BANKING & INSURANCEBanking blues deepen on talk of Fortis being put up for saleFORTIS, the troubled Dutch- Belgian bank which last year bought up ABN Amro in a consortium with Royal Bank of Scotland, may sell off
the assets it acquired in the deal – or could put itself up for sale entirely (
Scotsman). BNP Paribas has been mooted as a potentially interested buyer for all of Fortis – or just its ABN operations – while Dutch rivals ING or Rabobank may be eyeing Fortis's private banking business. However, reports have claimed that neither ING nor BNP Paribas are willing to take on Fortis unless they receive guarantees over the bank's exposures to subprime mortgages and other risky assets. A spokeswoman for RBS yesterday told The Scotsman that a sale of the Dutch assets of ABN Amro by Fortis would not affect the Edinburgh bank financially as all three banks had already paid up for their share of ABN – and added that a sale would be a private deal between Fortis and any new owner.
Noble not exempt from turbulence in marketNoble Group, the Edinburgh investment bank, plunged into loss in the period before it secured a multi-million pound funding injection from London financiers amid torrid market conditions (
Herald). Accounts for Noble Group, newly-filed at Companies House, show the advisory-to-investment management operation made a pre-tax loss of £2.5m in the 15 months to November 2007 on turnover of £17m. The loss points to a significant change in the company's financial performance compared with the preceding period. This covered the 12 months to August 31 2006, during which Noble made pre-tax profits of £3.7m on revenues of £19.7m. In his chairman's report, former chief executive Ben Thomson noted the previous period's trading had been boosted by a one-off gain regarding Private Finance Initiative activities following the sale of a fund the company managed.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comECONOMYUK government poised to nationalise B&BThe government was on Sunday night preparing to nationalise Bradford & Bingley after hammering out a deal with the Spanish bank Santander, which will buy the embattled UK mortgage lender's £21bn deposit book and branch network for about £600m (
FT). The bank is set to be taken into public ownership on Monday after B&B saw retail savers withdraw "tens of millions of pounds" in recent days as uncertainty grew. On Saturday, the government invited bids for B&B's £21bn retail deposit base and branches as well as inviting offers for its head office and its mortgage loan book. After 12 hours of talks, Santander last night agreed to buy the network of 197 branches and 140 agency outlets as well as the retail deposits.
Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comINDUSTRYCBI warns 12,000 services jobs will go in three monthsAt least 12,000 jobs are likely to be lost from the financial services sector over the coming three months, according to figures from employers body the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), as the fund management industry is sucked into the gloom surrounding the rest of the sector (
Herald). The CBI said that 61 of the 100 firms it contacted for its quarterly survey had reported falling business volumes in the three months to early September, with only 10% saying they had risen. The balance of -51% is the weakest result since the survey started in December 1989. As a consequence, the numbers of people employed in the sector fell, with a balance of 16% shedding staff. This is set to get worse with a balance of 44% expecting to cut posts in the coming months, a level which CBI statisticians say based on past trends is likely to see a minimum of 12,000 jobs going.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comMEDIA & LEISURERevamp of RAC Club in top gearNOT everyone is letting the current state of the global economy get them down. Peter Taylor, the unassuming chairman of Edinburgh boutique hotel group the Town House Company, is still fully confident his new project to open Glasgow's best hotel will be an unparalleled success (
Scotsman). He is clear on where Blytheswood Square, the £20 million hotel he is creating out of the former Royal Scottish Automobile Club in the city centre, will fit into the market. "We see ourselves being in a league with Gleneagles and Turnberry," says Taylor. "People talk about the economic climate. It is not that we would be completely immune to that, but it is such an exciting development and such exciting news for Glasgow that it will do well." Some may say that now is perhaps not the time to develop a luxury hotel with a marble-clad spa. Already the project has hit delays. Originally due to open around now, the launch has been pushed back to next spring. In addition, Town House's long-standing backer, HBOS, is facing its own well-publicised problems.
Read all today's media and leisure news from scotsman.comRETAILMFI management make buy-out deal Chief executive Gary Favell said on Sunday that a deal to save the company would be completed within 24 hours (
BBC). It comes after several days of talks between management and MFI's owner Merchant Equity Partners. MFI, bought by MEP for £1 in 2006, is facing increased competition and has seen sales decline. Its quarterly rent bill is also due on Monday. MFI said the deal would protect its employees' jobs and customer orders. In a statement MFI said the buy-out will be funded through "a substantial cash dowry payment from MEP which will secure deposits paid by customers."
Read all today's retail news from scotsman.com
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