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☆ HSBC reportedly asks middle managers to reapply for jobs as layoffs loom
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementHSBC has reportedly asked some managers to reapply for their jobs as part of a cost-cutting restructure. Bloomberg reported Monday that hundreds of senior staff will likely lose their jobs. HSBC has asked some managers to reapply for their jobs in its newly created corporate and institutional banking division as part of a cost-cutting drive, Bloomberg reported. The biggest change announced was the simplification of HSBC's structure, creating Eastern and Western arms to manage its global operations. He previously told staff in October that they should expect job cuts following the announcement of the revamp, Reuters reported at the time, citing an internal memo.

Persons: Georges Elhedery, Elhedery Organizations: HSBC, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Business, Reuters Locations: Asia, Pacific, Americas, London

☆ Google is once again dictating the future of the online ad industry and all its rivals can do is brace for impact
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When Google sneezes, the entire online advertising industry catches a cold. Google's announcement Tuesday that it would again delay its planned timeline for killing off third-party tracking cookies had long been anticipated by the digital advertising industry. Google has a 28% share of the online ad market, according to market research firm Emarketer (a sister company to BI). Regulators could step in to resolve the cookie chaosSome industry experts are hoping regulators will step in to untangle the mess. Amid the four years of confusion, chaos, and harumphing, there has been one consistent theme: When it comes to the future of online advertising, Google calls the shots.

Persons: Ciaran O'Kane, WireCorp, hasn't, Sundar Pichai, Stephen Lam, Mathieu Roche, James Rosewell, Google's, haven't, Pierre Devoize, Devoize Organizations: Google, Business, Gmail, Antitrust, US Department of Justice, European Commission, UK's, Markets Authority, CMA, Industry, IAB Tech, EU Google, Chrome, Movement Locations: FirstPartyCapital

☆ BlackRock loses top infrastructure investor to Manulife amid executive shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Valentine Andrews, 52, will report to Lorentz and lead the firm's "next era of private markets growth," he wrote. She will remain in New York City, where Manulife's private equity and private credit teams are based. Valentine Andrews joined BlackRock in 2014 from Morgan Stanley, where she spent seven years and helped establish the firm's infrastructure-investing platform. She previously worked at Macquarie Bank, the firm known for its infrastructure investments, in Melbourne and New York. "I like to think about living life in chapters," Valentine Andrews wrote in a post on LinkedIn last month.

Persons: CQS, Anne Valentine Andrews, Paul Lorentz, Valentine Andrews, Lorentz, Angelo Gordon, Nuveen, BlackRock, Edwin Conway, Salim Ramji, Vipon, Brian Kernohan, Marc Feliciano, Morgan Stanley Organizations: Manulife Investment Management, Business, BlackRock, Manulife, Investment, Global Infrastructure Partners, TPG, Macquarie Bank, LinkedIn Locations: Toronto, Massachusetts, Manulife, New York City, Melbourne, New York

☆ National Bank of Canada's fourth-quarter profit jumps on capital markets strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The National Bank of Canada logo is seen outside of a branch in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDec 1 (Reuters) - National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Friday, as a strong performance at its capital markets unit helped offset the hit from bigger provisions. NBC's adjusted net interest income, the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay out on deposits, slumped about 35.1% to C$825 million. Its financial markets segment, however, posted an adjusted net income of C$289 million, up 42%, driven by strength in capital markets and global markets businesses. The bank's adjusted net income rose to C$867 million ($641.13 million), or C$2.44 per share, for the three months ended Oct. 31, from C$738 million, or C$2.08 per share, a year earlier.

Persons: Chris Wattie, Arasu Kannagi Basil, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: National Bank of Canada, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Montreal, Bengaluru

TD said it would be challenging to meet its medium-term adjusted earnings growth target range of 7%-10% in the new fiscal year. It reported adjusted earnings of C$1.83 per share, 7 Canadian cents shy of estimates. RBC reported adjusted earnings of C$2.78 per share, comfortably beating expectations of C$2.62, according to LSEG data. CIBC also beat profit expectations as it set aside smaller-than-expected loan provisions and is slashing costs through a 5% reduction in its workforce, or about 2,400 jobs. The lender, Canada's fifth biggest, reported adjusted earnings of C$1.57 per share, compared with expectations of C$1.53.

