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Barclays to sell French retail banking unit

The newspaper said HSBC and La Banque Postale could make an offer, without giving any indication of the source of its information.

HSBC No Longer World’s Local Bank

HSBC Holdings PLC’s huge exposure to emerging markets is leading Citigroup analysts to question why the U.K. bank isn’t being valued like one.

UniCredit’s Vita Wants Bank to Take Leadership Role in Europe

UniCredit may expand in the countries where it operates in a bid to play a “leadership role” in Europe, new Chairman Giuseppe Vita said.

Barclays Seeks 25% Revenue Growth in Middle East, Africa

The Middle East and Africa generated about 5 billion pounds ($8 billion) of revenue for Barclays last year, about 15 percent of the global total, according to the London-based company’s annual report.

Europe banks' commodity units shrink despite profits

The flow of talent from both European and U.S. banks, which began two years ago after a decade of boom, reflects a longer-term fall in profits and tighter regulation of the banking industry, which has given trading houses and hedge funds greater scope to

UniCredit Quarterly Net Rises 13%

UniCredit SpA, Italy's biggest bank, said first-quarter profit rose 13 percent as higher trading income related to the buyback of its securities offset a drop in fees and lending.

Credit Agricole First-Quarter Net Drops 75% on Greek Losses

Credit Agricole SA, France’s third- largest bank by market value, said first-quarter profit dropped 75 percent, hurt by Greek losses.

JPMorgan Said to Discuss $2 Billion Trading Loss With FSA

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) is in discussions with the U.K.’s financial regulator over the role London employees had in a $2 billion trading loss, according to two people familiar with the talks.

HSBC welcomes François Hollande's first steps – but with caution

Mr Gulliver is the first major UK chief executive to discuss having a socialist running the Élysée Palace.

CIC Stops Buying Europe Government Debt on Crisis Concern

Gao Xiqing, president of China Investment Corp., said the nation’s sovereign wealth fund has stopped buying European government debt on concerns about the region’s financial turmoil.

KBC Profit Hit By Ireland Exposure

KBC Groep NV, Belgium’s biggest bank and insurer by market value, reported a smaller-than-estimated drop in profit on capital gains in the Belgian life insurance business and lower loan losses in all regions except Ireland.

Polish lender's net profit jumps 44pc

The bank's net fee income rose 7% to PLN222 million, while costs dropped to PLN392.1 million.

Commerzbank Exceeds Capital Target as Profit Declines

Commerzbank AG (CBK) exceeded the capital target set by Europe’s top banking regulator, even as Germany’s second-biggest lender posted lower-than-estimated profit in the first quarter.

Boutique banks come back into fashion

The latest round of seasoned investment bankers to leave large investment banks could spawn the next wave of boutique advisory houses.

Natixis CEO John Hailer looking to grow by acquisition

Natixis uses a force of more than 130 sales teams to market a collection of mutual funds that it owns, but which operate like individual boutique investment firms.

HSBC boss backs austerity as he reports fall in profits to $4.3bn

As the bank reported a slide in pre-tax profits to $4.3bn (£2.7bn) from $4.9bn, Gulliver said that the markets were rewarding the coalition's austerity policies by keeping interest rates low and sterling strong.

BNP Paribas First-Quarter Profit Rises 9.6% on Klepierre Gain

BNP Paribas SA (BNP), France’s largest bank, said first-quarter profit rose 9.6 percent, helped by the sale of a stake in property company Klepierre SA and a rebound in fixed-income trading revenue.

Royal Bank of Scotland trims impairment losses by a third‎

Royal Bank of Scotland reported a first-quarter group operating profit of £1.184bn. Core operating profit was £1.667bn, with return on tangible equity 11%. Impairment losses totalled £1.314bn, down 33% year-on-year.

Societe Generale quarterly profits fall 20% ‎

SocGen said a "sharp upturn in corporate and investment banking activities" had begun once the last Greek bailout had been finalised.

Raiffeisen Bank International closes acquisition of Polbank

The combined bank will become RBI's largest subsidiary in terms of customer loan volumes. RBI's subsidiary in Russia will remain the largest operation in terms of assets.

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