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In the face of an unprecedented semiconductor shortage, Europe is offering billions of euros in subsidies to reduce its dependence on Asia. In return, Intel is committing big sums and with Germany already bagging a 30 billion euro investment, Poland decided to crash the party. Poland initially impressed Intel executives with the speed in which it responded to queries and addressed concerns, Intel said. "When we began the process, we hadn't considered Poland," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters. But when Intel announced its European investments in March 2022, Germany was awarded a major factory in Magdeburg while Intel told Poland it would only expand its existing facility in Gdansk.

Persons: chipmaker, hadn't, Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Marcin Fabianowicz, Fabianowicz, Sroda Slaska Adam Ruciński, TSMC, Jakub Mazur, Karol Badohal, Supantha Mukherjee, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Wroclaw, Intel, Reuters, Polish Investment and Trade Agency, Industrial Development Agency, PepsiCo, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Thomson Locations: WROCLAW, Poland, STOCKHOLM, Europe, Asia, Germany, U.S, Wroclaw, Polish, Magdeburg, Gdansk, Sroda Slaska, Wrocław, Taiwan, Stockholm

Credit Suisse bankers, worried about their future are seeking safer employment at competitors, one person said. Credit Suisse said in April that the bank's "employee attrition has been higher over the last year," and that it had just over 48,000 full-time employees at the end of the first quarter. In an example of competitors poaching Credit Suisse's staff, Santander, Spain’s biggest bank, has hired at least eight bankers from Credit Suisse and was targeting more, Bloomberg News reported this month. UBS management has also said it would set a very high bar when deciding whether to retain any of Credit Suisse's investment banking staff. A banker from Credit Suisse in Zurich told Reuters the lender was in a state of flux, with its investment bank seeing the most staff departures.

Persons: Blick, Colm Kelleher, Noele Illien, Stefania Spezzati, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, . Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse's, Santander, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Swiss Finance Ministry, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Swiss, Spain’s, Zurich

☆ BlackRock’s bond guru has a new ETF aiming for a 7% yield
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

BlackRock's Flexible Income ETF (BINC) began trading Tuesday and is managed by Rick Rieder, the firm's chief investment officer of global fixed income. The actively managed fund has a net expense ratio of 0.40%. "For the average investor, it's pretty hard to differentiate in fixed income. The fund holds fixed income from multiple sectors, including high-yield bonds, European investment-grade debt and emerging market debt. The BlackRock Large Cap Value ETF (BLCV) is managed by Tony DeSpirito, the firm's global chief investment officer of fundamental equities.

Persons: Rick Rieder, Rieder, Rachel Aguirre, Tony DeSpirito Organizations: BlackRock, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) came close to falling below minimum levels of cash held at the Swiss central bank days before its forced takeover by UBS (UBSG.S), a regulatory document shows. As of mid-March 2023, Credit Suisse barely reached its internal cash limit at the Swiss National Bank. Credit Suisse was forced into a government orchestrated rescue on March 19. FINMA and Credit Suisse declined to comment. FINMA stated in the decree that a viability event occurred and that Credit Suisse could therefore wipe out the instruments.

Shareholders of Credit Suisse and UBS were not granted a vote on the deal that was sealed over one weekend in March. Officials for QIA, UBS, the Swiss finance ministry and Credit Suisse declined to comment. QIA's investment in Credit Suisse dates back to the global financial crisis of 2008. The sovereign wealth fund had increased its stake in Credit Suisse to just under 7%, only trailing largest shareholder Saudi National Bank's roughly 10% stake, according to a January filing. Among them, Middle Eastern backers which own more than 20% of Credit Suisse face the largest hit.

☆ 'Losing our best': activists killed in war seen as blow to Ukraine's future
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The European Union offered Kyiv candidate status last year and made improving governance and fighting corruption key requirements for membership negotiations. He was killed fighting near Izium in the east of the county last June aged 24. "Misha was definitely another type of activist, who was ready to act in many different ways," said professor Yuliya Bidenko, who taught Alekseyenko political science. The mass flight of millions of refugees after Russia's invasion has also dealt a blow to Ukraine's potential political class, Bidenko added. "People like this are just extremely necessary for us after the war," Davydenko said of Tsakhniv.

