JP Morgan to take over Cazenove: reportAFP Global Edition
Nov 19, 2009
US investment bank JP Morgan Chase will later Thursday unveil a one-billion-pound (1.67-billion-dollar, 1.12-billion-euro) deal to buy 190-year-old London stockbroker Cazenove, a newspaper said.
The bank is to pay about 535 pence a share for the 50-percent stake of Cazenove which it does not already own, the Financial Times said.
Under the deal, Cazenove chairman David Mayhew would stay on and was likely to receive a windfall of more than 19 million pounds (21.2 million euros, 31.7 million dollars), the newspaper said, citing sources.
British media reported earlier this week that JP Morgan was looking to take full control of Cazenove, which is broker to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.Five years ago, Cazenove and JP Morgan agreed to combine their investment banking operations in Britain into a joint venture called JP Morgan Cazenove, with each group holding a 50-percent share.
Under the terms of the deal, JP Morgan has until February 2010 to exercise an option to buy out its investment banking partner.
~ and remember ~
January 28, 2009
Western Bank Giants Prepare to Revamp Iraq’s Financial System
Representatives from J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank reached a handout to their Iraqi counterparts today, saying they were ready to work with local banks to help modernize the financial system in the war-torn country.
Iraq’s banking system needs a complete overhaul, from boosting international wire transfer capabilities to setting up ATMs to establishing widespread use of credit cards. Like many sectors that languished under the Saddam Hussein regime, banks in Iraq remained relatively cut off from the modern financial world during the years of the dictatorship.
Neil Passmore, vice president of Equity Capital Markets for J.P. Morgan Cazenove in London, said he wanted to let Iraqis know that J.P. Morgan was keen to work with Iraqi companies to access international capital and investors in the Western world. He added that with the progress he has seen in Iraq, he assured the audience that within six to nine months, an Iraqi-based company will raise capital from London investors.
“I have a marketing message,” he said at an international banking conference hosted by the Finance Ministry and the Trade Bank of Iraq. “J.P. Morgan would like to be alongside that effort.” It was Mr. Passmore’s first trip to Baghdad, but he has visited the Kurdish region and Basra in southern Iraq.
Rohit Fernandes, assistant vice president of the Global Subsidiaries Group of Citibank’s Dubai office, opened his speech by apologizing for not being able to speak Arabic even though he was part of Citibank’s Iraq desk. But he promised the next time he addressed the banking conference, he would speak in the local language. The audience reacted warmly to the pledge, clapping for Mr. Fernandes before he began his prepared remarks.
In English, Mr. Fernandes said Citibank was ready to talk to Iraq’s private banks to discuss areas of cooperation, whether it was correspondent banking, antimoney laundering, or providing training. He added that the perception of Iraq had changed because of improving security and political stability, and as a result, Citibank planned to be a long-term partner to Iraq.
Finance Minister Baqir al-Zubeidi, who is now going by his given name as opposed to Bayan Jabr, the name he used when he was fighting against the Saddam Hussein regime, said Iraq desperately needs the international banking community to rebuild the country. For example, Iraq needs to build 2 million housing units to accommodate the growing population but said the local banks are currently incapable of providing the loans and other services that would help relieve the housing shortage. He asked foreign banks to think seriously about opening branches in Iraq or forming joint ventures with Iraqi banks.
There are only 500 bank branches in Iraq, a relatively small number for a population of 28 million people. Ambassador Marc Wall, who heads economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy, said Iraq’s banking sector is starting from the ground floor, but the interest of major international banks was a positive sign.
“This is all part of the process of rebuilding the new Iraq as the security situation becomes more normal,” he said.
and ~
Trade Bank of Iraq voted "Best Local Bank in Iraq 2008" by Emeafinance Magazine
Iraq: Thursday, March 05 - 2009 at 10:20 PRESS RELEASE
Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) last week accepted the prestigious "Best Local Bank in Iraq 2008" award for its exceptional performance in the young and vibrant letters of credit market in Iraq.
In 2008 TBI generated approximately $10bn worth of letters of credit, both for the private sector and the government.
This award follows on from TBI's win, for the second year running, of the "Best Trade Bank in the Middle East 2008" award, voted by the readers of Trade and Forfaiting Review magazine.
Zaid Mahdi, TBI Vice President of Business Development, accepted the prize at the Emeafinance magazine awards ceremony from the magazine publisher Christopher Moore in Dubai last week on 25 February at Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
~ more articles for Trade Bank of Iraq ~
http://www.ameinfo.com/187281.html
