More signs of - green shoots -

G8 ministers see crisis easing

G8 finance ministers signalled cautious optimism on the weekend that the worst of the global financial crisis might be over and began discussing exit strategies to counter the threat of inflation, reports the FT. Stress tests for banks were also discussed, aides said, but rifts over the issue - with France and Germany resisting calls for more transparency over results

Rates may rise later this year, warns CBI

The CBI has sharply upgraded its growth forecasts and given warning that the Bank of England may begin
raising interest rates by the end of the year, much sooner than widely expected.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/recession/5535590/Rates-may-rise-later-this-year-warns-CBI.html

        CLOSING MARKET REPORT

Lloyds Banking Group was the best of only three blue chip gainers at the close, rising 1.5p at 66.8p.

Other banks slid in line with the market trend, with Royal Bank of Scotland down 2p at 37.9p and Barclays off 13.25p at 278.75p.

Closing at 66.8p ......                so much better tomorrow ........       

.......... and YES another rise today, though the FTSE is now level

EARLY MARKET REPORT

Banking shares put in a mixed performance, with Royal Bank of Scotland the best of them, ahead 0.5p at 38.4p, while Lloyds added 0.7p at 67.5p. On the downside, Barclays slipped 0.5p at 278.25p and HSBC fell 2.5p at 527.5p.

UP to 68.50p +1.70p now

The UPTREND continues from the low 60p after the PLACING

And has reached 70p

Someone is buying, volume to 70.5 millions and share price at 70.50p

A finished price of 69.30p due to the last UT at this price, but the closing spread was 69.80 / 69.90p,
so very strong till the finished and the good trend continues

From The Herald about the 4bn rights issue take up ..........

Lloyds 4bn rights issue could now be doubled -- TIM SHARP - City Editor -- June 17 2009

Such is the demand for shares in Lloyds Banking Group that it could have as much as doubled its recent 4bn rights issue Lord Paul Myners, the City Minister, said yesterday.

Myners, financial services secretary to the Treasury, yesterday noted "there is a real appetite out there" for the new shares issued by Lloyds to raise cash to buy back preference shares issued to the government.

"I suspect that double the amount would have been taken up if the government had been willing to sell more shares at that time," he added.

The bank, owner of Edinburgh-based HBOS since January, raised 4bn from shareholders in a rights issue that completed last week allowing it to pay off preference shares charging 12% and giving it the opportunity to restart dividend payments to ordinary shareholders.

Myners told a British Property Federation conference that UK Financial Investments, which manages the government's 43.4% stake in Lloyds and 70% holding in Royal Bank of Scotland, would sell its shares gradually.

"I think a series of sales through a variety of different institutions into different markets is likely to be recommended by the board of UK Financial Investments when they address this issue."

RBS chief executive Stephen Hester said he expected the RBS stake to be sold down "over a number of years". "My goal is that within five years the government is down to zero. But I do not control that goal," he added.

UKFI is thought to be considering issuing a convertible bond. This would effectively allow it to sell RBS and Lloyds stock at a premium to the prevailing share price, potentially profiting on the investments before the shares recover to the price the government paid for its stakes.

From the INDEPENDENT - Market Report

Market Report: Bullish broker helps Lloyds strengthen

Banks were in focus last night, with Lloyds rising to 69.3p, up 3.7 per cent, or 2.5p, after a broker weighed in with a bullish assessment of the sector's prospects.

Redburn Partners said shares in the three UK-focused banks Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, which edged up by 0.2p to 38.1p, and Barclays, which eased slightly to 277p, down 1.75p were ripe for the picking as current valuations were pricing in "a very bearish scenario, which includes five years of global deflation and poor capital markets operating conditions".

Its own "base case" scenario, on the other hand, suggests the three are cheap, with possible of upsides of about 50 per cent for RBS, about 70 per cent for Lloyds and, following the sale of Barclays Global Investors, about 90 per cent for Barclays.

"The upside still averages 25 per cent in an inflationary scenario. Even the most dangerous deflationary scenario is priced in," the broker said, adding that its analysis underlined two things, namely "that the economics of UK banks remain attractive in all but the most dismal of economic outcomes, and how little credence the market currently gives to this counter-intuitive outcome".

Morning broker moves round-up

RBS cut to underperform from neutral at Macquarie.

Lloyds upped to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.

        JOKE OF THE DAY

And only because of legal action .......... string him UP

Sir Fred Offers To Cut Pension

The controversial former Chief Executive of the Royal Bank Of Scotland,
Sir Fred Goodwin is offering to cut his pension by 200,000 a year ,
according to the BBC.

It is understood that Sir Fred offered to cut his pension when faced
with the possibility of legal action from RBS.

Having already taken a lump sum of 2.7m from his pension fund, the
offer to cut his pension by 200,000 a year would leave Sir Fred
with approximately 340,000 as a residual pension.

        MIDDAY MARKET REPORT

Lloyds Banking Group was an early blue chip leader, up 1.8p at 68.9p, while Royal Bank of Scotland
ticked up 0.2p at 37.2p and Asia-facing Standard Chartered added 19p at 1,170p.

Other banks fared less well, with Barclays off 7.5p at 262.5p and HSBC down 8.25p at 518.25p.

