The Strategist

Four hot banking news of this week



02/07/2017 - 15:07



The week has just begun, and the banking industry has already brought some interesting news. Let's see what happened to the world’s top banks during the last few days.



Wells Fargo lost the title of the most expensive banking brand

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) surpassed the US Wells Fargo and became the most expensive banking brand in the world, according to Brand Finance study. Value of ICBC brand reached $ 47.8 billion in 2017, while Wells Fargo’s figure - $ 41,6 bln.

"Being the largest world’s bank in terms of assets, ICBC for the year raised value of its brand by 32% to $ 47.8 billion, which accounts for 20% of the total market cap of the financial institution ($ 239 billion)," - noted the study.

Net profit of Intesa Sanpaolo in 2016 amounted to EUR 3.1 billion

Net profit of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo in 2016 amounted to € 3.111 billion versus € 2.739 billion in 2015 while the IV quarter brought 776 million euro. Operating income numbered € 16.929 billion in the last year, showing a decline of 1.5% compared to 2015; the IV quarter’s result amounted to 4.172 billion euro (increase of 0.8% compared to III quarter).

"Operating costs for the fourth quarter 2016 amounted to 2.356 billion euro, an increase of 11.3% compared to the third quarter of 2016. On the basis of 2016, the figure amounted to 8.674 billion euro, down 0.7% compared with 2015. Operating margin for the fourth quarter 2016 amounted to 1.816 billion euro, a decline of 10.2% compared to the third quarter of 2016. By the end of 2016, it numbered to € 8.255 billion, a decrease of 2.3% compared to 2015 ", - said the bank in a release.

Gross profit of Intesa Sanpaolo in 2016 amounted to € 5.432 billion versus € 5.015 billion in 2015. The IV quarter brought € 1.556 billion euros against € 1.067 billion in the III quarter of 2016.

Head of RBS is preparing a new plan to slash costs

Executive Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland Ross McEwan will soon unveil new measures to reduce the bank's costs. 

McEwan’s previous plan to reduce the difference between revenues and expenditures suggested that the gap would be narrowed by half in two years. Now, however, he admits that the goal will not be possibly achieved until 2019. At the time, analysts believe that the bank's management will make a bet on new technologies to reduce costs and cut down number of the bank's staff. Earlier in November, the bank revealed its intention to cut back on spending along with downsizing of its own businesses to improve the bank's financial stability.

The largest US banks would repatriate $ 100 billion in case of deregulation

The six largest US banks may return around $ 100 billion back in the country if Trump’s administration deregulates the banking sector, reports The Wall Street Journal. It is expected that return of capital in the US economy will take place in the form of dividend payments to shareholders and corporate repurchases.

"It does not seem that banking regulation is a priority for the administration. Therefore, it is very positive to see that actions of the executive power came so early,"- told Jason Benowitz, Senior Portfolio Manager at Roosevelt Investment Group.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump signed a decree on deregulation of the US financial sector. Trump has repeatedly promised to enact a bill to abolish currently acting Dodd – Frank’s law. 

source: theguardian.com, wsj.com, reuters.com