- Bank of America Relents, Will Hand Over Merrill Merger Files
- JPMorgan tries to calm fears over UK
- Lloyd Blankfein Op Ed: To avoid crises, we need more transparency
- Goldman Sachs Cut to ‘Neutral’ by Meredith Whitney
- UBS Amnesty Deadline Adds Need for Therapy to Lawyer Visits
- Citi to scrape bottom of barrel
- Lazard CEO’s illness raises concerns on succession
- Golub Most Likely Wasserstein Successor, Cohan Says
- Gold hits record high as dollar slips vs euro
- AIG sells Taiwan unit for $2.2 bln; more deals seen
- Citi to open retail branch in Vietnam
- Dell Plans to Be ‘Reasonably Active’ in Acquisitions
Bank of America Relents, Will Hand Over Merrill Merger Files - Washington Post
Bank of America will turn over to investigators legal documents related to its purchase of Merrill Lynch, reversing its previous stance that such information must be kept confidential under privacy rules, three sources familiar with the decision said Monday.
The move came after Bank of America directors met on Friday to discuss the matter, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not have authorization to speak publicly and because the inquiries are ongoing. For months, the bank has resisted divulging advice it received from lawyers about the merger, citing attorney-client privilege. The board voted on Friday to waive that privilege, the sources said…..
JPMorgan tries to calm fears over UK – Financial Times
JPMorgan’s top executives have embarked on a charm offensive to allay fears by staff and regulators that the ousting of Bill Winters as co-head of the investment bank will mean a diminished role for its London operations.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s chief executive, made a surprise visit to London last week, meeting about 70 senior managers, to reassure them that the City and Europe remain crucial to the bank’s future, the group said…..
Lloyd Blankfein Op Ed: To avoid crises, we need more transparency – Financial Times
One lesson from the crisis is the need for more effective systemic regulation. There has been a focus on who should exercise this responsibility. But the most critical question is what the systemic regulator should do, and what responsibilities will make it effective – not who, so much as how?
Regulators need to be able to identify risk concentrations early and prevent them from growing so large as to threaten the system. If systemic problems arise, regulators need to take prompt action to limit their impact and protect the safety of the system…..
Goldman Sachs Cut to ‘Neutral’ by Meredith Whitney – Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm before converting to a bank last year, was cut to “neutral” by Meredith Whitney, as the analyst dropped her only “buy” recommendation…..
UBS Amnesty Deadline Adds Need for Therapy to Lawyer Visits – Bloomberg
With a U.S. deadline three days away, clients of UBS AG and other foreign banks have turned law offices into therapy suites as they seek advice on whether to reveal offshore accounts to tax authorities or risk prosecution.
Attorneys helping taxpayers navigate the Internal Revenue Service voluntary disclosure program are hearing dramas that mix personal finance with fear, including stories of cash hidden beneath homes during the Holocaust, accounts hidden from spouses and relatives who might be implicated, tax lawyers say.
“Some people come in and are very nervous,” said Barbara Kaplan, an attorney at Greenberg Traurig in New York, who represents about 75 taxpayers who plan to come forward. “With some, there are lots of tears. I tell them I can’t deal with their emotional issues relating to this. You have to talk to your therapist about that. I charge too much for that.”….
Citi to scrape bottom of barrel – NY Post
It’s exactly the position Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit didn’t want to find himself in.
Nearly a year after the struggling banking giant hatched a plan to shed problem assets in order to focus on healthier businesses, Citi is seeing several of its crown jewels head for the exit, leaving behind the junk Pandit had hoped to dump.
Adding insult to injury: Some of these assets are being sold for far less than their contribution to Citi’s bottom line……
Lazard CEO’s illness raises concerns on succession – Reuters
Lazard Ltd Chief Executive Bruce Wasserstein’s illness has raised questions about the the M&A advisory firm’s leadership and succession plan, sending its shares lower.
Lazard late on Sunday said Wasserstein had been hospitalized for an irregular heartbeat. It called his condition “serious” but added that he was “stable and recovering.”…
Golub Most Likely Wasserstein Successor, Cohan Says – Bloomberg
Lazard Ltd. Vice Chairman Steven Golub would be the most likely successor should health issues reduce the role of Chief Executive Officer Bruce Wasserstein, according to William Cohan, who wrote a book about the firm.
Wasserstein has been hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, and his condition is “serious, but he is stable and recovering,” the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said in a statement yesterday. There was no indication….
Gold hits record high as dollar slips vs euro – Reuters
Gold rose to a record high at $1,063.60 an ounce on Tuesday as the dollar slipped against the euro, increasing the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset.
Firmer oil prices and an improvement in physical demand for gold after a sluggish year for jewelry buying are also lifting gold prices, analysts said…..
AIG sells Taiwan unit for $2.2 bln; more deals seen – Reuters
American International Group struck a deal to sell its Taiwan life insurance for $2.15 billion, marking its largest disposal of a division since a government bailout last year saved it from collapse.
Primus Financial, a new firm founded by Citigroup’s former Asia investment banking head, together with a Hong Kong partner, agreed to buy Nan Shan Life, ending a five-month auction that saw big interest from many corporates and private equity bidders…..
Citi to open retail branch in Vietnam – Financial Times
Citigroup will on Tuesday become the first US financial institution to open a retail operation in Vietnam in the latest sign of how western companies are targeting consumers in the fast-growing Asian economy.
The US bank will open a branch in Ho Chi Minh City to provide deposit services to individual customers and remittance services for the broader Vietnamese diaspora….
Dell Plans to Be ‘Reasonably Active’ in Acquisitions - Bloomberg
Dell Inc.’s Michael Dell, who announced a $3.9 billion takeover of Perot Systems Corp. last month, said his company is “rapidly developing” merger expertise and will seek more deals as part of a turnaround plan.
“You will see us be reasonably active,” Dell, the company’s chief executive officer, said in an interview today. He said Dell will look at acquisitions that bolster sales to corporate customers and will consider more deals in the health- care industry…..
Tags: AIG, Andrew Cuomo, Bank of America, Bruce Wasserstein, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Lazard, Lloyd Blankfein, Merrill Lynch, UBS