Banking reforms a must, says King

Tensions between the Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England were heightened last night, as the two presented contrasting views on the future of the regulatory system in their annual addresses to the City.

Speaking at Mansion House, Mervyn King called for the size of financial institutions to be scaled down with investment banking potentially split off from the retail side.

He said: "If some banks are thought to be too big to fail, then, in the words of a distinguished American economist, they are too big. It is not sensible to allow large banks to combine high street retail banking with risky investment banking or funding strategies, and then provide an implicit state guarantee against failure."

King also floated the ideas of riskier banks being forced to hold more capital or designing a comprehensive plan of action as to how the bank could be wound up in an orderly manner in the event it fails.

"Making a will should be as much a part of good housekeeping for banks as it is for the rest of us," he said.

His views were in contrast to those expressed by Alistair Darling who says the system needs to be tightened but not fundamentally reformed.

"Many people talk about how to deal with the big banks - banks so important to the financial system that they cannot be allowed to fail. But the solution is not as simple, as some have suggested, as restricting the size the banks," Darling said.

He wants regulators to consider the wider picture rather than concentrate on individual institutions.

"This crisis has taught us that it is not enough to pass an individual firm as healthy. Regulators and central banks need to look more carefully at the system as a whole."

However, he put the burden of blame firmly on the shoulders of the banks' boards rather than regulatory system, a view which King hotly disputed.

The BoE governor countered: "Blaming individuals is no substitute for acknowledging the failure of a system, of a certain type of banking. We have a real opportunity now to put that right and regain the trust that has been lost."

He also voiced concerns over the "limits" of the new powers awarded to the Bank since the downfall of Northern Rock. Although the Bank oversees financial stability, it falls to the Financial Services Authority to decide if a bank is failing.

"The Bank finds itself in a position rather like that of a church whose congregation attends weddings and burials, but ignores the sermons in between," he said.

"It is not entirely clear how the Bank will be able to discharge its new statutory responsibility if we can do no more than issue sermons or organise burials," King added.

thankyou for your help/

No problem

One is never to old to learn, wish others could do the same.

Doing some research has paid dividends, so I too want to contribute to this thread, as it looks like almost only - MRSI - is posting


Allianz: Expanding Presence Through UK Banking Giant
Thursday, June 18, 2009 1:51 PM

UK insurer Allianz Commercial has signed a deal with Lloyds Banking Group, giving the company access to Lloyds TSB's and Bank of Scotland's 850,000 small business customers. While increasing Allianz's presence in this competitive space, Lloyds Banking Group must ensure it can offer a competitive proposition if it is to succeed as an insurance distributor to small and medium enterprises.

Allianz Commercial's new partnership with Lloyds Banking Group will enable the insurer to increase its presence in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector through increasing its distribution through banks. Indeed, the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS to form Lloyds Banking Group has created a banking giant in the UK, which services at least 850,000 small business customers. Partnering with such a giant will allow Allianz Commercial to quickly extend its distribution reach in the SME insurance market, which is already an attractive and profitable market. However, only a small proportion of SMEs currently purchase their insurance through banks, which is likely to limit the growth potential which the insurer can achieve through the partnership.

In addition, Lloyds Banking Group will have to sever the strong ties which exist between brokers and SMEs in order to maximize its potential as a distributor of insurance in the SME sector. According to Datamonitor research, SMEs have shown a strong preference for the broker channel when purchasing their insurance. In 2008, the majority of SME insurance was distributed through brokers, while only 5% of SME insurance was distributed through banks.

Nonetheless, research by Datamonitor has also revealed that up to 40% of SMEs are willing to consider purchasing their insurance through this channel. The majority of these SME respondents cited a cheaper product as the main reason for considering an insurance purchase from a bank. Thus, a competitive proposition would allow Lloyds Banking Group to succeed as a SME insurance distributor.

http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/3274420

and another one, but unfortunely not positive, but is something of the past


Bolton claims 80% of HBOS loans had no proof of income
Lee Jones - 18-Jun-2009
Former HBOS mortgage chief Michael Bolton has claimed that up to 80 per cent of mortgages lent by the group before the credit crunch were accep- ted without proof of income.
Bolton, who was managing director of BM Solutions, says: "HBOS had five brands, all offering products without proof of income. It was offering a lot of self-cert, a lot of buy to let that needed no proof of income and a lot of Halifax's mortgages were 'non-verified income' loans, which was essentially fast track.
"Before the credit crunch, as much as 80 per cent of HBOS' loans were going through without full proof of income."

The 2007 prospectus literature for one of HBOS's master trusts says: "During 2001, [HBOS] introduced a new automated system whereby the majority of mortgages are underwritten at the point of sale and do not make use of the traditional system of full evaluation by an underwriter."

Halifax would not comment directly on the issue but a spokesman says: "Our underwriting approach is carried out in a responsible manner. We have one of the best underwriting approaches within the mortgage market."

John Charcol senior technical manager Ray Boulger says: "A lot of mainstream HBOS loans were fast-tracked in the past, it went further than most lenders in that area of the market so I would not be surprised if 80 per cent were without full income verification."

New at - moneyam - so
I have to hand it to you ......Master RSI ......, you are an ace entertainer with your cartoons

keep it up but don't over do it
ready for bed so good night