REUTERS/Anna KudriavtsevaWASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine secured promises of $5 billion in additional funding to support its ongoing fight against Russia amid "fruitful meetings" in Washington this week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told reporters on Friday. Shmyhal met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank as well as top U.S. officials, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank. Ukraine needs about $14 billion in funding this year to close a budget gap, Shmyhal said, noting that the United States would provide $2.3 billion to plug the hole, while the European Union would provide 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion). The IFC program aims to leverage these donor funds using private sector investments, which will be needed to help cover the staggering cost of Ukraine's recovery. "A strong private sector is essential to help Ukraine's economy recover and support reconstruction efforts," said Makhtar Diop, the IFC's managing director.

☆ Ukraine is well on the way to becoming part of the EU, EIB president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | 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 EmailUkraine is well on the way to becoming part of the EU, EIB president saysWerner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, said Ukraine is likely to be a "very successful" member of the European Union soon.

Media coverage of BDO's warning on March 1 prompted immediate questions from financial regulators, a March 6 letter to Reuters from Revolut shows. The letter did not address the banking licence application nor its status. "I would be astonished if the regulators go ahead with the banking licence," he added. Revolut applied for a banking licence about two years ago. With a banking licence, Revolut would become a more established player in the U.K. banking market and be able to draw more customers.

[1/2] A logo of the Swiss bank UBS is seen on the Paradeplatz in Zurich, Switzerland March 21, 2023. Representatives for UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment. The longer the deal takes to close, the harder it could be for Credit Suisse to hold on to its business. The United Kingdom, where Credit Suisse has $60 billion of risk-weighted assets primarily in its investment banking division, is one of its biggest markets outside of Switzerland. John Glen, chief secretary to the UK Treasury, said last week he did not have any immediate concerns about the execution of Switzerland's Credit Suisse rescue by UBS.

☆ Ride-hailing app Cabify raises $110 mln for expansion in LatAm, Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, March 28 (Reuters) - Spanish ride-hailing app Cabify has raised $110 million in financing aimed at accelerating its growth in Latin America and Spain, the company said on Tuesday. Cabify closed the funding round with participation from investors like Orilla Asset Management and AXIS, through Fond-ICO Next Tech. In December Cabify secured a 40 million euro loan from the European Investment Bank aimed at purchasing electric vehicles. The company aims for all rides through its app to be in zero-emission vehicles by 2025 in Spain and by 2030 in Latin America. With over 42 million registered users and 1.2 million drivers, Cabify employees over 1,000 people in Spain and Latin America.

☆ EU's EIB to break 4-year Turkey lending ban with earthquake aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's lending arm, the European Investment Bank, is to provide 500 million euros ($540 mln) for Turkey's post-earthquake rebuilding efforts, suspending an almost-total ban on financing for Turkey. The EIB stopped virtually all lending in Turkey after a row over oil and gas drilling off Cyprus nearly four years ago. But the severity of last month's quake, which killed nearly 56,000 people in Turkey and neighbouring Syria, has prompted it to make an exception. Turkey is set to hold pivotal presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14 and EU members are wary of a resumption of EIB lending being seen as an indirect backing of incumbent president Tayyip Erdogan's re-election campaign. The EIB lent around 2 billion euros a year in Turkey between 2009 and 2016 before the concerns about Ankara's domestic crackdown first saw the bank scale back its lending in the country.

