RBS reports ?deeply troubling?: Carney
Bank of England governor Mark Carney said he was concerned by reports that Royal Bank of Scotland mistreated small businesses and said they needed to be investigated fully. ?Certainly we take the view that the behaviours documented in the reports … are both deeply troubling and extremely serious?, Carney told lawmakers. He said Britain?s Financial Conduct Authority, which is not part of BoE, was investigating the case which had ?to be tracked down to the full extent of the law.? Carney said the pressure on British banks to rebuild their capital levels was no excuse for ?predatory restructuring? of small firms, but the scale of the problem did not appear to be big enough to impact Britain?s overall economy.
Repsol board to accept $5-bn YPF deal today
Spanish oil major Repsol?s board is set to accept compensation of $5 billion in bonds for Argentina?s nationalisation of its stake in YPF , less than half it had demanded, sources close to the board said. The 2012 seizure of Repsol?s 51% of the Argentine unit not only infuriated the company and the Spanish government, but also created tensions between Spain and Mexico, a core shareholder in Repsol through its state oil monopoly Pemex, over the handling of the dispute. The fact that the proposal was thrashed out at a meeting in Buenos Aires with representatives from the Spanish, Argentine and Mexican governments as well as top Repsol executives and board members indicates broad support for a deal that will end 18 months of rancour and legal wrangling.
Ukraine prez to meet EU leaders in Lithuania
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will attend a summit with the European Union this week to discuss prospects for three-way talks on Ukraine?s economic problems which would also involve Russia, PM Mykola Azarov said on Tuesday. Azarov, whose government stunned European leaders on Thursday by suspending preparations for signing a landmark trade deal with the EU, told journalists talks would begin next month with Russia on a ?road-map? for reviving economic relations.
DBS, ABN AMRO final bidders for SocGen Asia
Singapore?s DBS Group Holdings and ABN AMRO are among the suitors to place final bids for Societe Generale?s Asia private bank, in a $400-million deal, as smaller players exit the region?s competitive private banking business. A successful deal would make it the third major transaction in Asia?s competitive private banking landscape since the global financial crisis, as smaller players struggle to generate enough revenue to support expensive bankers and rising regulatory costs. Swiss bank Credit Suisse is another suitor submitting a final bid, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, after Societe Generale whittled down the initial list of 10 companies to five after the first round bidding.
Sistema considers buying Ozon?s e-commerce firm
Russia?s Sistema is considering buying into Ozon, a fast-growing e-commerce and internet shopping company backed by private equity firm Baring Vostok, the oil-to-telecom group said on Tuesday. The comments partly confirmed a report by the Vedomosti daily newspaper which cited sources saying that Sistema was in talks with Baring Vostok to buy a stake in Ozon, which runs a similar model to US online retail pioneer Amazon. According to Vedomosti, Ozon is valued at up to $800 million by Baring Vostok, a private equity partnership founded by American Michael Calvey that invested $3 million together with a partner to buy a 51% stake in Ozon in 2000. ?We are looking at it as part of a new funding round (for Ozon) but without any obligations so far,? said Sistema spokeswoman Ekaterina Tsukanova.
