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Greek banks NBG, Eurobank face state rescue

April 8, 2013 12:15
By George Georgiopoulos and Lefteris Papadimas ATHENS (Reuters) - Two of Greece's biggest banks risk being nationalised after admitting they were unlikely to raise enough cash from private investors and seeing their merger blocked by the country's international lenders. National Bank <NBGr.AT> bought 84.3 percent of its smaller rival Eurobank via a share swap in February, as Greek banks consolidate to survive a debt crisis that has pushed the economy into a six-year slump.

ECB warns of risks in correspondent banking

April 8, 2013 11:45
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The ECB warned on Monday against concentration in the correspondent banking business, which handles payments between smaller banks, saying if a major player failed it could threaten financial stability. The European Central Bank said that daily turnover of euro transactions through correspondent banking was 1.1 trillion euros (917 billion pounds) and that the largest four correspondent banks represent more than 80 percent of total turnover value.

Greek bank NBG rocked by nationalisation fears

April 8, 2013 10:15
Shares in the National Bank of Greece (NBG) plunged by 13.6 percent in afternoon trading on Monday as plans for a merger with Eurobank were suspended and investors were seized by concern over a possible nationalisation. Eurobank bounced back from early losses to show a jump of 20.0 percent meanwhile, while Piraeus Bank was 3.13 percent higher and Alpha bank had gained 2.81 percent following an announcement by the Greek central bank that the country's four biggest banks would be recapitalised separately, meaning that a planned merger of NBG and Eurobank had been put on hold.

Greece's NBG-Eurobank merger suspended, official says

April 7, 2013 20:44
By Lefteris Papadimas and George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - National Bank's plan to absorb Eurobank <EFGr.AT> to form Greece's biggest banking group will be suspended until both are recapitalised, and a state bank support fund will decide if the they should merge, a Finance Ministry official said on Sunday.

Bank muscat fetes scheme winners

April 6, 2013 12:04
Bank muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the sultanate, feted winners of Themaar Higher Education Savings Plan and Themaar Retirement Savings Plan prize winners. The prize distribution ceremony at the head office was attended by senior bank officials.Three customers won the special Themaar annual higher education scholarships worth RO10,000 each available for those opting for a Themaar plan of 5 years or more.

UAB: Arab banks' assets to hit US$3 trillion

April 4, 2013 13:20
The total assets of Arab banks are expected to hit US$3 trillion in 2013, up by more than 13% from US$2.6 in 2012, according to the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), Wisam Fattouh.The deposit base of Arab banks stood at US$1.5 trillion, with loan portfolio growing to US$1.4 trillion, Fattouh told BNA news agency on the sidelines of the two-day Arab Banking Conference 2013 in Manama.The Arab banking sector is still safe from the Euro crisis, and from the Cypriot banking crisis in particular, as Arab banking institutions are not affected by the "Arab Spring" m

bank lending-Q2 outlook

April 2, 2013 23:15
SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean banks are likely to be lenient toward smaller firms in the second quarter in line with the government's push to increase financing to smaller companies, although credit risks still run high, the central bank said Wednesday. An index gauging lending attitudes toward small and medium enterprises (SMEs) came in at 9 for the April-June period, unchanged from the previous quarter, according to a survey of 16 local banks conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Cyprus finance minister quits after bailout concludes, investigation begins

April 2, 2013 08:15
By Michele Kambas NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus's finance minister resigned on Tuesday after concluding a 10 billion euro bailout deal with international lenders in which the country slashed its dominant banking sector and hit depositors with losses. Michael Sarris, a lead player in talks with International Monetary Fund and European Union lenders, said he had completed his task but also that he was likely to come under scrutiny in an investigation into the crisis.

Greece to extend bank recapitalisation deadline - central bank chief

April 1, 2013 17:46
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will extend a deadline for the recapitalisation of its banks by a few weeks, possibly until the end of May, Greek central bank chief George Provopoulos said on Monday. Greek banks, which are being recapitalised with funds from the country's latest EU/IMF bailout, have been lobbying for the terms of the recapitalisation scheme to be sweetened and also sought an extension to an end-April deadline for the plan.

Monte Paschi says lost billions in deposits after February scandal

March 30, 2013 13:30
MILAN (Reuters) - Customers' deposits at Italian bank Monte dei Paschi fell by "a few billion euros" after a scandal erupted in February over loss-making derivatives trades at the lender, the bank said in a document posted on its web site on Saturday. Monte dei Paschi last week reported a higher-than-expected net loss for the whole of 2012 on the back of a rise in provisions for bad loans and 730 million euros in losses on the derivatives trades, which are at the centre of a fraud.
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