Financial Times Summary
Thu 16 Oct 2008
Bank of England A group of the largest US hedge funds has called on the Bank of England to intervene to free an estimated £38bn in assets frozen in London in the collapse of Lehman Brothers, warning that delays "could be disastrous for UK plc." The funds, through the Managed Funds Association , said the scale of the problem was so great that it could undermine bank rescue plans as tens of billions of dollars would be kept out of the market.
FSA
The Financial Services Authority has eased some of its capital requirements on insurers, amid increasing concerns about the industry's financial health. Life assurers' strength is coming under pressure from falls in equity markets, as well as poor performances from bonds and commercial property.
Merrill Lynch
Change at Merrill Lynch under Bank of America has yet to have its full effect, after confirmation that John Thain would stay on as head of the investment bank. But there is some movement. An integration of sorts seems to be going ahead, with the biggest overlap being in fixed income, according to those familiar with the bank.
Lloyds TSB LloydsTSB and HBOS have already chosen two senior executives to help steer the integration of the two banks as they aim to close the deal as quickly as possible. Chris Wiscarson, director of group IT & operations at Lloyds TSB, and Phillip Gore Randall, chief operating officer at HBOS, are believed to be helping to plan the integration of the two banks. Deloitte, the consultants have also been appointed to examine where potential synergies can be made in the combined group.
RBS CVC Capital, the private equity group, is in talks to take a controlling stake in Royal Bank of Scotland's insurance assets, originally put up for sale with a £7bn price tag, but has been forced to reopen the auction to private equity after a lack of competitive tension.
JP Morgan Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan Chase, said yesterday the US government's $25bn injection of capital into the bank could present it with growth opportunities that were not open to some of its troubled competitors. Mr Dimon's comments came on the heels of the bank's third-quarter earnings announcement, in which JP Morgan Chase reported net income of $527m, or 11% share.
Lehman Brothers Many blame the recent market plunges on the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which unleashed investor paranoia about counterparty risk. But one fear, at least, proved unfounded last Friday. A New York auction successfully settled a price for credit default swaps on the insolvent investment bank, calming concerns that the £32,000bn market would implode when a major company actually defaulted.
LCH.Clearnet
LCH. Clearnet, Europe's largest independent clearer, is working on a feasibility study that could see it becoming involved in the clearing of the massive foreign exchange markets.
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