| Oil wealth takes Islamic banking mainstream
Citigroup, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, as well as financial capitals like London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, are all going into the Islamic banking business. Today, an estimated 300 Islamic financial institutions hold at least $500 billion in assets, and deposits are increasing more than 10 percent each year. In addition to Islamic loans, there are Islamic bonds, Islamic credit cards and even Islamic derivatives. Loans and bonds that conform to the Koran are already available in the United States. And Britain, Japan and Thailand are contemplating issuing Islamic bonds of their own. In Islamic banking, financiers are required to share borrowers' risks, meaning that depositors are treated more like shareholders, earning a portion of profits. Financing deals resemble lease-to-own arrangements, layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or partnerships.
Foreign banks see long-term profit in China's hinterlands
HSBC is on a tight schedule as it works to open rural subsidiaries around China and tap the long-neglected but now fast-growing rural economy.
HSBC got approval in August from China's banking regulator to open a wholly owned subsidiary in Cengdu County of Suizhou City, Hubei Province.
HSBC Rural Bank, the subsidiary, which is expected to open for business next month, will make the British financial giant the first foreign bank to expand into China's hinterlands.
Recently, it sent experts to Kaixian County, in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, preparing to open another village bank, according to the county government.
"HSBC will open a rural bank in Chongqing in the first half of next year," said a source with the county government, which didn't reveal the bank's specific location.
HSBC: Banking giant reassures markets
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, today gave a boost to the embattled banking sector by revealing growing revenues have offset the damage caused by exposure to bad debts in the US. Other major finance houses have also gone some way to reassuring investors that after months of credit market havoc, wrought by the American subprime mortgage meltdown, the worst may be over. HSBC said its third quarter profit was ahead of a year earlier despite increasing its bad debt charge related to US consumer finance business to $3.4 billion. .
Business & Finance
HSBC maintains 'good business growth'
HSBC Malta has maintained good business growth, continuing the positive profit and balance sheet trends reported in its first half of this year,... Rights to English FA matches
Go, the telecoms company, has signed a deal with the Football Association in Britain giving it the rights for live and exclusive broadcast of the... Bank's end of year discounts
HSBC has launched the Grand End of Year Christmas Season Discounts for the third successive year. The special offers on flexicredit, home loans... Daily currency report - Commercial Foreign Exchange Travelex Malta, free phone: 800 733 22, www.travelex.com/mt/
Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares of Citigroup, forecasting that the banking giant's losses would rise to a total of $15 billion, provoking...
Banks' poor service an anchor on small-business growth: CFIB
Poor service from banks is stunting the growth of small Atlantic Canadian companies, according to a new national report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Banking Matters concludes that the five major banks are short-changing business overall. But CFIB's Atlantic vice-president Leanne Hachey says the problem is particularly acute in this region because there are fewer options here.
The report looked at nine factors, including service charges, willingness to lend and treatment by account managers. Nationally, credit unions, HSBC and ATB Financial (Alberta Treasury Branches) continue to receive the highest marks from the small business clients, but all three dropped in satisfaction rankings since 2003.
However, credit unions are the only ones of the three to have a strong customer base with small and medium-sized businesses in Atlantic Canada.
INBrief
TMB sells holding INSURANCE :TMB Bank Plc yesterday sold its 25% stake in Siam Samsung Life Insurance at 9.21 baht per share for 36.84 million baht. The bank told the Stock Exchange of Thailand that it sold the 12.5 million shares to three companies affiliated with the Saha Group. The divestment of is part of the bank's plan to restructure affiliated firms and in line with the Bank of Thailand's policy on consolidated supervision. Siam Samsung Life reported assets as of June 30 of 1.39 billion baht, generating revenue of 328.11 million baht and net profit of 28.47 million baht. VW seeks new deal AUTOMOBILES :The Yontrakit Group, the local authorised distributor of Volkswagen cars, yesterday declined to confirm reports that executives had begun talks with Volkswagen after the German automaker discontinued talks with Malaysia's Proton.
|
