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☆ Dollar mixed vs major peers; pounds slips, yen briefly jumps
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Samuel Indyk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Central banks are not trying to hit the CPI targets in the near term," said Colin Asher, senior economist at Mizuho. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six peers, fell 0.1% to 106.13, after dropping 0.4% on Monday. Fed officials will enter into a blackout period on Oct. 21 before the central bank's Oct. 31–Nov. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said on Monday the central bank should not create new pressure on the economy by increasing the cost of borrowing. Australia's central bank considered raising rates at its recent policy meeting but judged there was not enough new information to warrant a move, minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Oct. 3 policy meeting showed.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Colin Asher, Asher, Masato Kanda, Valentin Marinov, Marinov, Jerome Powell, Patrick Harker, Sterling, Samuel Indyk, Ankur Banerjee, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Bank of Japan, Mizuho, CPI, Swiss, CIB, Federal, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Bank of England, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of Australia's, Thomson Locations: Australia's, London, Singapore

REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON/DUBLIN, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Societe Generale's (SOGN.PA) much-hyped new strategy plans were given a thumbs down by investors on Monday, underscoring uncertainty over European banks as they face a brittle economy. "There are more questions about the future and the economy," Legras said, adding that transformative mergers between banks, which investors have waited for in vain, remained unlikely. Reuters GraphicsThat dampens the prospects for Europe's banks, whose valuations are low and static, said one adviser who works with top executives from the region's lenders, adding that investors struggle to see much promise for the sector. European banks' modest earning power has dampened investor appetite for their shares, which often trade at just a fraction of book value - the sum of their assets. While in the United States, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are valued at around 1.5 times book value, Germany's Deutsche Bank, Dutch lender ABN Amro, France's Credit Agricole and Britain's Standard Chartered are valued at just half book value or less.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Jerome Legras, Legras, Slawomir Krupa, Krupa, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Frederic Rozier, Morgan Stanley, Karel Lannoo, Elisa Martinuzzi, John O'Donnell, Alexander Smith Organizations: Societe Generale, La Defense, REUTERS, Reuters, European Central Bank, European Union, Commission, Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro, France's Credit, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, DUBLIN, France's, Europe, United States, Germany, Mirabaud, U.S, Brussels

☆ CNBC Daily Open: Financial markets aren’t the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. JPMorgan Chase no longer thinks the U.S. economy will slip into a recession this year. "Given this growth, we doubt the economy will … slip into a mild contraction as early as next quarter," wrote Feroli. CNBC Pro's Sarah Min explains how the Federal Reserve might react, depending on what the price numbers look like.

Persons: nonfarm payrolls, That's, Dow Jones, JPMorgan Chase, Michael Feroli, Sarah Min Organizations: CNBC, Federal, U.S, Nasdaq, Credit Agricole, Maersk, JPMorgan, Apple Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Cupertino

FILE PHOTO-A woman walks past a Credit Agricole logo outside a bank office in Reze near Nantes, France, May 12, 2021. The results boosted Credit Agricole SA's (CAGR.PA) stock, which was up by about 5% at 0817 GMT, making it the best performer within France's blue-chip index CAC 40 (.FCHI). Helping the positive sentiment, the investment vehicle of the mutual banks that control Credit Agricole said it would spend 1 billion euros on the bank's shares, further tightening its grip on the lender. The vehicle currently owns 60.2% of Credit Agricole SA and said it had no intention to go beyond 65%. Degroof Petercam has client assets of 71 billion euros, while Indosuez said it had assets under management of 130 billion euros at the end of 2022.

