Bl***y Banks Again

Barclays profits jump to £351m in third quarter

Bank's profits rise as charges against value of its own debt tumble and Barclays provisions for PPI mis-selling remain unchanged





Barclays profits jump to £351m in third quarter

Unlike Lloyds Banking Group, which on Tuesday put aside a further £750m for PPI mis-selling, Barclays said its provision would remain unchanged



Get unlimited access to your Experian credit report and expert advice on monitoring and improving your financial situation. Get access now!

Advertisement







Harry Wilson
By Harry Wilson, Banking Editor

7:43AM GMT 30 Oct 2013



CommentsComment





Barclays' reported a near £700m rise in third-quarter profits to £351m as the bank avoided taking further charges against the mis-selling of payment protection insurance and interest rate swaps.


The bank saw pre-tax statutory profits for the last three months rise by £678m quarter-on-quarter, while profits for the first nine months of the year more than trebled year-on-year to £2.85bn, reflecting a decline in charges against the value of the lender's own debt.


Unlike Lloyds Banking Group, which on Tuesday was forced to put aside a further £750m for PPI mis-selling, Barclays said its provision would remain unchanged, as would the amount it has set aside to compensate victims of the interest rate swap scandal.


While it did not put any extra money aside, Barclays said it had paid out £387m from PPI compensation pool in the third quarter, taking the amount left in its compensation fund to £1.26bn.


The bank added that it had spent £56m on the interest rate swap mis-selling process in the last three months, taking the total amount left from its previous provisions to £1.29bn.


Related Articles
Barclays faces new Libor 'review'
17 Oct 2013
Sants takes 'stress' leave from Barclays
15 Oct 2013
Barclays investors take up 95pc of rights issue
04 Oct 2013
Barclays faces fine over Qatar fees
17 Sep 2013
Bright future: mobile banking apps show the way forward Natwest



Like its Wall Street rivals, Barclays said revenues in its trading business had fallen compared to 2012, with income from its fixed income, currencies and commodities division dropping by 22pc to £4.5bn. Investment banking profits for the first nine months were down 12pc year-on-year at £2.85bn.

Antony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclays, said the results demonstrated the "underlying strength" of the bank's business and that he was "positive" about its future.

He said: "While the resilience of our performance is welcome, I am not complacent."

===============================

Doesn't it make you sick, after all the money Barclays had to pay out over the LIBOR crisis, PPI mis-selling, they can still make a healthy profit for shareholders, but bu**er all for savers. It's the same with all the banks , but if the Savers took out their money en masse, the Banks would fold.

RBS Confirms Plan For £38bn 'Bad Bank'

RBS confirms plans for a £38bn bad bank that falls short of the demands made by advocates of a more radical break-up of the bank.

7:53am UK, Friday 01 November 2013

NatWest and RBS
RBS is preparing the ground to return to private hands in the years ahead












Email




By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed plans to hive off nearly £40bn of toxic assets into a new division as part of an effort to accelerate its recovery that will be treated with scepticism by advocates of a more radical break-up.

Announcing a third-quarter pre-tax loss of £634m, RBS said £38bn of impaired loans would be placed into an 'internal bad bank' to be called RBS Capital Resolution Division.

The new arm of the bank is designed to provide a clearer distinction between the clean parts of the business and the tens of billions of pounds of legacy loans that critics say have hampered its ability to play a role in aiding the recovery of the UK economy.

Ross McEwan, RBS's new chief executive, conceded that quickening the run-off of these assets - with a target of up to £25bn of the £38bn being shed by the end of 2015 - would incur steeper losses.

The outcome of the four-month review commissioned by the Chancellor, George Osborne, and conducted by City firms BlackRock and Rothschild will see the rebranding of RBS's existing non-core wing, which has already offloaded hundreds of billions of pounds of toxic loans since the bank's £45.5bn bail-out by UK taxpayers in 2008.

Sky News exclusively revealed details of the internal bad bank plan and the broader restructuring of the bank, which is 81%-owned by taxpayers, last weekend.

Alongside the new bad bank, RBS will also bring forward the disposal of its US retail bank, Citizens; further shrink its investment banking business; resolve the issue of a dividend-blocking instrument that RBS will need to acquire from the Government; and target new cost-cutting measures that could lead to thousands more job cuts.

Mr Osborne said the reforms were part of a broader objective of "creating a banking system that works for Britain".

“Under this new direction RBS will deal decisively with the problems of the past by separating out the good from the bad, and putting the bad loans in a bad bank. Our independent analysis shows that the bad bank should be an internal one, funded by RBS, rather than an external one funded by the taxpayer.