Persons: Mark Blinch, Gabriel Dechaine, Kelvin Tran, Victor Dodig, Dave McKay, Niket, Balu, Arasu Kannagi Basil, Shinjini Ganguli, Kirsten Donovan, Mark Porter Organizations: Royal Bank of Canada, REUTERS, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, RBC, National Bank, CIBC, TD Bank, Bank Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, Tuesday, Thomson Locations: Toronto, dealmaking, PCLs, Canada, United States, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ UK antitrust regulator to take on Big Tech with new legal power
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen in front of displayed Google logo in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) set up a dedicated Digital Markets Unit more than two years ago, armed with the expertise to examine rapidly evolving markets like social media. The proposed "Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers" law, whose powers were originally intended to come into force in 2022, will give the unit the "teeth" to underpin its remit. A small group of big tech companies with designated status will have to comply with the rules, the government said. They could be fined up to 10% of global turnover for breaches under the proposed bill announced on Tuesday.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Paul Sandle, Kylie MacLellan Organizations: REUTERS, Markets Authority, Markets Unit, Markets, Competition, Thomson

FILE PHOTO: The Goldman Sachs company logo is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (GS.N) appears headed to another set of weak quarterly earnings as deal-making lags and the bank retreats from a loss-making consumer business. Goldman is expected to report third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $5.31 when it reports results on Tuesday, according to average estimates compiled by LSEG. Goldman Sachs declined to comment ahead of its earnings. UBS on Wednesday cut its target price for Goldman Sachs to $382 a share from a previous target of $400.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Brendan McDermid, Goldman, Stephen Biggar, David Solomon, Biggar, Brennan Hawken, Solomon, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Rod Nickel Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, LSEG, Argus Research Corp . Investment, Sixth Street Partners, Goldman, UBS, Arm Holdings, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Ukraine

BMO, which bought U.S. regional lender Bank of the West earlier this year, said provision for credit losses rose to C$492 million ($361.42 million), compared with C$136 million a year ago. The bank's earnings were also affected by severance costs of C$162 million and C$83 million in legal provisions at its capital markets unit. At Bank of Montreal, net interest income for the quarter rose to C$4.91 billion, compared with C$4.20 billion last year. At Scotiabank net interest income fell to C$4.58 billion, from $4.68 billion a year ago, largely hurt by lower corporate lending and lower loan fees. At Scotiabank, net income came in at C$2.23 billion, compared with C$2.61 billion.

Persons: Carlos Osorio, Tayfun Tuzun, BMO's, Scott Thomson, Thomson, John Aiken, BMO's Tuzun, Nivedita Balu, Pritam Biswas, Sri Hari, Shweta Agarwal, Bernadette Baum, Mike Harrison, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of Montreal, REUTERS, Bank of Nova, Bank of Canada's, BMO, Bank, Scotiabank, Barclays, Bank of, Analysts, Thomson Locations: Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto, U.S, Mexico, Bank of Montreal, Bengaluru

☆ Analysis: Microsoft tests the limits of Britain's antitrust authority
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The European Union approved the deal in May, when it accepted commitments to license games to rival platforms. At the same time, Microsoft offered a "detailed and complex" new proposal to the CMA, prompting the regulator to take the unprecedented step of reopening talks. The CMA said it was awaiting further Microsoft submissions on what had changed and how it would restructure the transaction. "We will then consider whether the proposals create a new merger situation and address the CMA's competition concerns," a spokesperson said on Tuesday. CLOSED FOR BUSINESSAfter the CMA block, Microsoft thundered that Britain was closed for business; exactly what the government did not want to hear as it tries to reignite the economy after the uncertainty sparked by Brexit.

Persons: we've, Becket McGrath, they're, Brexit, Tom Smith, Brad Smith, Jeremy Hunt, Meta, Smith, Marcus Smith, Gareth Mills, Charles Russell Speechlys, Sam Tobin, James Davey, Kate Holton, Sharon Singleton Organizations: CMA, Microsoft, U.S, Activision Blizzard, Markets Authority, Xbox, FTC, Reuters, European Union, Activision, CAT, Euclid Law, Geradin Partners, Brexit, Britain's, Facebook, Meta, Markets Unit, Thomson Locations: U.S, Barcelona, Brexit, London, Brussels, British, United States, Britain

☆ Payments processor FIS to sell stake in merchant unit to GTCR for $11.7 bln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Fidelity National Information Services (FIS.N) is selling a majority stake in its merchant business to private equity firm GTCR, the payments processor said on Thursday, in a deal that will fetch $11.7 billion. The company built its merchant business through a $43-billion purchase of Worldpay in 2019. As part of the deal, the private equity has committed an additional investment of up to $1.25 billion in Worldpay. Reuters had earlier this week reported that GTCR was in advanced talks for a majority stake in the merchant business. Charles Drucker, former CEO of Worldpay, will lead the merchant business after the spinoff, FIS said.

