GLG News by Banking Consultants

Citigroup's top management is under pressure to increase earnings without a big acquisition. Earlier this year, Citi announced a $1.5 billion cost cutting program. Now, Citi is taking the wraps off its latest idea to increase revenues. By mashing its bank and Smith Barney brokerage unit together in...

A. G. Edwards (NYS:AGE) has agreed to be acquired by Wachovia Securities, a larger broker/dealer and an affiliate of Wachovia Corporation (NYS:WB) for $6.8 billion. This deal continues the concentration of the retail brokerage marketplace into the top five firms. What time will tell is whether or not...

Wal-Mart (NYS:WMT) has agreed to serve as a customer collection point or distribution channel for Sharebuilder's low cost consumer brokerage and investment account business. ShareBuilder is a regulated broker/dealer and will be totally responsible for all investment products and services. Other discount,...

Bank of America (NYS:BAC) and RBS are stuck between a rock and a hard place over ABN's (NYS:ABN) LaSalle Bank. B of A's current deal with ABN to buy LaSalle for $21 billion has been dragged into the Dutch and US courts. RBS also covets LaSalle, suggesting that LaSalle was worth about $24.5 billion....

Citi's recently announced $4.6 billion cost reduction program has led to speculation that the bank may consider a retail core banking system upgrade. An estimated $1.6 billion of these cost savings are tagged for IT savings. Included in these IT cost savings are a reduction of data centers from 42 to...

Italian workers aren't aware enough how urgent is to move their TFR (a quote of salary paid at the end of work relation), in order to ensure them a pension that will give a decent stylelife.Many people had bad results in the past by investing their money in securities (see: Parmalat, Cirio, Argentina,...

Citigroup (NYS:C) agreed to acquire Bisys (NYS:BSG) for $1.45 billion. Bisys had been on the market since August 2006. Citi plans to keep the hedge fund and mutual fund services units of Bisys. At the closing, Citi will spin off the insurance and retirement services units to affiliates of J. C. Flowers...

National City Corp. saw its 1Q2007 profit sink 31 percent compared with 1Q2006. Noninterest income fell 5.3 percent and interest income slipped 8.3 percent on a year-over-year basis. NCC closed on its sale of First Franklin, a subprime lending affiliate, and other mortgage affiliates to Merrill Lynch...

Earnings improved as the two year corporate restructuring First Financial Bancorp (NAQ:FFBC) has largely been completed. Return on average assets for the first quarter 2007 was 1.04% compared to 0.10% in 4Q2006 and 0.45% for 1Q2006. Return on average shareholders' equity was 11.94% for 1Q2007, up from...

First Citizens BancShares Inc. issued its first quarter earnings release, reporting a 1% increase in quarterly earnings and EPS over 1Q2006. Non interest income was up, net charge offs were down, and taxes were down to compensate for lower net interest income and higher non interest expenses. Return...