The chief executive of Barclays is out after allegations that he was involved with a scheme to manipulate interbank lending rates. Although the government could not produce evidence that Bob Diamond was personally involved with the scheme, Diamond was encouraged to resign to keep from “damaging the franchise.”
The resignation comes a week after Barclays bank was fined over $455 million for attempting to manipulate the rates that banks lend money to each other. Shares for the bank fell over 15% following the announcement of the attempted manipulation. Continue reading →
Moody’s marked down several major banks including Citigroup and Bank of America in the United States and Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and HSBC in the United Kingdom. Lloyds of London also had their ratings cut.
In addition to Citigroup and Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were issued downgrades. Continue reading →
Moody’s cut the credit ratings of Belgian and Dutch banks, attributing the cuts to the current euro zone crisis.
“Dutch banks will face difficult operating conditions throughout 2012 and possibly beyond,” Moody’s told the BBC.
Long-term ratings were cut at least one level with most getting cut two levels. Continue reading →
Optimism about Spain’s banking bailout is fading fast after reports that Spain’s borrowing costs have risen to the highest point since the creation of the euro.
The benchmark 10-year bond yield peaked at 6.81%. The news created some ripples throughout the European Union as Italy’s 10-year bond yield hit 6.28%, the highest rate since January. Continue reading →
Despite Spain’s insistence that a bailout was not imminent, a Dutch official leaked out word that emergency bailout talks could take out place this weekend.
Dutch finance minister Jan Kees de Jager told the BBC the situation in Spain was “urgent” and alluded to emergency talks. EU officials have officially stated that Spain would not be asking for emergency funds as early as Saturday. Continue reading →
Another member of the euro zone is on the verge of needing an EU bailout.
Cyprus has directly impacted the debt load in Greece due to loans taken from it’s banking system.
“The possibility of addressing financial stability mechanisms to support the banking system, due to the problems created by excessive exposure of banks to Greece, is a serious responsibility,” Cyprus spokesman Christos Christofides told a press conference. Continue reading →
Amid concerns about looming bank failures in Spain, the European Commission is proposing providing bailout funds to banks directly rather than going through individual governments.
Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso cited the need for flexibility and speed in sending the funds directlyto banks. Also being placed on the table is a debate about creating a “banking union” similar to the Euro Zone.
Continue reading →
The National Bank of Greece has issued a report ahead of the country’s June 17th elections that says if those elected choose to remove Greece from the euro it could have catastrophic impact upon the nation’s economy.
The bank stated the risk of the country exiting the euro has become more than a theoretical possibility. Continue reading →
Shares in the Spanish bank, Bankia, were down 14% after reports about the struggling bank’s finances.
The bank denied reports that customers had withdrawn over 1 billion euros from various accounts. The bank is set to be part-nationalized.
A Royal Bank of Scotland spokesman said that the problem is that the Spanish government cannot bear all the weight of the banks in Spain should they all fail at the same time. Continue reading →