☆ France's OVH expands into India amid growing cloud adoption
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Olivier Sorgho | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 20 (Reuters) - French software firm OVHcloud (OVH.PA) has launched its first data centre in India as it expands in the Asia-Pacific region aiming to capitalise on growing cloud adoption amid heightened concerns over data privacy, it said on Monday. The new data centre in Mumbai will provide Indian businesses with local computer and storage infrastructure to meet changing data compliance needs as India digitalises and pushes for more data protection, OVH said. "The Indian market is a very...fast-growing market," CEO Michel Paulin told Reuters, adding OVH had already sold a few hundred servers. "We will continue to recruit in India," Paulin said, adding OVH had created jobs last year in Mumbai to prepare the launch and implement the technical infrastructure. But the need for digital and cloud solutions was still there, Paulin said.

☆ European banks, asset managers study halving stocks settlement time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Mar 2 (Reuters) - Banks and asset managers have set up a new task-force to study whether Europe should keep up with Wall Street by halving the time it takes to settle share trades. Halving settlement in Europe would mean banks and asset managers having to reconfigure their IT systems at a cost. Last September, AFME poured cold water on an idea that would require agreement between the European Union, Britain and Switzerland to avoid fragmenting share trading. The task-force will look at whether Europe should adopt T+1 -- and if so, when -- in a bid to shape regulatory thinking. Given heavy transatlantic share trading, firms in Europe will have to make some changes to reflect the U.S. move in any case.

☆ European Investment Bank proposes new fund to counter US green subsidies - Spiegel
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank could set up a new fund to counter subsidies offered by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which pressure companies to move their production there, its president said in an interview published on Tuesday. Werner Hoyer told German news magazine Der Spiegel a fund set up to help companies stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic could serve as a model for a fund to help safeguard European industry. "In principle, every investment project that has not yet received final approval is currently being put to the test." The European Commission earlier this month proposed allowing increased levels of state aid so that Europe can compete with the United States. The $430-billion act was passed by U.S. Congress last August and offers subsidies and tax incentives for a swathe of domestically produced green industry products.

☆ New French fund with 87.5 mln euros targets African solar development
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A new investment fund with 87.5 million euros ($92.63 million) will finance solar power production across Africa, with a focus on West and Central Africa, French fund manager RGREEN INVEST and investment adviser ECHOSYS INVEST said on Friday. The AFRIGREEEN Debt Impact Fund's first closing will finance on- and off-grid solar power plants for small- and medium-sized commercial and industrial consumers across the continent, the statement said. The groups are looking to have a portfolio of twenty to thirty investments, with aim of meeting long-term debt financing needs of between 10 and 15 million euros, with an average of around 5 million euros over eight to ten years, the statement said. RGREEN INVEST and ECHOSYS INVEST said that the first closing included commitments from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The group is aiming to raise a total of 100 million euros from development finance institutions and private investors.

Meanwhile, money markets are currently pricing in a terminal rate of 5.3% by July. BofA Global Research also expects a 25bps hike in the Fed's June meeting, pushing the terminal rate up to a 5.25%-5.5% range. It had earlier pencilled in two rate hikes of 25 bps each in the March and May meetings. "Resurgent inflation and solid employment gains mean the risks to this (only two interest rate hikes) outlook are too one-sided for our liking," BofA wrote in a client note. Before the recent U.S. data, J.P. Morgan had forecast the terminal rate at 5.1% by the end of June.

☆ Crypto markets are undergoing a 'flight to quality,' says Goldman Sachs digital assets chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Talia Kaplan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this article GSGSBD Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTwatch nowLast year's havoc in the cryptocurrencies space has allowed for a "flight to quality" among crypto investors, Mathew McDermott, Goldman Sachs' global head of digital assets, said on CNBC's "Crypto World" on Friday. “We do have a crypto trading desk at the firm," he said, noting that the bank only trades cash-settled derivatives, options and futures. Three key areasSpeaking with CNBC's "Crypto World," McDermott pointed to the bank's three key areas of focus in crypto: tokenization, remaking the plumbing of financial markets and the "profound" effect that digital money will have across markets. Collaborating with two other banks, Goldman Sachs launched a tokenization platform that processed a $100 million dollar eurobond from the European Investment Bank. "This we felt was a really important kind of feature for the market," McDermott said, describing Datonomy.