Persons: Stephane Mahe, Degroof, France's, JP Morgan, Degroof Petercam, Indosuez, Xavier Musca, Musca, Mathieu Rosemain, Geert de Clercq, Piotr Lipinski, Ingrid Melander, Augustin Turpin, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Agricole, CAC, PARIS, Credit Agricole, Credit Agricole SA, Royal Bank of Canada, Barclays, Credit Agricole's, Indosuez, KBC, Thomson Locations: Reze, Nantes, France, Belgian

LONDON, July 28 (Reuters) - French telecoms firm TDF is studying options for its fibre business including a sale, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters, in a deal that could value the fibre unit upwards of 1 billion euros. The sellers are looking for as much as 1.3 billion to 1.6 billion euros for the fibre unit, according to one of the people, a price that buyers may find difficult to swallow. TDF - a former unit of France's leading telecoms operator Orange - provides broadcasting, fibre and telecoms infrastructure with some of its radio antennas sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The fibre unit's EbitdaAL, which deducts the cost of the leases from EBITDA, reached 28.7 million euros last year up from 21.6 million euros a year earlier, while revenues grew 42.8% to 52 million euros, according to TDF’s latest annual results. Two of the sources said the fibre unit's valuation will depend on the number of homes connected to fibre, market penetration and growth rate.

Persons: Brookfield, Sweden's, Les Echos, Andres Gonzalez, Amy, Jo Crowley, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: TDF, Reuters, Brookfield Asset Management, BNP Paribas, BNP, Brookfield, Orange, Eiffel, Sweden's EQT Partners, PSP Investments, APG, Management, Arcus Infrastructure Partners, Agricole, CAA, Thomson Locations: Paris, Europe, TDF, EBITDA

☆ French parking lot operator Indigo buys Spanish rival Parkia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MADRID, July 31 (Reuters) - French car parking lot operator Indigo has agreed to buy Spanish rival, Parkia, for between 600 million euros ($660.96 million) and 650 million euros, a company spokesperson said on Monday. Spanish newspaper Expansion earlier on Monday reported Indigo would pay 700 million euros. Parkia, which operates about 70 parking lots in Spain and Andorra, is currently owned by Australian-based fund Igneos Infrastructure. Indigo, one of the world's largest parking lot operators, is 49.04% owned by French bank Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA). ($1 = 0.9078 euros)Reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Louise Heavens, Jason Neely and Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Indigo, Igneos, Inti Landauro, Louise Heavens, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Igneos, Credit, Investment, Vauban Infrastructure, Infrastructure, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, Andorra, Australian

☆ Italy's top insurers, banks strike Eurovita rescue deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, June 30 (Reuters) - Italy's top four insurers and Germany's Allianz (ALVG.DE) have agreed a multi-billion euro rescue deal for Eurovita, industry supervisor IVASS said on Friday after months of work to broker an accord which also involves 25 banks. Earlier this year, Eurovita became the first Italian insurance company to be placed under special administration, after running into trouble due to higher interest rates. Insurers Generali (GASI.MI), Intesa Sanpaolo Vita (PST.MI), Poste Vita (PST.MI), UnipolSAI (US.MI) and Allianz will set up a new company that will take on Eurovita life insurance policies. To prevent the five insurers from being hit by redemptions once the ban is lifted, banks that sold Eurovita the products are participating in the rescue. The lenders will provide financing to repay Eurovita customers who redeem their policies, while holding the underlying bonds to maturity and neutralising any losses.

Persons: IVASS, Eurovita, redemptions, Intesa, Vitale &, Gatti Pavesi Bianchi, Valentina Za, Alvise Armellini, Alexander Smith Organizations: MILAN, Germany's Allianz, Allianz, Banco, Credit Agricole, Thomson Locations: Eurovita

☆ Credit Agricole's CACEIS registers in France as crypto custody services provider
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - CACEIS, the asset servicing business owned by Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and Santander (SAN.MC), has registered with France's markets regulator AMF to provide custody services for digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies. The company registered as a digital asset service provider (DASP) on June 20, according AMF's website, adding a major traditional financial services group to the growing number of crypto companies registered by the French watchdog. France has been supportive of the nascent industry and was the first major European country to grant registration to the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. CACEIS had 4.1 trillion euros ($4.51 trillion) in assets under custody at end of last year, according to its website. Credit Agricole SA is its majority owner with a 69.5% stake, while Santander holds a 30.5% of the group.