In a pointed remark highlighting divisions between the Treasury and Mr McEwan's predecessor, Stephen Hester, the Chancellor said that the new strategy was jointly-supported by RBS's management, the Government and the regulator.

The Bank of England said that it welcomed "the development of a more focussed strategy for RBS and the commitments of the Board to specific actions that will bolster its capital position in the next three years.

"These actions should create a more resilient institution that is better able to support the real economy without any expectation of further Government support. Given these developments, the Bank of England fully supports the conclusions of the Review published today by HM Treasury.”

While there was a consensus about the reforms within Government, Mr Osborne may have to brave a more hostile response from figures who wanted a more radical split of RBS.

Among their ranks were Lord Lawson, the former Chancellor; Sir Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England; and Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

Alongside the new measures aimed at boosting RBS's recovery, a report was published condemning the bank's attitude to lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

Mr McEwan pledged to implement the recommendations, and said RBS would target becoming the best SME bank in the UK
===========================================

When will RBS Shareholders ever receive a dividend or get their money back ? Never mind the Government who are owed £45.5 Billion, the worst mistake Gordon Brown made.

Barclays suspends currency traders as forex probe widens

UK bank Barclays places staff on suspension, as US banks Citigroup and JP Morgan are dragged into a growing currency market rigging investigation





Barclays Bank sign

Barclays is the fourth big lender to settle probes by Massachusetts into securitisation practices Photo: Alamy



Enjoy a brighter financial future - Click here for your Experian Credit Report.

Advertisement







By Ashley Armstrong

5:01PM GMT 01 Nov 2013

Comments44 Comments





Barclays has suspended six traders as the global investigation into the alleged manipulation of the £3 trillion-a-day global currency markets widens.





The global investigation is focused on an electronic chat room used by top traders under names such as "The Bandits' Club", "The Dream Team" and "The Cartel", The Wall Street Journal reported.


Regulators are looking into allegations that traders have been attempting to influence exchange rates. Like Libor-rigging, the suggestion is that with huge trading portfolios, even very small movements in rates could make the difference between millions of pounds profits or losses.

News of the suspensions at Barclays came as a trader at Citigroup was placed on leave. Royal Bank of Scotland, which is cooperating with the inquiry, is also understood to have suspended two traders.

Ross McEwan, the RBS chief executive would not comment on the inquiry alongside third-quarter results on Friday, but said the bank would "come down very severely on anyone ... breaking the rules".


Barclays, which earlier this week confirmed it was reviewing trading activity by employees as part of the international inquiry into foreign exchange trading, declined to comment on the suspensions and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.


Related Articles
Barclays faces currency manipulation probe
30 Oct 2013
Currency trading manipulation investigation: Q&A
30 Oct 2013
RBS 'sends transcripts to FCA in forex probe'
09 Oct 2013
Wearable technology: looking to the future with AiRScouter Brother



The forex investigation was started by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority in April - London accounts for around 40pc of trading in global foreign exchange market - and has been joined by regulators in the United States, Switzerland and Hong Kong.

Regulators are said to be focusing on currency "fixes" - daily snapshots of trading used for valuing portfolios that is assessed from market activity in a brief window. The most popular is 4pm fix in London.

Eight banks have handed over chat-room messages to authorities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

On Friday, Citigroup, the US bank with the biggest international business, and JP Morgan Chase, the biggest US bank by assets, confirmed that they were cooperating with government agencies in the US and other jurisdictions looking into currency trading.

Regulators have also been in contact with Deutsche Bank and UBS as part of the probe.

===========================================================

Banks are so corrupt these days, first of all it was the Libor crisis now a Currency crisis , let's go back to the barter system it's a bl***y disgrace that no Executive has been jailed.

7:43PM GMT 01 Nov 2013

Comments8 Comments





The US Federal Reserve has expanded the list of major banks it subjects to tough stress tests to include US subsidiaries of six foreign banks, including RBS and HSBC.


The fourth annual evaluation of the strength of major banks, undertaken after the numerous collapses of 2008 financial crisis, will cover 30 banks in early 2014, up from 18 last year.


The 30 are all bank holding companies with more than $50bn of total assets.


As well as HSBC and RBS, the list includes the US banking arms of Canada's BMO Financial; BBVA and Santander of Spain; and Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ.


The stress tests analyse how banks would survive under extreme crisis conditions, such as those that battered the industry in 2008.

