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Companies Barclays PLC FollowLONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) on Wednesday said it was tightening lending criteria for coal power and would stop financing oil sands exploration and production, but did not announce new restrictions on oil and gas lending as some rivals have. Announcing results for 2022, Barclays said it will stop financing all oil tar sands companies, as well as new oil sands pipelines, whereas previously it had said it would work with those firms undertaking efforts to reduce their emissions. Barclays also set its first emission-cutting target for the automotive manufacturing industry, with a pledge to reduce emissions intensity by between 40% and 64% by 2030 against a 2022 baseline. The bank said it was on track to meet its 2030 targets with reductions in financed emissions for industries including energy, power and steel. Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Adani looks to repay $500 mln bridge loan taken for cement deals-ET
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 15 (Reuters) - India's embattled Adani Group is in talks with lenders to repay a $500 million bridge loan facility it had taken to buy controlling stakes in cement companies ACC Ltd (ACC.NS) and Ambuja Cements Ltd (ABUJ.NS) last year, the Economic Times daily reported on Wednesday. The group is looking to repay the bridge loan with cash this month, the report said, citing people aware of the matter, adding that the loan had a tenor of six months and was part of a larger $5.25 billion financing package. The loan was underwritten by Barclays (BARC.L), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L), ET reported. The financial consortium lending to Adani also includes DBS, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Intesa and Mizuho, the report said. Adani and the lenders did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

☆ London's FTSE 100 muted as bank stocks fall; weaker pound limits losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.1%, hovering near a record high. British lender Barclays (BARC.L) slid 8.3% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 and was set to post its biggest drop in nearly a year after reporting a 14% slump in full-year profit. The FTSE 350 banking index (.FTNMX301010) fell 1.9%, on track for its biggest one-day drop in more than two months. The pound edged lower after data showed British consumer price inflation fell more than expected in January and there were also drops in underlying measures of inflation that are being closely watched by the Bank of England. The FTSE 100 has had a stellar start to the year boosted by upbeat corporate earnings, rising more than 6% so far this year.

The British lender reported a pretax profit for 2022 of 7 billion pounds ($8.5 billion), down from 8.2 billion pounds the year before and just below the 7.2 billion pounds average analyst forecast, as compiled by the bank. Profits before tax in that division also tumbled by 23% to around 5 billion pounds. In its annual report also published on Wednesday, Barclays said it had docked top executives' pay by a combined 1 million pounds to reflect the regulatory misteps. Barclays' results were further marred by 1.2 billion pounds in credit impairment charges as Britain's economy continued to slow. ($1 = 0.8239 pounds)Reporting By Lawrence White and Iain Withers, editing by Sinead CruiseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Interminable anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The about-turn in rates markets in just two weeks has been extraordinary - with Fed funds futures pricing moving from a terminal rate as low as 4.8% to 5.26% on Wednesday. Two-year Treasury yields soared to a 3-month high of 4.64% on Tuesday - where current Fed rates sit - and only gave back a fraction of that on Wednesday. U.S. stocks held up remarkably well on Tuesday - helped by hopes recession fears are easing even as rate speculation intensifies. Sterling slipped as UK inflation fell faster than expected last month, even though the annual inflation rate remains in double digits. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ UK regulator probes Barclays over anti-money laundering systems -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] A branch of Barclays Bank is seen, in London, Britain, February 23, 2022. REUTERS/Peter NichollsFeb 10 (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator is investigating Barclays Plc (BARC.L) for suspected failings in its compliance and anti-money laundering systems, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Reporting by Sneha Bhowmik in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - European banks risk jeopardising the path to net-zero carbon emissions and the growth of renewable energy unless they stop directly financing new oil and gas fields this year, investors managing assets worth more than $1.5 trillion said on Friday. ShareAction said the five banks and Britain's HSBC (HSBA.L) rank as the largest European financiers of the top oil and gas companies expanding production between 2016 and 2021. However, HSBC said in December that it would stop directly financing new oil and gas fields, joining other banks restricting asset financing, the NGO noted. The spokesperson pointed to the French bank's targets to reduce exposure to oil and gas production by 2025. The International Energy Agency said in 2021 that to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century, no investment into new oil, gas and coal supply projects was needed.

The banks said there were no allegations they knew about or actively did anything to further Epstein's sex trafficking, and had no legal duty to protect the women from his abuses. The plaintiffs have said numerous cash payments from the banks were used to pay Epstein's victims. Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The cases are Jane Doe 1 v Deutsche Bank AG et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-10018, and Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase & Co in the same court, No.

☆ Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks' plain sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

MUMBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani’s recent woes have vindicated persistent doubts in India about the tycoon’s rise. The Indian group dismisses those claims as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”. By contrast, other big Indian groups like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (DBKGn.DE) and those carrying the Tata name are more popular with institutional investors. Fee-hungry international banks were much less picky. Deutsche, Barclays and StanChart pocketed $57 million of the $260 million of investment banking revenue generated by the Adani group since Dealogic records began.