Persons: Mathieu Rosemain, Jane Merriman Organizations: Credit Agricole, Santander, AMF, Binance, Societe Generale, AXA, CACEIS, Credit Agricole SA, Thomson Locations: France

The group will study this expression of interest and keep the market informed," Casino said in a statement on Wednesday. And the holding company through which Naouri controls Casino is also heavily indebted. Niel, Pigasse and Zouari said they would invest 200 million to 300 million euros themselves, with the rest coming from unspecified partners, including Casino creditors. The trio's proposal comes after Kretinsky, Casino's second-largest shareholder, offered in April to take control of the group through a 1.1 billion euro capital increase. A Casino spokesperson declined to comment beyond its statement on Wednesday or on behalf of Naouri.

Persons: Jean, Charles Naouri, Xavier Niel, Daniel Kretinsky, Casino, Kretinsky, Niel, Matthieu Pigasse, Moez, Alexandre Zouari, Clement Genelot, Garnier, Pigasse, Zouari, Casino's, Mathieu Rosemain, Chiara Elisei, Laura Lenkiewicz, Sudip Kar, Silvia Aloisi, Mark Potter, Alexander Smith Organizations: Casino, Monoprix, BNP, Credit Agricole, Carrefour, Reuters, France's, Naouri, Thomson Locations: PARIS, Czech, Natixis, Casino

[1/4] Li Yunze, director of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), speaks at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, China June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Jason XueSHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - China is open for investment, the country's top financial regulators told foreign financiers at a high-profile forum in Shanghai on Thursday, as concerns mount among foreign firms that they may no longer be welcome. "Opening up is China's long-term national policy, and the door of China's financial industry will only be opened wider and wider." Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told forum participants that China will "adamantly" push for deregulation in terms of market access, institution qualification and products. Internal circulation will be supported by "external circulation," as in foreign financing and China's interactions with the global economy.

Persons: Li Yunze, Jason Xue, Goldman Sachs Group's, David Solomon, Tesla's, Elon Musk, Xi, Merrill Lynch, Li, Jane Fraser, Yi Huiman, Noah Fraser, Yi, Joe Cash, Shri Navaratnam, Edmund Klamann, Kim Coghill Organizations: China's, Financial Regulatory Administration, REUTERS, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Mizuho Financial, Paypal, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Canada China Business Council, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Jason Xue SHANGHAI, BEIJING, U.S, flashpoints, Ukraine, South, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Russia, Mongolia

☆ EU to propose greater transparency for default swaps on eight banks - EU document
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, May 31 (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose greater transparency in the trading of credit default swaps of eight top banks to mirror rules in U.S. markets, a European Union document seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday. So-called single name credit default swaps have come under regulatory scrutiny after the fall and state-backed rescue of Credit Suisse triggered high volatility on the CDS market for some systemic banks, Deutsche Bank in particular, on March 24. "One of the conclusions on the events of Friday, 24 March, was that single name CDS contracts are opaque and illiquid," the EU executive body said in a document for a meeting of EU states on Thursday. The Commission said it proposes to re-insert CDS on Santander, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, ING Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Societe Generale and DZ Bank into the scope of derivatives transactions subject to post trade transparency. Incomplete and asymmetrical reporting of CDS contracts linked to systemically important banks causes insecurity in markets during shocks, the paper said.

Persons: Intesa, Huw Jones, Jon Boyle, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: European, Reuters, Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Santander, BNP, Credit Agricole, ING Bank, Societe Generale, DZ Bank, Thomson Locations: EU

☆ Analysis: Struggling China local governments find a fundraising loophole, lifeline in "pearl bonds"
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - China's cash-strapped local governments have suddenly rushed to an unusual corner of the debt market in Shanghai where ambiguous rules offer ways to skirt restrictions on onshore borrowing. LGFVs accounted for about two-thirds of the issuers and 60% of the debt sold this year nation-wide, according to Reuters' calculations. Among all the newly-issued FTZ bonds this year, 55, or two-thirds of all 82 issuers, were LGFVs, according to Reuters' calculations. The "pearl" or free trade zone (FTZ) bonds have been around since 2016 but are only now becoming popular as tighter central government supervision on LGFV debts starts to bite. AMBIGUOUS POSITIONING"Pearl bonds" differ from other offshore bonds as trades are cleared by the state-owned China Central Depository & Clearing Co, rather than a global clearing house.

