Weekly Global News Wrap Up: US banks' profits up 10.7% to $48.3b; How big tech is disrupting banks
And find out why Frankfurt and Dublin seem to be winning the battle for Brexit jobs.
From Reuters: U.S. banks kept a lid on costs and booked higher interest income in the second quarter, boosting profits by 10.7 percent on the year-ago period, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said on Tuesday. The $48.3 billion in profits during the second quarter indicate the U.S. banking sector is in good health, said FDIC chairman Martin Gruenberg, but he warned some lenders might be taking on too much risk as they try to chase higher returns.
From CNBC: Jesse McWaters, World Economic Forum financial innovation lead, discusses the bank disruptors and how big tech could be a risk to the big banks.
From Reuters: "I'm here to send you the regards of the Federal Chancellor. I am entitled to tell you we want you in Germany." This private message from Angela Merkel, delivered by a regional politician to Wall Street bankers last year, is having the desired effect. Frankfurt, along with Dublin, is emerging on top in the battle to draw highly-paid banking jobs - and the tax revenue that they bring - away from London before Britain's departure from the European Union in March 2019.
From Bloomberg: On the banks of Dublin’s River Liffey, a row over the destination of London bankers fleeing Brexit is brewing. Now operating out of the office tower which came to symbolize Ireland’s financial crash, the nation’s central bank is battling political and industry pressure to do more to draw firms. Companies ranging from Lloyd’s of London to Morgan Stanley have opted to set up shop elsewhere, with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc this month choosing Amsterdam as its post-Brexit EU trading hub.
From Reuters: Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) wants to significantly grow the number of private bankers it employs in London, its head of wealth management for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said, a sharp contrast to plans to scale back its UK investment bank. Despite having thousands of employees at its London investment bank, Deutsche has fewer than 10 senior bankers focused on British wealth management and Peter Hinder told Reuters it has "underutilized" the UK market.
From Bloomberg: Credit Suisse Group AG established a new unit catering to institutional clients and the ultra rich at its Swiss universal bank after abandoning plans for an initial public offering of the division earlier this year. The investment advisory & solutions unit will provide “customized investment solutions and services to institutional clients, UHNWI clients and family offices,” the bank said in a statement on Tuesday. Reto Hossli, who previously oversaw the external asset managers in Switzerland for which Credit Suisse acts as a custodian, will be in charge of the new unit.