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Government Intervention In The Financial System Might Not Be As Good As Previously Expected

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:55:00 GMT

Over the weekend the British government announced that it was increasing its stake in UK bank Lloyds TSB (LYG) to 65% and possibly 77% in return for insuring over 367 billion dollars in toxic assets. The government will do that by converting some of its preferred shares in the bank into common. As part of the agreement, the bank will take a "first loss" of up to 25 billion pounds, with the U.K. government shouldering 90% of any subsequent loss. Lloyds was one of the most conservative lenders in the UK which didn’t have as much exposure to toxic assets until it acquired troubled bank HBOS back in September 2008. The way events unfolded back in September and October when banks[More...]

The Top 25 European Banks By Assets

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Just a few hours ago, I posted an article about European toxic asset exposure based on a Telegraph article. The crux of the Telegraph piece was that European banks have a shed load of bad debt on their books. A secret European Commission document allegedly put[More...]

The Anatomy of a Global Financial Crisis

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:01:00 GMT

I apologize for the recent lack of posts as I got rather caught up with travel and other activities during the holiday season.[More...]

Stocks Post Monster Rally

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 23:27:00 GMT

Stocks posted among their best one day gain today, on word that the government is putting together a plan to buy stakes in some banks, as a way of help instilling confidence again into the banking system.This follows a similar but more concentrated U.K. government plan to buy equity stakes to the tune of $37 billion, in Royal Bank of Scotland in which it will take a more than 50% stake, and Lloyds TSB and HBOS which are in the process of merging. The U.K government will take a 40% stake in the combined Lloyds TSB and HBOS. European Union central bankers also announced similar plans to inject capital into their banking systems.The Dow Jones industrial average was up 936 points (11.08%) finishing the day at 936.42. This was the largest point gain ever for the Dow and the fourth largest percentage gain.The Nasdaq was up 194.74 for 11.81%, closing at 1,844.25 and the S&P 500[More...]

Banking Rescues Around the World

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:45:00 GMT

Here are some quick updates on Banking rescues within the EU and other parts of the world: (From the FT): " The German and French government on Monday unveiled plans to restore liquidity and inject fresh capital into their banking sectors – as part of a coordinated bailout campaign by western governments.

However, the watchdog said it won't implement blanket rules until a European agreement can be reached.

Traders and firms have told the FSA that unilateral action would make it too complicated.

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Timeline: Global Financial Crisis

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:47:00 GMT

Sep. 15--DOHA, Qatar -- A year on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Al Jazeera looks at the major events that led to the global financial crisis.
October to December 2006 -- The boom in house prices begins to reverse its course as defaults on homes in US rise to record levels, prompting warnings of an impending subprime mortgage crisis.
April -- New Century, America's largest subprime lender, goes bankrupt.

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New Banks Won't Rescue Small Firms

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:47:00 GMT

Sep. 13--Former blue-chip bank chief Sir Peter Burt has poured cold water on hopes that any new banks could be launched to serve the struggling small business sector.
The former head of Bank of Scotland has been tipped to be chairman of a new start-up bank, raising hopes that more competition could ease the flow of credit to struggling companies.
But Burt said it would be difficult for a newly launched bank to offer the services small businesses want, as they needed the branch network that only established banking groups could offer.

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Britain Flounders in World Table of Banks' Confidence

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:46:00 GMT

Sep. 9--Britain's once-proud banking system is now considered less safe than those of Chad, Burundi and Tajikistan.
The collapse of firms such as Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Bradford & Bingley has profoundly shaken faith in the UK financial sector, the report showed.
It may be cold comfort, but the UK was not the only nation to tumble down the league table.

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Financial Mail, London, Midas Column - May 27 2009 12:52PM

Sun, 24 May 2009 16:47:00 GMT

May 24--Last spring, HBOS was struggling so it asked shareholders for help.
Instead, the bank went from bad to worse, ending up in the arms of Lloyds TSB.
The Government then gave it a further £4 billion and in return received preference shares that gave it a dividend of £480 million a year.

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Evening Standard, London, Neil Collins Column - Mar 16 2009 12:54PM

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:48:00 GMT

Mar. 12--Once upon a time, long ago, the ministers who controlled the Post Office decided that it should offer the people this new-fangled telephone thingy.
An analysis from Morgan Stanley essentially concludes that today's BT is a massive pension scheme which is feeding off a decidedly anaemic telecoms business.
The pension assets are £30 billion, while the market value of BT is little more than £6 billion.

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Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column - Mar 16 2009 10:57AM

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Mar. 12--THOMAS COOK APPLIES THE LOTION: A big drop in Thomas Cook's share price this afternoon forced the holidays giant to reassure the City and deny claims business in the package tours industry had dropped off a cliff.
Peter Fankhauser, head of the German business, told reporters at the International Tourism Fair in Berlin that Thomas Cook would meet its summer sales targets only if last-minute bookings came in.
The group said its overall performance remains in line with previous guidance after the shares slumped below 200p following a frantic sell-off.

