BanksDaily.com - Banking News Daily

Banks want political lead, rate cuts for crisis

Western governments and central banks faced demands for coordinated action on Tuesday after Australia responded to the escalating global financial crisis by cutting its interest rates sharply.

Wells Fargo to buy Wachovia for $15.1 billion

Wells Fargo said Friday that it would merge with Wachovia - including the troubled Charlotte bank's banking operations - in a $15.1 billion all-stock merger.

Icelandic banks in latest restructuring

The ill wind sweeping through the world's financial markets gathered momentum in Iceland yesterday as Straumur-Burdaras, the investment bank, said that it would pay €380 million to buy assets from Landsbanki.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are going to buy Wachovia Corp.

According to unofficial data, the U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. is negotiating with potential buyers about the takeover. Among the possible nominees are Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.

The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg are investing in Fortis €11,2 billion

The Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg rode to the rescue of Fortis with a €11.2 billion bailout to keep the US-born financial crisis from claiming a victim in Europe.

Mitsubishi UFG will buy up to 20% stake in Morgan Stanley

The world's largest bank Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group Inc. (MUFG) will acquire up to 20% stake in Morgan Stanley. The amount of the transaction could amount to about ¥900 bn ($8.38 bn).

Rothschild family sells stake in French arm to Bank of China

The Bank of China has today struck a co-operation agreement with the French arm of LCF Rothschild and taken a 20% stake in the private banking and asset management unit, in what it claims is the first strategic investment by a Chinese bank in a eurozone rival.

Investbanks affected by the crisis of the banking system in U.S.

Lasted three days of negotiations leading U.S. and global banks with U.S. authorities about the fate of Lehman Brothers ended quite suddenly. British Barclays, the main contender for Lehman, abandoned the deal because U.S. authorities refused to provide financial support.

Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch

Bank of America Corporation today announced it has agreed to acquire Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in a $50 billion all-stock transaction that creates a company unrivalled in its breadth of financial services.

Investec launches lending service for stars

Investec, the UK private bank, has launched a specialist lending service for sports, music and entertainment celebrities. The loans will be borrowed against a range of assets belonging to the stars. Typically, loans are in excess of £2m and structured around future rights to cash flows.