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Earnings: Morgan Stanley, the last of the big five U.S. banks to report second-quarter earnings, reported higher profits and revenue that beat analysts’ forecasts.
Receiving Wide Coverage ...
Not all gold: A 40% decline in its fixed-income trading business drowned out Goldman Sachs’ otherwise solid second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. It was the second poor quarter in a row for the “once-vaunted bond-trading unit,” the Wall Street Journal states, “deepening questions about the bank’s strategy.”
“The results will likely amplify criticism that Goldman hasn’t responded quickly enough to dramatic changes in trading trends and market conditions,” the paper says. “A rejiggering of the division’s leadership last fall failed to jolt the desk from its malaise.” The Wall Street firm also suffered its worst-ever quarter in commodities, the Financial Times notes. Wall Street Journal
Yet Martin Chavez, the bank’s chief financial officer, “gave few details about how it would repair its track record during a 75-minute call with analysts and no hint that the bank was
Wall Street Journal
Too late: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray told acting Comptroller of the Currency Keith Noreika it's
Ch-ch-ch-changes: Wells Fargo plans to alter how its branches operate in order to improve customer service. Scheduled to go into effect in the middle of next year, the bank plan to reduce wait times and educate customers about digital capabilities. The aim is to help customers while they’re inside the branch rather than refer them to call centers. “Our customers expect to have a good experience when they come into our branches. They expect us to take care of their problems and
Oh Deere: With low crop prices making it difficult to obtain bank loans, farmers are turning to Deere & Co. to finance their operations. Deere, which already lends billions to finance purchases of its farming equipment, is now providing more short-term credit for crop supplies, such as seeds and fertilizer. The company is now the fifth largest agricultural lender,
Ready to buy?: Despite rising prices and concerns about affordability,
Managing risk: Heidi Toribio, global head of banks and broker dealers at Standard Chartered Bank, discusses maintaining correspondent relationships even as regulators are pushing against them in order to
Financial Times
Retailer blues: Delinquency rates on bonds backed by retail store commercial mortgages have risen to their highest level in four years, according to Fitch Ratings, “as struggling stores and mall owners find
Quotable
“Interest rates are going up, and we’re starting to see some benefits, but in some cases it’s not quite turning out to be the case. We’re still trying to understand what the full impact is.” — Atlantic Equities U.S. bank analyst Chris Wheeler discussing why banks aren't thriving as interest rates rise.