trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/cmqcstadbkdykmt-xfo-hg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Deutsche Bank, Santander report Q4'17 results; EBA launches EU-wide stress test

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Deutsche Bank, Santander report Q4'17 results; EBA launches EU-wide stress test

S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of banking news stories and more published throughout the week.

Earnings season in high gear

* Deutsche Bank AG reported a full-year 2017 net loss of €497 million, compared to a loss of €1.36 billion the previous year, on the back of an approximately €1.4 billion noncash charge arising from new U.S. tax laws, without which the lender would have made a net income of around €900 million. Its fourth-quarter net loss widened year over year to €2.19 billion from €1.89 billion.

* ING Groep NV reported a net result of €1.02 billion for the fourth quarter of 2017, up from €750 million in the year-ago period. ING CEO Ralph Hamers said new European regulation that forces banks to share client data with third-party payment providers will provide big technology firms with a competitive advantage over lenders and smaller financial technology providers.

* Banco Santander SA's fourth-quarter 2017 net profit fell 4% to €1.54 billion from €1.60 billion a year ago, on the back of a goodwill impairment charge resulting from its investment in unit Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. Meanwhile, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA also reported a lower fourth-quarter 2017 net profit of €70 million, compared to €678 million in the year-ago period, due to losses associated with its investment in Spanish telecommunications firm Telefónica SA.

* CaixaBank SA and Banco de Sabadell SA reported year-over-year increases in fourth-quarter 2017 results, while Bankia SA also reported a net loss due to its integration with Banco Mare Nostrum SA.

* Danske Bank A/S booked full-year 2017 net profit of 20.90 billion Danish kroner, up from 19.86 billion kroner a year ago, and announced a 10 billion kroner share buyback program. DNB ASA also reported a higher full-year profit.

* Julius Bär Gruppe AG CEO Bernhard Hodler said he wants to "be here next year as well" as the Swiss private bank reported a 13.8% rise in full-year 2017 net profit. Meanwhile in Sweden, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB saw its fourth-quarter 2017 net result fall 25% to 3.18 billion Swedish kronor from 4.24 billion kronor in 2016, owing to the restructuring of its German business and the write-down of intangible IT assets.

Banking on blockchain, counting on cryptocurrencies

* A number of high-ranking European officials have added their voices to calls for regulatory action on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, saying they could pose a risk to financial stability. French central bank Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said bitcoin is not a currency but merely a "purely speculative" asset.

* Santander Executive Chairman Ana Botín said the bank is preparing to launch an international payments platform based on blockchain infrastructure in a bid to cut costs while increasing volumes of cross-border transactions.

* PAO Sberbank of Russia is planning to trade cryptocurrencies overseas through Swiss unit Sberbank (Switzerland) AG, according to Reuters.

On the regulatory front

* The European Banking Authority launched its 2018 EU-wide stress test, involving 48 EU banks, 33 of which are based in the eurozone. The European Central Bank said Alpha Bank AE, Eurobank Ergasias SA, Piraeus Bank SA and National Bank of Greece SA will undergo the same stress test, but will have their results released in May, compared to Nov. 2 for the other lenders.

* China's central bank and banking regulator asked European Union authorities to consider revising the minimum assets threshold of €30 billion for the proposed establishment of parent holding entities by non-EU banks, saying the proposed threshold is too low.

American fine

* The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission fined units of Deutsche Bank, UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc a total of $46.6 million for allegedly engaging in commodities fraud and so-called spoofing schemes.

* BNP Paribas SA unit BNP Paribas USA Inc. pleaded guilty to participating in a price-fixing conspiracy in the foreign-exchange market and agreed to pay a fine of $90 million, which it said will be covered by existing provisions.

In other news

* Bob Dench is resigning as Paragon Banking Group Plc chairman to take over the same role at Co-operative Bank Plc, effective March 14.

* Sberbank is in talks to sell its Turkish unit DenizBank AS to Dubai-based Emirates NBD Bank PJSC.

* The Czech central bank raised rates for the third time in less than a year, while the Hungarian and Moldovan central banks kept their key rates unchanged.

* Groupe BPCE Chairman François Pérol said the lender will not create an online bank in France as initially planned and will instead take advantage of new European regulations on payment services to further develop its digital services.

Featured during the week on S&P Global Market Intelligence

How Russian criminals used FBME Bank in Cyprus to pay firms tied to Syrian sarin: A cache of confidential documents obtained by S&P Global Market Intelligence reveals a scheme that saw money linked to the infamous Russian fraud discovered by Sergei Magnitsky paid to companies with ties to Syria's sarin gas program.

FBME: A hive of financial crime that spanned the globe: The now-shut Cypriot bank FBME was a nexus of suspicious financial activity such as fraud, money laundering and protecting politically connected customers from disclosure rules, documents obtained by S&P Global Market Intelligence show.

Rogue banking: Inside FBME's haywire compliance department: A trove of confidential documents from regulators, auditors and other sources close to FBME Bank, a defunct Cypriot lender that collapsed under allegations of fraud and money laundering, details the near-total degradation of compliance procedures.

AIB, Ulster Bank may need to boost provisions for Irish tracker mortgage redress: The banks may need to earmark more money to compensate customers in Ireland's unfolding tracker mortgage scandal.