TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* Credit Suisse Group AG is looking at options, including potentially selling shares to some of the Swiss banking group's major existing investors and selling a business, to strengthen its capital, sources told Reuters. The size of the increase could reportedly exceed CHF1 billion, which would help the group recover from a string of losses and legal issues. In a statement, Credit Suisse said it is not currently considering raising additional equity capital, the news wire noted.
* BNP Paribas SA stands to benefit the most among European banks after global regulators agreed to begin treating the euro area as a unified market in determining capital requirements, with the French bank likely to see a reduction in capital requirements, Bloomberg News reported, citing documents from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and confidential calculations by the ECB. Italy's UniCredit SpA and Dutch lender ING Groep NV also stand out as major beneficiaries based on the ECB's analysis, according to the report. The planned changes are expected to be announced as soon as today. Spokespeople for the Bank for International Settlements, the ECB and BNP Paribas declined to comment to Bloomberg.
➤ US banks' efficiency ratios improve in Q1 as noninterest income jumps
The aggregate efficiency ratio for U.S. banks was 61.9% in the first quarter, down from 63.1% in the linked quarter but up from 60.0% in the year-ago period, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
➤ Loan growth stays on track during early Fed tightening
Momentum has held up as the central bank has taken its first steps to tame inflation, but a shift in the trajectory of underwriting standards is raising doubts about the outlook.
READ MORE about the market reaction and industry impact of the evolving situation in Russia and Ukraine in our new Issue in Focus.
BANKING
* EU leaders reached an agreement on a sixth package of sanctions to be imposed on Russia over its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, including cutting Sberbank of Russia off from the Swift international financial messaging system, Reuters reported, citing European Council President Charles Michel's statements on Twitter.
* Banco Santander SA launched a new real estate manager dubbed Diglo, Expansión reported. Meanwhile, Spanish peer CaixaBank SA has established OpenWealth, a new subsidiary that will provide services to high net worth individuals with assets of more than €50 million, Europa Press wrote.
* Czech lender Moneta Money Bank a.s. and PPF Group NV terminated an existing 25.9 billion koruny agreement to merge their banking and financial assets. Moneta said the collapse of the agreement "comes as a consequence of senior management change in PPF Group and a subsequent transaction review conducted by them," while PPF Group added separately that the termination was prompted by macroeconomic changes that altered the parameters of the planned deal.
* Dutch state lender de Volksbank NV has to pay former CFO Pieter Veuger €270,000 in compensation after a court ruled that it should not have fired him in 2020, Het Financieele Dagblad wrote.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* U.K.-based asset manager abrdn PLC completed the acquisition of investment platform Interactive Investor Ltd. The acquisition is expected to be double-digit accretive to abrdn's adjusted earnings in the first full financial year following completion.
* Nordnet Bank AB launched electronic trading on the London Stock Exchange, Dagens Industri reported. The Swedish digital bank will offer trading in the 350 largest shares on the exchange, corresponding to the shares included in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indexes.
* Swedish debt restructuring company Hoist Finance AB (publ) agreed to acquire a portfolio of nonperforming loans in the U.K., comprising unsecured consumer loans, from an unnamed seller. The total outstanding balance is approximately 2.75 billion kronor, while the total investment is about 1.0 billion kronor. The transaction is expected to close June 8.
* U.K.-based PCF Group PLC, the parent of specialist bank PCF Bank Ltd., said it is in early-stage discussions with investment and mortgage products provider Castle Trust Capital PLC regarding a possible all-share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued shares of the group.
POLICY AND REGULATION
* The Russian central bank restricted trading in foreign shares that were blocked by international clearing houses, except for shares of foreign issuers that carry out "production and economic activity mostly in Russia." PJSC SPB Exchange, the country's second-largest bourse that specializes in trading foreign stocks, said that in monetary terms the decision will affect less than 14% of all shares in clients' portfolios.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* The U.K. government will replace the Financial Reporting Council with a new regulator as part of reforms aimed at improving the country's corporate reporting and audit regime and address the dominance of the "Big Four" audit firms. The new Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority will be given tougher enforcement powers and be funded by an industry levy.
Deza Mones, Daniel Stephens, Danielle Rossingh, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies and Nelson Siqueira contributed to this report.
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