RSA suspends three executives over 'issues' in claims business

Central Bank of Ireland begins probe into RSA's Irish arm after an €83m black hole was found in its accounts, forcing the insurer to issue a profits warning.





RSA insurance group logo outside London headquarters

RSA said its 2013 operating profit would now be £70m lower than current market expectations Photo: Alamy



Find out if anything is affecting your credit rating. Check your credit score with Experian here.

Advertisement







James Quinn
By  James Quinn, and Harry Wilson

8:01PM GMT 08 Nov 2013

 

Comments4 Comments





RSA has suspended three senior executives after an €83m (£70m) black hole was found in its accounts, forcing the insurer to issue a profits warning.


The central Bank of Ireland has begun an investigation into the Irish arm of the FTSE 100 company after it suspended Philip Smith, chief executive of RSA Insurance Ireland, along with Rory O’Connor, chief financial officer, and Peter Burke, claims director.


The suspensions followed the detection of a shortfall in its capital position - which RSA Group has now filled - as a result of unspecified issues in its claims and finance function. The group said its 2013 operating profit would be £70m lower than current market expectations as a result. Consensus forecasts indicated a figure of £652m before Friday night’s statement.


In a separate release, the regulator confirmed its investigation is now under way.


“The Central Bank of Ireland can confirm that RSA Insurance Ireland has reported a regulatory issue to the Central Bank,” it said. “A multi-stranded investigation has been commenced, under terms of reference reviewed in advance by the central bank.”


Related Articles
Ex-RSA boss Haste 'in bid for Co-op unit'
26 Aug 2013
RSA profits hit by flooding claims
02 Aug 2012



The strands are understood to include looking at the solvency issue and the actions of the three men. No one else within RSA Insurance Ireland is thought to be being looked at. The probe is being carried out by the central bank’s own supervisory staff.

The news adds to a bad week for the insurer, which on Tuesday said losses from severe storms in northern Europe recently would cost it in the region of £45m to £65m.

I SEE RBS MIGHT BE FINED BY US REGULATORS OVER SOMETHING.
SEPARATEKT DETROIT OWES BANKS MILLION,MAY HAVE TO DECLARE BANKRUPTY

Badboy wrote:I SEE RBS MIGHT BE FINED BY US REGULATORS OVER SOMETHING.
SEPARATEKT DETROIT OWES BANKS MILLION,MAY HAVE TO DECLARE BANKRUPTY

Detroit has already declared itself bankrupt Badboy . Can't remember anything about RBS, where did you see it, post it here if you would. thanks.

Panda wrote:

Badboy wrote:I SEE RBS MIGHT BE FINED BY US REGULATORS OVER SOMETHING.
SEPARATEKT DETROIT OWES BANKS MILLION,MAY HAVE TO DECLARE BANKRUPTY

Detroit has already declared itself bankrupt Badboy . Can't remember anything about RBS, where did you see it, post it here if you would. thanks.

it was in guardian yesterday,i think the us regulators are to fine them over libor or sub-prime mortages

By Daniel Johnson9:35AM GMT 14 Nov 2013 Comments4 Comments
JPMorgan Chase has become the latest company to cancel a question and answer session on Twitter after it prompted a tirade of verbal abuse from thousands of people on the site.
At least two-thirds of 80,000 tweets sent using the hashtag #AskJPM were negative, according to Topsy, which analyses Tweets.
One of the company’s senior bankers who worked on Twitter’s share sale, Jimmy Lee, had planned to take over JPMorgan’s Twitter page on Thursday in an online marketing event.
But by yesterday afternoon due to the scale of the abuse the company cancelled the event, announcing: “Tomorrow’s Q&A is cancelled. Bad Idea. Back to the drawing board

Barclays 'to cut 1,700 frontline staff from branches'

Barclays will axe "cashiers, personal bankers, operational specialists, branch managers and assistant manager roles", according to Unite, as customers now use mobile phones to do their banking





A sign is seen above a branch of Barclays bank in Lowestoft, UK

Barclays employs 33,600 staff in 1,577 branches across Britain Photo: Bloomberg News



Do you know your credit score? Get your Experian Credit Report here.

Advertisement







Andy Trotman
By Andrew Trotman

6:00PM GMT 14 Nov 2013



Comments46 Comments





Barclays is cutting up to 1,700 frontline staff from its branches in a move Unite has called a "colossal mistake" that could hit customer service.


The bank held a conference call with all 1,577 of its branches across Britain, which employ 33,600 people.


