Breakingviews
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The logo of Swiss bank Credit Suisse is seen at a branch in Winterthur, Switzerland, November 2, 2017.
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investment bank bonuses rarely act as the first line of defence. Many lenders continued to make generous payouts in 2009, even though taxpayers had just bailed them out. Credit Suisse Chief Executive Thomas Gottstein may take a different tack out of necessity. It could serve as an overdue test of the market for bank talent.
The Swiss bank set aside less than usual for bonuses in the first quarter, the Financial Times reported on Monday. That helped add about $600 million to its pre-tax profit, buffering the near-$5 billion hit from the collapse of hedge fund Archegos. Roaring markets and a boom in special purpose acquisition companies also contributed. As a result, Credit Suisse’s first-quarter loss will be less than $1 billion.
By Reuters Staff
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ATHENS, April 12 (Reuters) - The European Union’s lending arm, the European Investment Bank (EIB), will manage 5 billion euros ($5.96 billion) of the money Greece is due to receive from the European Union’s pandemic recovery fund, officials said on Monday.
Under a multi-billion-euro coronavirus recovery package agreed by EU leaders last year, Athens is to get 19.4 billion euros in grants and 12.7 billion euros in cheap loans in coming years, equal to about 16% of its gross domestic product.
“It’s in fact the first EIB cooperation to implement investments by the recovery and resilience facility anywhere in Europe,” Christian Kettel Thomsen Vice-President of the EIB said during a webcast signing ceremony with the leadership of the Greek Finance Ministry.
Breakingviews
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The Ubisoft logo is shown at the E3 trade event in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 11, 2019.
LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - In Ubisoft Entertainment’s “Assassin’s Creed”, players patiently stalk targets before stepping in for the kill. A similar fate may befall founder Yves Guillemot’s Gallic video-game publisher unless he can turn it around soon.
Stuck-at-home players mean gaming companies have generally had a good pandemic. Less so Ubisoft. Shares in the “Prince of Persia” publisher have languished over the past year, whereas rivals Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard have risen 34% and 60% respectively. Longer-term performance is even worse: since Vivendi dropped a mooted takeover in 2018, Ubisoft’s market value has fallen by 5%, leaving shares valued at just over 8 times forward EBITDA including debt, well below those peers’ double-digit multiples.
Tossing a few executives overboard won’t suffice for scandal-ridden Credit Suisse. The twin collapses of clients Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital must lead to deeper soul-searching at the Swiss bank. Restructuring and disposals may be necessary.
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FILE PHOTO: Japan s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso, wearing a protective face mask, delivers his policy speech at the opening of an ordinary session of the parliament in Tokyo, Japan January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is looking into the financial losses incurred by MUFG and Nomura through deals related to an unnamed U.S. client, and will gather and share information on the matter with the Bank of Japan and overseas authorities, the finance minister said.
Taro Aso’s comments come after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) estimated a loss of around $270 million and Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s largest investment bank, warned of a possible $2 billion loss - both linked to the U.S. client.