Persons: Shi Xiaoshan, Fitch, Royston Quek, Tim Fang, Pearl, Zhang Hong, Georgina Lee, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S, Haitong International Securities, China Central Depository, Industrial, Group, Credit Agricole CIB, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Bank of Communications, Pudong New, Financial, Reform Commission, Reuters, The, Administration of Foreign Exchange, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Shanghai, Beijing, U.S . Federal, Hong Kong, China, Zhejiang, Pudong, SINGAPORE

☆ ECB warns of hit to top European banks if funds run into trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The biggest risk it identified was that shadow banks withdrew their funds from banks, such as deposits and repurchase agreements. These account for 13% of all traditional banks' liabilities -- or more for larger banks. This could happen if the shadow banks -- or non-bank financial intermediaries (NBFI) in the regulators' jargon -- were themselves hit by outflows or lost confidence in a bank. Other spillover channels included forced sales of assets by shadow banks, which would cause losses at traditional banks because their portfolios often overlap or are correlated, the ECB said. It added that distress at systemically important lenders would also spell trouble for shadow banks.

☆ Bank of America loves these 10 unloved global stocks with major upside
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bank of America strategists have named the ten European stocks they believe are currently undervalued and could provide significant investment returns. These picks, which the investment bank refers to as the "Beat Factor Top 10," are primarily made up of industrial and financial companies. Bank of America analysts expect shares of Airbus to rise by 64% to 200 euros per share ($217) over the next 12 months. The "Beat Factor" is a measure Bank of America analysts use to identify the most divergent stock ideas on the FTSE Eurofirst 300. Despite the share price gains, Bank of America strategists remain bullish on the stock coming out of the earnings season.

☆ SocGen beats estimates as bond trading offsets retail banking slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

General view of the logo outside a branch of French bank Societe Generale in Paris. French bank Societe Generale posted better than expected quarterly earnings on Friday after turmoil in bond and currency markets boosted its trading business. The trading windfall cushioned a slump in SocGen's French retail division, where earnings were curbed by stricter interest rate caps on mortgages and other loans. "Performance is tracking well in all the divisions, but the main issue is French retail," JPMorgan said in a note to clients. "We think the market will focus on French NII (net interest income), taking the shares down," it said.

SummarySummary Companies Q1 investment bank sales up 20%Trading activity outperforms peersConfirms 2025 targetsPARIS, May 10 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole SA (CAGR.PA), France's second-biggest listed bank, posted better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday, as market volatility boosted trading revenue. This helped drive Credit Agricole's quarterly sales to 6.12 billion euros ($6.74 billion), up 9.6% from a year earlier, while net income more than doubled to about 1.23 billion euros. Both figures beat market expectations of 5.9 billion euros and 816 million euros, respectively, according to an analyst consensus compiled by the company. Deposit levels were stable in the quarter from a year earlier for the group, Credit Agricole said. The cost of risk -- money set aside for failing loans -- fell to 374 million euros, as concerns linked to the war in Ukraine subsided.

☆ Morning Bid: Inflation cloud obscures Fed peak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With markets edgy about the U.S. debt ceiling standoff and ongoing ripples from the March regional banking blow out, the running assumption is the Fed's campaign is over and disinflation underway. New York Fed chief John Williams said yesterday it's too soon to say the central bank is done and dusted. If consensus forecasts are correct, the April inflation readout later on Wednesday may well force the Fed to keep that equivocal line up for a bit longer. Futures markets show only a 15% chance of another Fed hike next month, with quarter point rate cut almost fully priced by September. Visibility is low in the fixed income market, however, due to the debt ceiling impasse.