☆ UK plans to reimburse scam victims 'fundamentally flawed,' lawmakers say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Proposals to reimburse hundreds of millions of pounds to scam victims in Britain are "fundamentally flawed" and are taking too long to come into force, lawmakers said in a report published on Monday. So-called "authorised push payment" scams have become Britain's largest type of payment fraud and cost customers 583 million pounds ($715 million) in 2021. Lawmakers on Britain's powerful Treasury Select Committee criticised the plans and said mandatory reimbursements should begin this year at the latest, and not as late as 2024. "Putting an industry body in charge of reimbursing scam victims is like asking a fox to guard the henhouse," said Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury committee. The PSR said it would consider all feedback before publishing its final position in May this year, adding it regulated payment system operators including Pay.UK.

☆ Barclays replaces co-heads of equities business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Barclays' (BARC.L) co-heads of equities, Todd Sandoz and Paul Leech, have stepped down from their roles and left the bank, a company spokesperson said on Monday, as the British bank continues a reshuffle of its investment bank's management. Stephen Dainton, who has run the business in the past, has taken over as interim global head of equities, the spokesperson said, in addition to keeping his current role as co-head of global markets. The bank now needs a single leader for the business to keep growing market share and returns, the memo said. Barclays is conducting a search for a permanent leader for the equities business, it added. The move is the latest in a series of changes at the top of Barclays' investment bank, after it last month appointed former Credit Suisse dealmaker Cathal Deasy and Taylor Wright as co-heads of investment banking.

☆ Gautam Adani’s next hurdles may be harder to clear
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Feb 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - It helps to have friendly investors and rich families on hand when finalising a tricky share sale. The feat will be hard to repeat though, while the Indian tycoon’s next hurdles might be harder to clear. Investor interest in Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) was underwhelming. Shares in $32 billion Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) have nearly halved since Hindenburg published its critical report. loadingCONTEXT NEWSThe $2.4 billion share sale by Adani Enterprises was fully subscribed on Jan. 31, data released by the Indian stock exchange showed.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX), the conglomerate controlled by billionaire German Larrea, has secured a $5 billion debt package for its proposed acquisition of Citigroup Inc's (C.N) retail operations in Mexico, according to people familiar with the matter. The move represents a major milestone in Grupo Mexico's efforts to put together the deal for Banamex, the unit that encompasses the Citigroup assets. Several banks, including Barclays Plc (BARC.L) and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA.L), have pledged to provide the debt financing, the sources said. Citi, Grupo Mexico, Barclays and HSBC declined to comment. Citi stepped back from conversations with Becker to prioritize a potential deal with Larrea, according to sources.

☆ Twitter makes first interest payment on Musk buyout debt -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Twitter paid about $300 million to a group of banks last week, one of the sources said, confirming an earlier Bloomberg story. The banks declined to comment, while Twitter and Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. The sources did not want to identified because the details of the payment are not public. Morgan Stanley's Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya told Reuters this month the bank's mark-to-market losses on corporate loans include debt to Twitter. Reporting by Saeed Azhar; additional reporting by Matt Tracy; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS), Adani Power (ADAN.NS) and Adani Wilmar (ADAW.NS) fell between 5% and 20% on Monday. It stayed well below the offer price of the issue, which if successful will be largest such share offering ever in India. Adani Enterprises' $2.5 billion secondary share sale closed its second day amid weak investor sentiment. The stock closed at 2,892.85 rupees, 7% below the 3,112 rupees lower end of the offer price band. "While there is a risk that the share sale does not go through, it will be crucial today to wait and see how institutional investors participate."

☆ Morning bid: Running out of breath
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asian equities held steady on Wednesday near seven-month highs after a mixed session on Wall Street. On a thin day for economic data, focus will be on U.K. producer prices and the German IFO. Revenue at Europe's largest companies is expected to have risen by just 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Refinitiv I/B/E/S data showed on Tuesday. The forecast, which tracks companies listed on the pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) benchmark index, represents a drop from last week when analysts expected revenue growth of 4%. Analysts downgrade earnings forecastsInvestment strategists at Standard Chartered say it is time to fade the rally seen in European stocks and the euro since the lows of September.

☆ Italy's Lottomatica eyes IPO as Q4 core profit rises at least 7%
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Elisa Anzolin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It said preliminary results for 2022 showed that it had collected 22.8 billion euros in bets, with revenue of around 1.4 billion euros and earnings before interest, tax, amortisation and depreciation of 458 million-462 million euros. Pro-forma EBITDA stands at 516 million-520 million euros in 2022 when taking into account the acquisition of Italian remote gaming and betting collection company Betflag, which Lottomatica completed in November. Apollo Global Management entered the Italian gaming business in 2019 when it bought a large stake in Gamenet and proceeded to buy out other investors and delist it the next year. The private equity firm invested a further 950 million euros in the sector the following year when Gamenet acquired IGT's (IGT.N) Italian gaming machine, sports betting and digital gaming businesses. These businesses were housed in two companies dubbed Lottomatica Videolot Rete and Lottomatica Scommesse, with a valuation at the time of around 1.1 billion euros including debt.