According to the Unite union, "cashiers, personal bankers, operational specialists, branch managers and assistant manager roles will be cut throughout 2014".


Barclays said the decision to start a voluntary redundancy scheme has been prompted by more customers using their phones to do their banking rather than going in to branches.


"The way in which our customers access their banking services is changing rapidly. More people are choosing to use smartphones and technology for everyday transactions - using branches only when they need access to expertise," the lender said in a statement.


Related Articles
Fitch cuts Co-op Bank further into junk
14 Nov 2013
Barclays loses appeal over 'Libor test case'
08 Nov 2013
Barclays to axe around 450 staff
05 Nov 2013
Barclays faces currency manipulation probe
30 Oct 2013
Barclays chief must be ruthless
30 Oct 2013
Barclays suspends currency traders as Citigroup and JPM face probe
01 Nov 2013
Top ten common mistakes made by SMEs HP



"We are responding by investing in the channels that customers are increasingly using, while improving customer service. This means training staff so they can provide that expert support but also reducing staffing levels in our branches where there is over capacity.

“As a result of technological changes, we will be able to provide better service for our customers with fewer staff in our branches."

The cuts come less than two weeks after Barclays announced it will cut about 450 jobs as it axes a third of the private bankers who look after wealthy clients and closes one of its call centres.

At the time, the bank said it will reduce the number of relationship managers dealing with its "affluent" British customers to about 180 from 275 as part of a restructuring of its wealth business announced in September

It will also close a contact centre in Walsgrave, Coventry, in June next year.

Barclays also cut 3,700 staff in February.

Dominic Hook, Unite national officer, said of Thursday's cuts: "It's a colossal mistake. Such a massive reduction will be very detrimental to the bank and will also be hugely challenging for the staff remaining.

“Unite is pressing Barclays to reconsider this proposal for the sake of its reputation for high customer service. Consumers want to engage with knowledgeable, highly experienced, professional staff.

“Unite will now be having further urgent discussions with Barclays to put alternative proposals to the bank.

"Unite is challenging the view that customers prefer to bank using machines instead of the dedicated staff currently working in Barclays branches across the country.”

Earlier this year, it was reported that Antony Jenkins, Barclays chief executive, wanted reduce the bank's total headcount from 140,000 to around 100,000. It is believed that one of the options for achieving this is to make the lender a self-service-oriented company, thereby allowing the remaining staff to focus on delivering "added value" to its customers.

Earlier this year Mr Jenkins said that "Barclays is changing". "There will be no going back to the old way of doing things. We get it. We are changing the way we do business, we are changing the type of business we do, and we are setting a new course for the future of Barclays,” he said.

According to recent BuzzCity research, 26pc of the 17,000 working adults surveyed from 22 countries said they use their mobile phone to make banking transactions, with a further 16pc said they intended to try mobile banking. Balance enquiries (30pc) was the most-used feature

IT IS BEING SAID THAT EX CO-OP BANK BOSS WAS ON ILLEGAL DRUGS WHILE BOSS.

By Harry Wilson, Banking Editor The Telegraph

8:30PM GMT 25 Nov 2013



Comments42 Comments





Royal Bank of Scotland’s controversial turnaround division has generated nearly £300m in revenues from the lender’s distressed property developer clients since its taxpayer-funded bailout five years ago.


West Register, the specialist distressed property book run by RBS’s global restructuring group (GRG), has made revenues of £276m and profits of just over £50m since 2008.


An analysis by The Daily Telegraph of the 13 subsidiaries that make up West Register show that the unit controlled assets worth a total of £1.17bn at the end of last year, the latest period for which figures are available.


The details of the highly-profitable business emerged as RBS’s lending practices, and in particular the activities of GRG, were criticised in two reports published yesterday.


Lawrence Tomlinson, a multi-millionaire adviser to the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, accused RBS of “killing off” smaller businesses for its own profit, reporting instances of property revaluations taking place without site visits and property taken over by RBS subsequently being sold for a higher price than the bank’s own valuation.


Related Articles
RBS, the fight for survival and a legacy of bitterness who cried foul
25 Nov 2013
Profile: RBS report's publisher Lawrence Tomlinson
25 Nov 2013
RBS accused of forcing SMEs into financial trouble
25 Nov 2013
RBS accused of 'killing off' small firms
25 Nov 2013
RBS to poll SMEs in overhaul of loans policy
03 Nov 2013
RBS 'bad bank' for £38bn toxic debt
01 Nov 2013
SME lending: the difference between survival and business growth? RBS



Mr Tomlinson’s report has been passed to the City regulators by Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, and RBS said it had hired law firm Clifford Chance to investigate his claims.

