Reuters: Financial Services and Real Estate

KBC to shrink by 25 pct in restructuring -paper

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:28:56 GMT

BRUSSELS, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Belgian banking and insurance group KBC will have to shrink its balance sheet by about 25 percent over the course of several years in an EU-ordered restructuring, daily De Tijd said on Saturday.

Citigroup says new rules may hit securitization

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:26:59 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc said on Friday that new accounting rules for securitization trusts may prevent the bank from funding some of its assets with a top debt rating.

UPDATE 1-Berkshire reinsurance volume limited by Burlington

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:24:46 GMT

* Pricing power not strong enough (Adds information on competitors, paragraphs 7-8)

Berkshire reinsurance volume limited by Burlington

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:07:32 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it plans to limit the amount of business underwritten by its reinsurance operations, as it prepares to spend roughly $26 billion to buy railroad operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp .

UPDATE 2-Freddie Mac posts $5 bln loss, predicts weak housing

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:56:49 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac , the second largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding, on Friday posted a loss of $5 billion in the third quarter and predicted it would need more government support amid a "prolonged deterioration" in housing.

BofA says legislative, regulatory risks growing

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:47:46 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov 6 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp said on Friday that mounting legislative and regulatory pressure may hurt its business, a rare move for a large public company that signals how the changing landscape for banks worries management.

UPDATE 2-US Treasury to block sale of Fannie Mae tax credits

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:45:28 GMT

WASHINGTON , Nov 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury will block the sale of Fannie Mae tax credits to Goldman Sachs Group because the transfer would harm taxpayers, an administration official said on Friday.

UPDATE 2-Warren Buffett's Berkshire says net income triples

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:42:18 GMT

* Results follow announced Burlington Northern takeover (Adds comments, financial details and background throughout)

UPDATE 1-Dimon's father joins Bear Stearns advisory unit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:41:28 GMT

* Dimon previously said wants to add 1,000 advisers (Adds age of Ted Dimon, background, byline, previous CHARLOTTE)

US Treasury to block sale of Fannie Mae tax credits

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:25:29 GMT

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury will block the sale of Fannie Mae tax credits to Goldman Sachs Group , an administration official said on Friday.

BofA suspending federal student loan program

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:10:05 GMT

* BofA is fourth largest lender with $4.3 billion in '08

Dimon's father joins Bear Stearns advisory unit

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:19:12 GMT

CHARLOTTE N.C., Nov 6 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon's stated desire to expand his bank's brokerage brought an unexpected new hire: his dad.

AIG taps $2.1 bln from US for ILFC share purchase

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:17:42 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - American International Group Inc tapped the U.S. government for another $2.1 billion to buy shares of its aircraft leasing arm, International Lease Finance Corp, or ILFC, the insurer said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

New Yorkers need public option for title insurance

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:16:26 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - New York property owners could save as much as $1 billion a year on title insurance if a government run public insurance option were created, state Assemblyman Richard Brodsky on Friday.

New Issue-Bank of NY Mellon sells $1.25 bln in two parts

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:10:48 GMT

Nov 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of New York Mellon on Friday sold $1.25 billion of senior notes in two parts, said IFR, a Thomson Reuters service.

UPDATE 5-AIG posts 2nd straight profit, insurance weak

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:51:05 GMT

(Adds detail, comment on company not holding investor or media calls; updates share price)

UPDATE 3-Management reshuffle looms at France's Agricole

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:36:43 GMT

* Bank has no comment (Updates with Le Figaro report on new chairman)

US STOCKS-Wall St rises 3 pct for week on Friday's slim gain

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:33:45 GMT

* Brokerage upgrades offset data; GE up 6 pct * U.S. unemployment rate at 10.2 pct, highest in over 26 yrs * Dow up 0.2 pct, S&P 500 up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq up 0.3 pct

UPDATE 3-State Street adds $250 mln to legal fund, cuts Q3

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:25:06 GMT

* State Street says in talks with SEC, other regulators (Adds regulatory filing details, stock price)

US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St ends up slightly; jobs data hurts

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:09:54 GMT

NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended slightly higher on Friday, shrugging off government data showing the unemployment rate rose to more than 10 percent.

UPDATE 1-Gamco Q3 profit tops Street; declares special dividend

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:05:23 GMT

Nov 6 (Reuters) - Gamco Investors Inc posted a third-quarter profit that topped market estimates as it cut costs, and the money management firm declared a special cash dividend of $2 a share.

Hydro-Quebec issues C$500 mln of debentures

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:57:31 GMT

TORONTO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Hydro-Quebec, one of Canada's largest utilities, said on Friday it would issue C$500 million ($463 million) of debentures in the domestic market.

Peru's Banco de Credito eyes strong 5-year growth

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:41:09 GMT

LIMA, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Peru's financial sector could grow between 15 percent and 20 percent annually during the next five years, as the local economy rebounds from the global economic crisis, the head of the country's largest bank said on Friday.

Managers cut fees to retain lucrative college plans

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:35:29 GMT

* TIAA-CREF wins renewals in 3 states YTD, picks up Oregon

UPDATE 1-U.S. SEC probing Florida state investment fund

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:11:43 GMT

(Adds SBA director's comments, byline, updates fund figures)