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Main news: Barclays shores up capital to offset losses

July 1, 2008

Barclays has announced a plan to sell £4.5bn ($8.8bn) of shares to a mixture of foreign investors to boost depleted capital.

CSFI REPORT: BANKING BANANA SKINS

June 2, 2008

CSFI report identifies the biggest risks facing banks; Deloitte report looks at the cost of financial services regulation.

Banking sector bolsters Luxembourg economy

June 2, 2008

The economy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg relies heavily on its financial sector, as it contributed approximately 30% of gross domestic product in the last fiscal year.

MAIN NEWS: Westpac bid for St George raises prospect of giant

June 2, 2008

Australia’s Westpac Banking has approached St George Bank with a takeover offer in a deal that would mark the biggest shake-up of the ­Australian banking sector in years and would create the country’s largest financial services company by market capitalisation, with a combined value of about A$65bn ($61bn).

Morocco loans still strong

May 5, 2008

Moroccan banks have achieved strong growth in their loan books in recent years. Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank, reports that total credit in the banking sector grew 17.7% to Dh327,357m ($38,708m) in 2006, the last complete year for which figures are available, following on 2005’s 12.5% growth.

IIF INTERIM REPORT: MARKET BEST PRACTICES and STANDARD & POOR’S: SMALL EUROPEAN SOVEREIGNS

May 5, 2008

IIF interim report reviews market best practices, while Standard & Poor’s report looks at small European sovereigns.

Paulson leads fund manager earnings list

May 5, 2008

Hedge fund manager John Paulson has come out on top in the list of the 100 top-earning fund managers,compiled by Trader Monthly magazine, with a record-breaking $3bn in earnings last year, according to reports. Big bank CEOs’ loss was hedge fund managers’ gain in the US subprime crisis.

MAIN NEWS: CIC and JC Flowers sign private equity fund deal

May 5, 2008

The China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s $200bn sovereign fund, has signed a deal with JC Flowers to start a $4bn private equity fund to focus on investment in US financial assets.

UK top six results defy doom-mongers’ predictions

April 7, 2008

In spite of dire prognostications about the state of UK banking, the top six banks have emerged from the reporting season, if not unscathed, in pretty good shape.

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