RBS was already facing pressure over its turnaround business’s operations following a report by former Bank of England official Sir Andrew Large, who recommended last month that the lender look into claims by some smaller businesses that GRG had acted against their best interests to make more profit.

An analysis of West Register accounts highlights the expansion in the size and profitability of RBS’s restructuring division since the financial crisis. One subsidiary, West Register Investments, has grown in size from £21.8m in 2008 to £110m at the end of last year, while its profits have increased from £10m to £52m over the same period.

The property restructuring group’s largest individual unit by assets is West Register Property Investments, which has seen its assets expand from just under £19m in 2008 to £579m in 2012.

Separate accounts are not available for GRG, which is run as a profit centre by RBS.

Chuka Umunna, shadow business secretary, said he was concerned that a bank 81pc owned by the state was operating a division meant to help stricken customers as a source of profit.

"If RBS' business turnaround division, the Global Restructuring Group, is being used principally as a profit centre as opposed to an operation to help businesses and prevent loss, that rings alarm bells and sends the wrong message," he said. "It would paint a picture of otherwise viable businesses being fleeced for fees and profit, instead of being given the support they need."

Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Committee, said the reports revealed “a fundamental cultural problem with RBS’s lending to and treatment of SMEs”.

Businesses that have dealt with GRG staff have complained they have been required to pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to RBS in penalty fees, as well as being forced to pay out large sums of money for reports by outside consultants.

RBS chief executive Ross McEwan admitted in a letter to Sir Andrew that his report had “been a tough read,” but the bank had put in place procedures to improve lending to small firms and halt “reckless lending practices that broke this bank five years ago”.

Panda wrote:http://news.sky.com/story/1177536/banks-fined-record-1-42bn-for-rate-rigging

WNEN WILL THE SCANDALS AND FINES STOP?

Finance: ‘Brussels slaps record fine on six banks for manipulating Euribor’
5 December 2013PresseuropEl País El País, 5 December 2013
The European Commission has "struck a blow" against six European banks on December 4, notes El País. The European Commissioner for Comptition announced fines totalling €1.71bn for Royal Bank of Scotland, Société Générale, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Citigroup and the brokerage RP Martin for manipulating interest rates "to their advantage", points out the daily. The interest rates in question, notably the Euribor, have an impact on "thousands of mortgages, savers and companies" through derivatives and other financial products.

El País argues in its editorial that this amounts to "dissuasive punishment" and that Brussels is "finally" responding to fraud —

The implicit message is that the community mechanism is ready to take action in response to any attempt to distort markets and it will do so with specific decisions that do not take into account the names of those to be punished.

Badboy, even European Banks are involved!!! If this were any other Business those responsible would be jailed......the Banking industry gets away with a fine that comes out of customers savings.

THERE MAY BE ANOTHER WAVE OF PENALTIES FOR BANKS BECAUSE OF FOREX FIXING.

JP MORGAN ARE HAVING PROBLEMS ACCOUNTS HACKED?
BEEN FINED?

Badboy wrote:JP MORGAN ARE HAVING PROBLEMS ACCOUNTS HACKED?
BEEN FINED?

I think JPMorgan were fined a while ago over the rate fixing scandal. What is worrying is the "glitches " on the RBS and Natwest Banks. If this was deliberate hacking Badboy, there will be some clever IT specialist who can withdraw money from anyone's account and transfer it to Switzerland.!!!

The price of RBS will go down because this is the 3rd "glitch " and the shares will lose value , so the Government share will be even less. Sell it off now I say.!!!

Moody view of Ireland shared by Central Bank
Ratings agency is not alone in its cautious assessment of Ireland’s recovery

The Central Bank recently completed balance-sheet assessments and asset-quality reviews for AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
The Central Bank recently completed balance-sheet assessments and asset-quality reviews for AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh

Ciarán Hancock
Topics:
Business
Sectors
Financial Services
John Corrigan
Ireland
Permanent TSB
Moody's
Central Bank
Bank of Ireland
Wed, Dec 11, 2013, 01:01
First published:
Wed, Dec 11, 2013, 01:01
5

There must have been a large sigh of frustration wafting through the corridors of Treasury Building on Grand Canal Street on Monday after ratings agency Moody’s published its outlook report on the banking sector for 2014.
Moody’s is taking a “mostly negative” view of the sector for next year and warned that banks in Greece, Cyprus and Ireland were the “most vulnerable” to failing the euro area stress tests that will be conducted in 2014.
Bang goes our chance of an early upgrade of Ireland’s sovereign rating. Moody’s continues to have Ireland as sub-investment grade.
Hard as it has tried, the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which manages our national debt, has not yet been able to persuade Moody’s to re-rate the country’s bonds.
This despite our pending exit from the EU-IMF bailout programme with a clean break, the positive recent signals on employment and unemployment, the trunk-loads of cash being invested in Irish commercial property at present, strong exchequer returns for November, and Bank of Ireland paying almost €2 billion to the Government last week for its preference shares thanks to fundraising from new and existing investors.