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Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column - Mar 4 2009 3:53PM

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:47:00 GMT

Mar. 3--Dreams of a rally by London stocks proved short-lived today as the FTSE 100 index crashed back below the 3600 support level to trade at a new six-year low.
Wall Street traded below its best levels following an early mark-up, with the Dow's lead cut to 31.63 at 6794.28.
UBS has reduced Lloyds Banking Group, down 3.9p at 45 1/2p, from 140p to 100p to reflect the higher impairment charges in its HBOS subsidiary's corporate book.

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Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column - Feb 27 2009 2:51PM

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:46:00 GMT

Feb. 27--The UK's biggest drug companies are already feeling the side-effects of President Obama's move to revive the US economy by cutting the country's huge Medicaid budget.
America is still the biggest and most lucrative export market for Europe's drug producers, accounting for more than half their sales.
The drug firms have been floored in the past few years by the growing cost of research, increased regulation and litigation and intense competition from generic drug producers.

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Evening Standard, London, Market Report Column - Feb 27 2009 1:56PM

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:50:00 GMT

Feb. 26--Banks led the way on the stock market today, with more than half a billion shares in Royal Bank of Scotland changing hands, adding more than £2 billion to its value, even though it reported a record £24.1 billion loss.
RBS was followed by Lloyds Banking Group, up 14.1p to 71.5p on hefty turnover of more than 120 million shares.
The two banks are expected to dump a total of £500 billion of toxic assets into the Government's proposed asset protection scheme, which it is hoped will leave them to start with a clean sheet.

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Heritage Financial Group Reports Third Quarter Results

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:46:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009.
Separately, Heritage Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share.
Commenting on the results, Leonard Dorminey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Financial Group, said, "We are pleased that, in some respects, the fundamentals of our business are beginning to show some improvement.

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Heritage Financial Group Agrees to Purchase Lake City Branch From Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:49:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a branch in Lake City, Florida, owned by Atlantic Coast Federal Corporation (NASDAQ: ACFC), the holding company for Atlantic Coast Bank.
The Company expects to retain the four employees currently located at the branch.
Commenting on the announcement, Leonard Dorminey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Financial Group, said, "We are pleased to announce the proposed purchase of this branch, which will continue our efforts to expand prudently to new markets.

[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports Second Quarter Earnings

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 10:57:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2009. The Company reported a profit for the quarter in spite of a challenging business environment pressured by ongoing recessionary conditions, diminished loan demand, and increased pressure on net interest margin due to an unprecedented low interest rate environment. For the second quarter, the Company's net income totaled $155,000 or $0.02 per diluted share compared with net income of $688,000 or $0.07 per diluted share in the prior-year period. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, net income totaled $549,000 or $0.05 per diluted share compared with $1,267,000 or $0.12 per diluted share in the year-earlier period.[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports First Quarter Earnings

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:48:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Separately, Heritage Financial Group announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share.
Selected Consolidated Financial Ratios and Other Data (unaudited) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, may be found at the Company's website under SEC Filings.

[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:26:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008.[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports Third Quarter Results

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:27:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2008.[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports Ownership of Freddie Mac Securities

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:26:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ:HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced that it currently holds approximately $1.5 million par value of Freddie Mac preferred stock in its available-for-sale investment portfolio. The Company has no additional equity exposure to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac equity securities. Following the U.S. government's actions earlier this week to place Freddie Mac under conservatorship and eliminate its dividends on preferred stock, the Company has seen a dramatic decrease in the value of this investment.[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Posts Higher Second Quarter Net Income

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:27:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ:HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008. Net income for the second quarter of 2008 rose 25% to $688,000 or $0.07 per diluted share from $549,000 or $0.05 per diluted share in the year-earlier quarter. Other highlights of the quarter included continued growth in the Company's loan portfolio – up 7% since the second quarter of 2007 – along with higher non-interest income and lower non-interest expense, each compared with the second quarter last year. However, as the industry continues to face a difficult credit environment, the Company continued to address the potential risk in its loan portfolio with a higher provision for loan losses.[More...]

Heritage Financial Group Reports First Quarter Net Income of $580,000 or $0.06 Per Diluted Share for the First Quarter of 2008

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:22:00 GMT

Heritage Financial Group (NASDAQ: HBOS), the mid-tier holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008. Highlights of the quarter included continued growth in the Company's loan portfolio – up 2% over the last three months and 9% since the first quarter of 2007, along with increased net interest income and non-interest income. Offsetting this progress, however, the Company continued to respond to potential risk in its loan portfolio, increasing its provision for loan losses from the year-earlier quarter, and incurring higher non-interest expense related in part to its recently opened permanent branch in Ocala, Florida, which replaced temporary quarters established in mid-2006. Largely because of these higher costs, net income for the first quarter of 2008 declined 19% to $580,000 or $0.06 per diluted share from $719,000 or $0.07 per diluted share in the year-earlier quarter.[More...]