purchased the non-life insurance operations of Apollo-backed Athora. Baloise saw premiums in its non-life insurance business grow by close to 6% in the first nine months of the year to 3.4 billion Swiss francs ($3.9 billion) globally. However, life insurance premiums dropped more than 4% to 2.9 billion francs during the same period, according to its latest earnings release.

Persons: Baloise, Pablo Mayo, Paul Arnold, Anousha Sakoui, Mark Potter Organizations: Baloise, Reuters, The, ING Groep, ING, Aegon, Royal London, Swiss, Apollo, Fidea, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Thomson Locations: Belgium, The Basel, London, Zurich

☆ ING announces new buyback programme, Q3 net profit beats estimates
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

ING Groep, the largest Dutch bank, on Thursday announced its second share buyback programme of the year, of up to 2.5 billion euros ($2.65 billion), following third-quarter net profits that more than doubled from the previous year. The bank, which serves more than 38 million customers, stressed that it remains vigilant as global economic growth is slowing. The net interest income (NII), a key measure of earnings on loans minus deposit costs, reached 4.03 billion euros in the quarter, below 4.12 billion euros expected in a company-compiled consensus. Net additions to loan loss provisions amounted to 183 million euros, lower than 322 million euros expected in the company-compiled consensus, partially due to what Chief Risk Officer Ljiljana Cortan described as "successful de-risking from Russia". The bank's net profit rose 103% to 1.98 billion euros between July and September, beating the 1.83 billion euros in the company-compiled consensus.

Persons: Banks, Steven van Rijswijk, NII, Jefferies, Ljiljana Cortan, That's Organizations: ING Groep, Treasury, Financial Markets, ING, HSBC, UniCredit, BBVA, Deutsche Bank Locations: Russia

☆ Morgan Stanley names this stock as its top pick of European banks – giving it 35% upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Morgan Stanley has named Societe Generale as its top stock pick among European banks, seeing 35% upside for the French lender. The investment bank's analysts upgraded SocGen to an "overweight" rating and named it a top pick alongside ING Groep of the Netherlands and CaixaBank of Spain. GLE-FR .FCHI YTD line The analysts said European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates have likely peaked after aggressive hikes over the past year. Morgan Stanley forecasts a 13% average growth in European banks' earnings per share plus dividends in 2024 and 2025. Morgan Stanley sees room for cost cuts from internal mergers underway.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, SocGen, Alvaro Serrano, Michael Christodoulou, Christodoulou, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Societe Generale, ING Groep, European Central Bank Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Spain, 2Q24, France

☆ 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

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: First Republic, UBS, Enphase Energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

First Republic — The bank tumbled about 19% premarket after Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating again, to B+ from BB+, on Sunday. S&P first lowered First Republic's credit rating to junk status last week. UBS , Credit Suisse — Shares of UBS fell about 5% before the U.S. open, while Credit Suisse shares plunged 58%. Some analysts said UBS's forced Credit Suisse merger over the weekend could boost investor sentiment toward U.S. regionals. Zions Bancorp.

☆ European banking stocks sink as Silicon Valley Bank jitters spread
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European banking stocks sold off sharply in early trade Friday as jitters surrounding U.S. bank SVB Financial — which plunged 60% Thursday — spread around the world. It followed an announcement by the tech-focused lender of a capital raise to help offset bond sale losses. The Euro Stoxx Banks index was on pace for its worst day since June, led by a decline of more-than 8% for Deutsche Bank . Silicon Valley Bank caters heavily to startup firms, particularly venture-backed tech and life sciences companies in the U.S. "If private capital can't provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov't preferred bailout should be considered."

☆ ING profits grow, bad loans fall, CEO sees margins improving
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Core lending growth was a modest 3.1 billion euros, down from 13.4 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2021. Interest margins were 1.36% versus 1.37% a year ago, but Van Rijswijk said they should improve in 2023. Analysts had forecast net profit at 1.03 billion euros according to data from Refinitiv, up from 945 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2021. Loan loss provisions of 269 million were down 22% from 346 million euros a year ago. Total income rose 5% to 4.87 billion euros thanks to higher rates, offset by lower fees and commissions.

☆ Britain's new 'winter of discontent' deepens as widespread strikes mount over festive period
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In recent weeks, upcoming strike actions have been announced by nurses, rail workers, postal workers, ambulance workers, airport staff, Border Force agents, highway workers, Eurostar staff, civil servants, bus drivers, firefighters, charity workers, meteorologists and offshore workers. For the public sector, real earnings were 5 percentage points lower, and Hollingsworth suggested that the growing gap had become "unsustainable." "I think there's clearly a lot of pressure here for some catch-up on the public sector side of things, and it's clear that there is that labor bargaining power there." "However, the gap between private and public sector pay narrowed slightly, with private sector pay up 6.9%, while public sector pay is up by 2.7%." However, with negotiations remaining fraught and unions showing no signs of backing down, he said some catch-up on public sector pay growth will likely be required to prevent further disruption.

☆ ING Groep launches $1.5 bln buyback after Q3 pre-tax profit slumps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Nov 3 (Reuters) - ING Groep NV (INGA.AS), the largest Dutch bank, reported on Thursday a quarterly pre-tax profit of 1.38 billion euros ($1.36 billion), below expectations due to one-off charges, and also rolled out a fresh share buyback worth 1.5 billion euros. Analysts had forecast a pre-tax profit at 1.50 billion euros, according to Refinitiv data, compared with 1.92 billion euros posted last year. Chief Executive Officer Steven van Rijswijk said the company had seen a "solid performance, especially in light of the challenging economic and geopolitical environment". Additions to loan loss provisions increased to 403 million euros in the reported period from 39 million euros a year ago, but in line with the "through the cycle average", ING said. Without the one-off charges, margins would have improved to 1.42%, Van Rijswijk said.

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