☆ EU bank seeks pledges of more than 2 bln euros for Ukraine this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The European Union's investment bank on Thursday called for more budget guarantees from the bloc's 27 members to match or exceed this year the 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 bln) spent in Ukraine since the Russian invasion last February. The European Investment Bank (EIB) (EIB.UL), the lending arm of the European Union, said it had already disbursed 1.7 billion euros and had another 540 million for ongoing projects. He said much more would be needed to rebuild the country from the war, a task the World Bank last September estimated at $350 billion. The EU is also discussing with global partners the potential use of Russian assets frozen under sanctions to rebuild Ukraine, though legal doubts remain. These include an estimated $300 billion of Russian central bank assets.

☆ Biden's IRA has left Europe blind-sided. And playing catchup could lead to 2 big mistakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"U.S. legislation doesn't pass overnight," Emre Peker, director at the consultancy group Eurasia, told CNBC, adding that the EU could have acted faster. Luisa Santos, deputy director at BusinessEurope, a group of business federations, told CNBC that "it is still a bit early to say who will invest where." watch nowBelgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told CNBC that more state aid "is not a good answer." Several other experts have also raised concerns about easing state aid rules. Slow to respondIn addition to challenges with state aid relaxation, timing is also a risk.

☆ Euro-banks have done their time in valuation jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Major euro zone and UK banks are trading at a 40% discount to the region’s wider benchmark index, using price to forward earnings multiples tracked by Refinitiv. The subsequent euro zone crisis in 2012 prompted a wave of bad debt that weighed down earnings. More recently, though, euro zone lenders have been facing up to their past sins, and offloading non-performing loans. There’s no evidence of a bank lending splurge, despite years of rock-bottom interest rates. Between November 2012 and November 2022, euro zone banks’ total lending to households and companies grew at an annual clip of under 2%, a fraction of its pre-2008 pace.

☆ The threat of a transatlantic trade war is dominating Davos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Trade tensions between the EU and the US are dominating the talk in Davos. Transatlantic trade tensions are dominating conversations at the World Economic Forum this week. On the one hand, European officials are saying they will come up with more financial support for European firms. On the other hand, the business community is excited about green subsidies stateside and argue the EU needs to match what the U.S. administration is doing. At the same time we have to support our competitiveness," European Commissioner for Economics, Paolo Gentiloni, told CNBC in Davos.

☆ Madagascar solar firm secures funding to connect 50,000 households
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NAIROBI, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Madagascar's WeLight, an off-grid solar company, has secured 19 million euros ($20.57 million) to connect 50,000 households to electricity in the next two years, it said on Tuesday. Off-grid solar power, spearheaded by a variety of start-ups, has gained in popularity in Africa because it can affordably connect millions of homes which are left off mainstream electricity grids to clean power. The project is being financed by the European Investment Bank (EBI), EDFI ElectriFI and Triodos Investment Management, WeLight said in a joint statement. WeLight, which is owned by Madagascar's Axian Group, Norwegian investment fund Norfund and Sagemcon, already provides solar power to 9,000 rural Malagasy households. WeLight builds small solar power plants, storage units, distribution lines and installs a meter at each customer's premises, offering round the clock electricity, it said.

☆ Credit Suisse set to cut 10% of European investment bankers, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Swiss lender Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) is looking to cut more than 10% of its staff of European investment bankers this year, the Financial Times reported on Saturday, citing people with knowledge of the moves. Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) announced a series of staff changes on Tuesday following the departure of the co-head of its European investment banking operation, according to internal memos seen by Reuters and confirmed by a company spokesperson. Monarchi is now sole IBCM head for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), whereas Geller has been named sole global head of M&A. Additionally, William Mansfield, head of EMEA Consumer & Retail M&A, has taken up Deasy's responsibilities as head of EMEA M&A. Deasy's exit, which was first reported by Financial News, is the latest in a string of departures as Credit Suisse embarks on a plan to cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking towards more stable wealth management. Alongside the promotions, the Swiss lender also said it had hired Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA) banker Gen Oba as co-head of IBCM in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

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