Persons: GTCR, Charles Drucker, Niket Nishant, Manya, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Fidelity National Information Services, FIS, GTCR, Reuters, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: Worldpay, Bengaluru

NEW YORK, June 26 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) plans to add former Bank of America executive Tom Montag to its board, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday, as Goldman's leadership faces challenges over its strategy. The bank's board is gathering in India this week, a second source said. Montag, who has previously worked at Goldman Sachs, is currently CEO of Rubicon Carbon, a carbon-market venture backed by asset manager TPG. The planned appointment was first reported by Bloomberg News, which said that Montag is an ally of CEO David Solomon. Montag, described by his peers as a hard-charging executive, was formerly a partner at Goldman Sachs and jointly led its securities division until late 2007.

Persons: Tom Montag, Montag, Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, Goldman, Merrill Lynch, Solomon, Saeed Azhar, Manya, Arun Koyyur, Emelia Organizations: YORK, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, of America, Rubicon, TPG, Bloomberg News, Bank of America, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: India, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Here are the 150 most important people at BlackRock. Explore our exclusive org chart.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider built an org chart showing the most senior executives at BlackRock. Our org chart shows where executives said to be in the running to succeed Fink sit. To provide a window into the current power structure, Insider has mapped out the roughly 150 most senior BlackRock executives. Our org chart reflects recent changes to the company's structure. This month, the firm overhauled its alternative-investments business and made changes to the makeup of its Aladdin business, two core BlackRock offerings.

Persons: Fink, Larry Fink, BlackRock, Rob Kapito, Manish Mehta, Mark Wiedman Organizations: BlackRock Locations: New York, BlackRock

☆ We identified the 150 most important people at BlackRock. Explore our exclusive org chart.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Insider built an org chart showing the most senior executives at BlackRock. Our org chart shows where executives said to be in the running to succeed Fink sit. To provide a window into the current power structure, Insider has mapped out the roughly 150 most senior BlackRock executives. Our org chart reflects recent changes to the company's structure. Here is our exclusive org chart of the most powerful people at $9 trillion BlackRock.

☆ BlackRock is wrestling with who could succeed Larry Fink. Here's who's now in the running.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Investment giant BlackRock has been planning for CEO Larry Fink's succession for years. Leadership has discussed BlackRock cofounder Susan Wagner as someone who could succeed Fink if the board does not have a clear candidate. For years, BlackRock has been planning for Chief Executive Larry Fink's succession, a torch-passing the industry has long speculated over. BlackRock has become shorthand for the intense backlash from primarily Republican lawmakers over sustainable investment strategies that Fink has championed as CEO. Goldstein, 49, is a BlackRock lifer and has been chief operating officer for nearly a decade.

☆ BlackRock org chart: The 150 most powerful people under CEO Larry Fink as succession planning looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Insider built an org chart showing the most senior executives under BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. To provide a window into the current power structure, Insider has mapped out the roughly 150 most senior BlackRock executives. This week, the firm overhauled its alternative-investments business and made changes to the makeup of its Aladdin business, two core BlackRock offerings. "We are spending a great deal of time at BlackRock getting the firm ready for when the founders are retiring. Investment stewardship head Joud Abdel Majeid and Willie Alford, Fink's new chief of staff, are among the executives who report to Fink.

HSBC posted a pretax profit of $12.9 billion for the quarter ended March, versus $4.2 billion a year earlier. HSBC said the planned $10 billion sale, originally slated to be completed by the end of this year, will now only likely go through in the first quarter of 2024. HSBC reported deposits fell 0.6% to $1.6 trillion, excluding those it acquired by bailing out the UK arm of failed U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank and the reclassification of French retail deposits. Despite the surging profit, HSBC did not raise its key performance target of a return on tangible equity of at least 12% from this year onwards, which analysts were anticipating. Reporting by Selena Li ing Kong Kong and Lawrence White in London; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK regulator holding up Microsoft's Activision deal set to get new powers to rein in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.K. government on Tuesday published a draft bill that would give a newly created division within the independent competition regulator powers to levy huge fines against Big Tech firms for competition abuses, and investigate and block acquisitions with greater speed. The draft Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers bill will take aim at tech companies with annual revenues of at least £25 billion ($31.2 billion) globally, or £1 billion in the U.K., according to a statement. That's sure to include Amazon , Apple , Google , Microsoft and Meta , which generated $514 billion, $394.33 billion, $282.8 billion, $198 billion and $116.6 billion in revenue respectively in 2022. The CMA has been at the center of some major Big Tech crackdowns lately. The watchdog has held up Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard with an in-depth competition investigation.

