| Former Abbey boss may bid for Northern Rock
A fourth potential bidder for Northern Rock has emerged - a group led by former Abbey boss Luqman Arnold. Olivant, a private equity firm run by Arnold, has contacted the bank and regulators about a salvage plan. It is understood to want 20% of the business and effective control with the promise that his expertise from stints at Abbey and investment bank UBS Warburg will be enough to transform Northern Rock's prospects. Last night the Northern Rock board was considering the bid as a fall-back option in case the other proposals fail. The bank's chairman Bryan Sanderson is believed to welcome Arnold's interest, but is waiting until an informal deadline for bids, set for this Friday, has passed before assessing its merits. Arnold came to prominence when he was parachuted into Abbey five years ago after it revealed large losses from its wholesale banking operations.
Bank of America Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2007 Earnings Conference Call
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation today announced it will present fourth quarter and full-year 2007 financial results on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. EST. The presentation, live webcast and other earnings-related information will be available through the Bank of America Investor Relations Web site at http://investor.bankofamerica.com/ . Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk-management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving more than 57 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 5,700 retail banking offices, more than 17,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than 23 million active users.
Cha-Ching! Qualcomm Buys Into Mobile Banking
CDMA kingpin Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM - message board) is making its first foray into the mobile banking market with plans for a $210 million cash acquisition of software company Firethorn Holdings LLC. Atlanta, Ga.-based Firethorn develops mobile payment and banking applications for mobile phones that allow users to transfer cash and access account information. The company already has a major partnership deal with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T - message board) Firethorn's banking partners include Wachovia, SunTrust Bank, Regions Financial, BancorpSouth, Synovus and others. (See AT&T Offers Mobile Banking.) .
Banks branch into image makeovers
About half of PNC Bank's branches have already received a makeover and the majority of them will receive some sort of upgrade, whether it be new signage, landscaping and expanding drive-through lanes on the outside, or new furniture, carpet, heating or security systems inside. Called "Rolling Thunder," the bank set out last year to refurbish its aging branch network on a rolling basis through 2009. PNC used the opportunity to give itself an image makeover. Like most of the city's large banks, it inherited its local branch network through acquisition. The bank's stodgy navy blue and white logo is being replaced with more a eye-catching orange and light blue color scheme. "You want your brand image to be consistent," said Kelly Finch, market manager of retail banking.
Local banker named president of community trust
Stuart Fauber, president of SunTrust Bank in Lynchburg, will become president of the Greater Lynchburg Community Trust in January. Fauber will assume leadership of the 35-year-old charitable organization on Jan. 2, after retiring from SunTrust. The announcement was made Wednesday by Terry H. Jamerson, chairman of the trust's board of directors. Fauber succeeds George H. Murphy, who served as president of the trust since 2004. Fauber has worked in banking since 1974, and was president of the local SunTrust branch since 1998. He also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve for 33 years, retiring in 2000. Fauber serves on numerous boards in the community, including Lynchburg College, Centra Health, Central Virginia Community College Foundation, National Conference for Community and Justice and Step With Links, Inc.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-16 17:38 GMT: Barclays ratings unaffected by 1.7 bln stg writedown, charges - Moody's
MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Moody's Investors Service said its ratings on Barclays PLC remain unaffected after the bank said its investment banking arm took net charges and writedowns of 1.7 bln stg in the third-quarter and October combined. The ratings agency said the bank would be able to absorb further write downs roughly the same size as those announced to date, without experiencing further negative pressure on its rating due to its strong earnings capabilities and solid capitalisation. Moody's said it will continue to monitor the impact of market conditions on Barclays Bank, including its exposures to structured products. Moody's retains its 'B+' bank financial strength rating on the bank with a negative outlook, whereas the bank's debt and deposits are rated 'Aa1' with a stable outlook.
Refinance Your Auto Loan and Ease a Tight Budget
(ARA) - Living from paycheck to paycheck can be very stressful when unexpected emergency situations happen. You have to squeeze some extra money out of your budget, but where is it going to come from? When these situations arise, auto refinancing could turn your circumstances around to your advantage.By refinancing your auto loan, you could get a lower interest rate and a lower monthly payment. Customers who apply for auto refinancing through companies such as RateGenius Loan Services can potentially see a great savings in their monthly budget. RateGenius customers, on average, reduce their interest rate an average of 3.67 percent from their previous interest rate, and an average of $65 off their existing monthly auto payment. This type of savings frees up money for you to pay for a crisis or to put into an emergency-only savings account, making the unexpected a lot less stressful.
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