☆ Barclays names former Credit Suisse dealmaker Deasy as investment banking co-head
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) has appointed former Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) dealmaker Cathal Deasy as co-head of investment banking, the lender said on Tuesday, as Chief Executive C.S. Deasy left Credit Suisse a few weeks ago, just months after being promoted to regional co-head of its investment banking & capital markets (IBCM) unit. JF Astier and John Miller, who currently lead investment banking, are in "active dialogue" with Barclays about what roles they might now take, a Barclays spokesperson said. Astier and Miller were promoted in 2021 to lead investment banking as part of a new management team. Barclays' investment bank has had a strong performance in recent quarters, thanks in part to a boom in fixed income trading, which has traditionally been one of its core strengths.

SummarySummary Companies Top EU court dismisses HSBC challenge over cartel participationUpholds annulment of Euribor cartel fineHSBC separately challenging reduced Euribor fineBRUSSELS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) on Thursday failed to overturn a court ruling that it had participated in a cartel to rig benchmark Euribor rates in 2007, but Europe's top court confirmed that a 33.6 million euro ($36 million) fine had been scrapped. The European Court of Justice, Europe's highest court, rejected HSBC's attempt to clear its name by challenging a 2019 lower court decision that it had colluded with others to try to manipulate key Euribor (euro interbank offered rate) rates. The European Commission, the bloc's executive body, ruled in 2016 that HSBC and six other banks had tried to distort Euribor, a benchmark for rates on financial products, fining the lender 33.6 million euros. Three years later, a lower tribunal scrapped the fine because of insufficient reasoning, but dismissed the bank's attempt to shake off the ruling that it had taken part in a cartel. The European Commission subsequently imposed a slightly lower fine of 31.7 million euros in 2021, which HSBC is separately challenging.

☆ HSBC wins appeal against $36 mln Euribor cartel fine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Jan 12 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) has won an appeal against a decision by European antitrust regulators to fine Europe's second-largest bank 33.6 million euros ($36 million) over its role in a cartel to manipulate benchmark Euribor interest rates in 2007. HSBC, penalised alongside JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Credit Agricole (CAGR.PA), challenged the decision and in 2019, a lower tribunal scrapped the fine because of insufficient reasoning. The European Commission subsequently re-imposed a slightly lower fine of 31.7 million euros in 2021. HSBC, JPMorgan and Credit Agricole opted against settling with European regulators and, following a full investigation, JPMorgan was fined 337.2 million euros and Credit Agricole was ordered to pay 114.7 million euros. EU, U.S. and British regulators have fined banks billions of euros for manipulating benchmark interest rates and the foreign exchange market.

☆ Commodity-linked stocks push FTSE 100 higher; retailers slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.6% to hover near a more than four-year high scaled on Wednesday, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 mid-cap index (.FTMC) rose 0.9%. Retailers Tesco (TSCO.L) and Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) slipped between 0.3% and 1.6% despite strong sales, as both companies warned of inflationary pressures. Financial stocks were among the top gainers on the FTSE 100, with banks like HSBC (HSBA.L) and Barclays (BARC.L) rising 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively. The FTSE 100 has had a bright start to the year so far, rising in almost every session. Centrica (CNA.L) climbed to the top of FTSE 100, jumping 6.1% after the British Gas owner raised its full-year earnings forecast.

☆ 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.

☆ StanChart suitors track banking’s flighty fortunes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But one reliable rule of thumb is that Standard Chartered (STAN.L) will be the subject of periodic bouts of takeover speculation. The latest prospective suitor, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), reflects the shifting fortunes of global banking. Under UK rules, First Abu Dhabi cannot make an offer for StanChart for six months, unless another bidder emerges. The Abu Dhabi lender said it had been in “the very early stages of evaluating a possible offer” for the emerging markets-focused bank. Standard Chartered declined to comment.

☆ Banks will pump H2O to top of climate agenda
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That’s when the United Nations’ first water confab in almost five decades starts in New York. Achieving that globally requires spending $1 trillion a year on the sustainable provision of drinking water and sanitation, and preparing for floods, scarcity and pollution, per the World Resources Institute. And 90% of climate change’s effects manifest through water, as recent floods and scarcity demonstrate. Knowing when to turn off the funding tap is important, too, just as many banks won’t back Arctic drilling or new coal mines. With some financial groups distancing themselves from umbrella climate change bodies, it’s a challenging time to make this case.

☆ India's NDTV shares rise as founders plan to sell stake to Adani
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

After the deal, the Indian conglomerate, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, will control 64.71% of NDTV, while the founders will retain a combined 5%. Over the last four quarters, the broadcaster raked in revenues in the range of 900 million rupees ($10.88 million) to 1.20 billion rupees. In comparison, rival TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TVEB.NS) has amassed revenues in the range of 12.7 billion rupees to 15.7 billion rupees. Both NDTV and TV18 had flagged reducing ad revenues in the September quarter. Shares of NDTV were last up 2.4% at 348.70 rupees, which was at a discount to the 368.43 rupees per share at which the Roys sold their stake.

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