☆ Canada's Scotiabank profit falls on capital market slump, provisions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) (BNS.TO) reported a lower first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as a lull in its investment banking division dented income from its capital markets unit and compelled the Canadian lender to set aside higher provisions. Canada's central bank over the past 11 months has lifted interest rates at a record pace to 4.5% to tame inflation, which was 6.3% in December, still well above the bank's 2% target. Scotiabank booked provisions of C$638 million, up from C$222 million a year ago, as it braces for increased odds of more loan defaults in a rising interest rate environment. Canada's third-largest lender reported overall net profit of C$1.77 billion, or C$1.36 a share, compared with C$2.74 billion, or C$2.14 a share, last year. read more($1 = 1.3566 Canadian dollars)Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Higher provisions, legal charges dampen CIBC's quarterly profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) (CM.TO) reported a fall in its first-quarter profit on Friday, weighed down by higher provisions and legal charges to settle a lawsuit tied to the 2008 global financial crisis. CIBC set aside C$295 million ($217.17 million) in provisions for credit losses in the reported quarter, up C$220 million from a year-ago period. Last month, Bank of Canada said it would hold off on further moves to let the effects of past rate hikes sink in. CIBC kicked off the first-quarter earnings season for major Canadian banks on Friday. Rivals Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) will report on Tuesday while Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) and National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) will post their earnings on Wednesday.

☆ Factbox: The sun never sets on Google's antitrust woes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O), whose clout in search, the Android smartphone operating system and online advertising upended those markets, faces antitrust fights in the United States, Europe and India. The order, for example, requires Google to allow users to delete apps like its YouTube subsidiary from Android phones. The U.S. Justice Department first sued Google in 2020 for violating antitrust law to maintain dominance in search and to extend its dominance into other areas. SOUTH KOREA: The antitrust regulator fined Alphabet's Google 207 billion won ($176.64 million) in September 2021, saying it abused its dominant market position to restrict competition in the mobile operating system market. These include allegations Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.

☆ India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, Dec 22 (Reuters) - An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Apple (AAPL.O) have in the past faced scrutiny from the country's competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged abuse of the application market. Companies including Facebook (META.O), Twitter and Google (GOOGL.O) have for years been concerned with many regulations India has proposed for the technology sector, with companies complaining about excessive compliance burdens. Amazon, Google, Meta, Twitter and Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. A specialised digital markets unit should be established within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that competitive behaviour of big tech companies needs to be monitored in advance and not after markets become monopolised.

☆ Wall Street bankers to see bonuses shrink as dealmaking sputters - Bloomberg Law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street banks are weighing plans to slash bonuses this year, Bloomberg Law reported on Friday, as investment banking comes under pressure from choppy markets and a high interest-rate environment. Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) are considering cutting bonus pools by as much as 30%, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the internal deliberations. JPMorgan Chase and Co , the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is also planning bonus cuts, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Compensation and performance discussions typically begin in December as senior executives give indications about overall bonus pools that will be negotiated and finalized toward year-end. Citigroup and Bank of America declined to comment on the matter, while JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

☆ Top Canada banks post fall in profits as deals drought offsets rate boost
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) -Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and National Bank of Canada, two of the biggest banks in the country, posted a drop in profits as their market-focused businesses took a hit from the central bank’s hawkish monetary tightening campaign. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) logo is seen on Bay Street in the heart of the financial district in Toronto, January 22, 2015. To cushion the hit from markets, banks have turned to their lending business that got a boost from the central bank’s rate hikes. While National Bank posted an adjusted profit of C$2.08, below analysts’ expectation of C$2.24. RBC reported a modest drop in profit to C$3.88 billion, while National Bank’s earnings dropped 4% to C$738 million.

☆ Top Canada banks RBC, National Bank's profits dip as bad debt provisions mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Profit from personal and commercial banking for RBC and National Bank in the quarter grew 5% and 13%, respectively. RBC earmarked C$381 million in provisions for credit losses (PCL), compared with a C$227 million release last year. National Bank reported C$87 million versus a C$41 million release a year ago. Shares of RBC, which agreed to buy HSBC's (HSBA.L) Canadian business on Tuesday, were down 1.4%, while National Bank fell nearly 4%. National Bank, on the other hand, posted an adjusted profit of C$2.08 per share, below analysts' expectation of C$2.24.

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.

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