☆ Credit Agricole has no plans to raise stake in Italy's Banco BPM
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Credit Agricole emerged as Banco BPM's single biggest investor a year ago, shortly after UniCredit (CRDI.MI) ditched a buyout offer for the smaller rival. Credit Agricole recently increased its initial 9.2% stake, but it would need supervisory clearance to cross the 10% threshold. When asked whether Credit Agricole could help shield Banco BPM from potential takeovers, Maioli said: "We don't play that part. Credit Agricole Italy two years ago spent 855 million euros ($941.36 million) to buy regional Italian bank Creval, after agreeing to rescue three small ailing lenders in 2017. "I think the priority of all the parties involved should be that of strengthening Italian banks," he said.

Things are calmer now, but seven traders who spoke to Reuters, some heading rates desks at big global banks, said March's mayhem continues to reverberate, with fears of further volatility in traditionally stable bond markets muting activity. Investors rely on government bond markets to translate central bank interest rates into a stable benchmark for borrowing costs, from corporate loans to household mortgages. Yield shifts in government bond markets have become bigger - occasionally hitting 20 bps a day - since central banks started ramping up rate hikes last year to tame surging inflation. For some, March's turmoil is the latest sign of how post-2008 regulations constraining dealer balance sheets are affecting bond market functioning. Others noted markets were leaving behind an era of low volatility for good as rates rise.

☆ Credit Agricole and Worldline plan French payments business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) and payment services company Worldline (WLN.PA) have begun exclusive talks to set up a joint venture to provide payment services to businesses and their customers, they said on Wednesday. The joint-venture, slated to be fully operational by 2025, would be majority owned by Worldline and fully consolidated in the payments company's accounts, they said. It will involve an investment of 80 million euros, shared equally between Worldline and Credit Agricole, they said. Credit Agricole has a target to increase sales stemming from payments by 20% by 2025. The French bank previously had a "strategic partnership" focused on payments with German group Wirecard, which filed for insolvency in 2020.

☆ Worldline seeks to crack tough French payments nut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, April 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Worldline’s (WLN.PA) boss Gilles Grapinet has spotted an opportunity to access a hard-to-crack payments market. A partnership with Crédit Agricole will allow Worldline to enter Europe’s top market for merchant payments, which several domestic banks still handle directly. Analysts reckon the French bank will confer its entire merchant acquiring business to the new company. For Worldline, the deal may be a stepping-stone to make similar accords with other French lenders or even purchase the whole of Crédit Agricole’s payments business over time. But this deal shows that payments companies still have some scope for dealmaking to improve their fortunes.

NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - Societe Generale SA (SOGN.PA) agreed to pay $105 million to settle U.S. investor litigation accusing the French bank of violating antitrust law by conspiring with rivals to rig Euribor, a key European interest rate benchmark. A preliminary settlement was filed late Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge's approval. Societe Generale denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, court papers show. The case is Sullivan et al v. Barclays Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

NEW YORK, April 14 (Reuters) - Societe Generale SA (SOGN.PA) agreed to pay $105 million to settle U.S. investor litigation accusing the French bank of violating antitrust law by conspiring with rivals to rig Euribor, a key European interest rate benchmark. A preliminary settlement was filed late Friday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requires a judge's approval. If approved, the accord would mean investors have obtained $651.5 million of settlements with seven banks. Societe Generale denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, court papers show. The case is Sullivan et al v. Barclays Plc et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ The U.S. heading into recession but that could be good for the dollar, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | 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 EmailThe U.S. heading into recession but that could be good for the dollar, strategist saysValentin Marinov, managing director and head of G10 FX research at Credit Agricole CIB, discusses the economic outlook in the U.S., U.K. and Europe and the trajectory of their currencies.

The sources said one possibility that has been considered would see Amundi (AMUN.PA) spinning off its Italian operations into a separate company, in which UniCredit (CRDI.MI) could buy a stake. Azimut had 83 billion euros of assets under management (AUMs) at the end of February. Amundi, which is 69% owned by Credit Agricole, ranks third in Italy with 214 billion euros of AUMs as of end-February. UniCredit had 194 billion euros of AUMs at group level in December. "Extracting further value from partnerships on asset management, protection and payments remains another focus," they added.

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