Herd mentality
According to NTMA chief executive John Corrigan, Moody’s negative rating on Ireland prohibits most Asian fund managers from investing in Irish sovereign bonds, whether they are minded to or not. This probably tells us something about the herd mentality of some fund managers, but that’s another story.
Moody’s view of the European banking sector looks all the more frustrating when you realise it is using data for the year ended 2012.
The Central Bank recently completed balance-sheet assessments and asset-quality reviews for AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB.
This work was based on the banks’ balance sheets as of June 30th, 2013, and presumably would have captured some of the improvement in mortgage arrears and house price rises that have emerged this year as the economy improves.
Unfortunately, the full results of the assessments were not published. AIB and Permanent TSB told us they don’t require additional capital but little else. Permanent TSB chief executive Jeremy Masding has since confirmed to The Irish Times it has been requested to make additional provisions but declined to quantify the amount.
Bank of Ireland issued a detailed statement with the same core message on capital but it also flagged that the Central Bank wants it to take an additional €1.3 billion provision on its Irish mortgages and commercial loans.
The bank made clear it disagrees with this analysis and said it was in “ongoing” discussions with the regulator on this matter.
On foot of its banking report, I contacted Moody’s to ask about Ireland’s chance of an early re-rating for our sovereign bonds.
The response was that “Moody’s recently changed the outlook on Ireland’s Ba1 rating to stable from negative, and considers factors affecting the country’s creditworthiness on an ongoing basis”.
I asked why the information around the recent balance-sheet assessments were not factored into Moody’s view on Irish banks.
“Moody’s used year-end 2012 data in its European banking outlook to ensure consistency in comparing financials of banking systems across Europe,” the agency said. “Our European banking outlook also reflects latest developments in European countries and their economies, as well as recent banks’ financials and asset performance data, among other factors, which combined have shaped our forward- looking analysis for 2014.”

Cautious view
In other words, Moody’s wasn’t blind to the outcome of the recent balance-sheet assessments here or improvements in our economy.
Moody’s isn’t alone in its cautious view of Ireland’s recovery. Here are some snapshots from the Central Bank’s macro financial review, published last week.
On mortgage arrears: “Despite some recent improvement, the scale of mortgage arrears remains a significant threat to financial stability.”
On SME arrears: “The level of distress among small- and medium-enterprise borrowers is particularly acute. This endangers not only the profitability of the banking sector, but also has far-reaching consequences for the viability of corporates and the employment they generate.”
On credit risk: “Credit risk is . . . a key concern for the domestic banking sector. While the coverage ratio, which shows the value of provisions for impaired loans relative to the value of impaired loans, increased in the third quarter of 2013, uncertainties remain about whether banks are sufficiently provisioned to cope with the outstanding stock of distressed loans.
“The long-term viability of the banking sector depends on its ability to return to profitability. There have been some positive funding developments such as a reduction in official sector liquidity support, strongly supported recent debt issuance, and declines in deposit rates, but the overall profile remains fragile.”
These are the views of the Central Bank, which knows more than most about how the banking sector is
performing.
It’s no wonder Moody’s remains sceptical about Ireland and its banks.

Lloyds have BEEN FINED 200? MILLION FORPPI MISSELLING
RBS HAVE BEEN FINED FOR SANCTION BUSTING SENDING MONEY TO IRAN AND OTHERS.

It's all very well fining the bank... Your local Lloyds bank at the corner of the street doesn't commit any fraudulent acts no more than the RBS bank in the market place. They don't fine your car if you're caught speeding, they fine you!

It's the people who run these institutions at fault, they flout banking laws, bankrupting small businesses, leaving families in destitution, crippling local economy and the country who are the criminals. Fine them, send them to prison, asset strip the smarmy CEO's and their smooth talking corrupt accountants!

Once one or two of these devious scheming shysters have dined in one of HM's hotels for a few years the rest will see the error of their ways and return banking to a system of honest trading practice.