Dr. David Costa, Dean at Robert Kennedy College, share his views on a possible default of Ukraine and the possible impact it might have on European Markets.
Dr. David Costa, Dean at Robert Kennedy College, share his views on a possible default of Ukraine and the possible impact it might have on European Markets.
We are excited and proud to share the success of our MBA Class of 2013 graduates that attended the graduations ceremony in the wonderful setting of the Carlisle Cathedral. The Robert Kennedy College University of Cumbria MBA class of 2013 received their award by the University Chancellor: The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York. In behalf of the College I extend my most sincere congratulations for their outstanding achievement.
I am certain that this video will inspire both existing and prospective students in achieving their dreams and be part of our next graduations.
Are you ready to achieve your goals and graduate next year? Click Here to apply now!
Banks face legal charges from the past
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Rabobank is just the last bank to have reached a record settlement of $1.07 billion for
alleged misconduct in the libor and other interest rates manipulation scandal.
Barclays is also facing a $700m charge after losing the appeal with hedge fund diamond capital.
Legal charges have also impacted Q3 results of UBS, which now faces
higher provision requirements from the FINMA, and Deutsche Bank that had to increase
litigation reserves of 1.2 billion to 4.1 billion Euro. The situation of
Deutsche Bank is different as it did not yet reach a settlement with the regulators.
This uncertainty over possible further legal charges makes it difficult for
investors to assess the real litigation risk faced by some of these banks.
Banks are therefore going to face higher legal charges and might be required by
regulators, like in the case of UBS, to hold more capital.
Investors can benefit from this volatility in the sector by paying attention to
some unique situations in the industry like:
– Swiss banks maintain a competitive advantage as the regulator moved very quickly
after the crisis to increase capital requirements and do not face the same issue
of other European banks where bad loans have reached $1.7 Trillion ;
– Some Europe banks have no pending legal charges and limited exposure to bad loans
and are a good opportunity for investors;
Given that non performing loans in Europe have double in the last 4 years the environment
will remain challenging. Swiss banks will improve and maintain their strong position in
some banking areas e.g. wealth management.
European banks & bad loans
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The increase of European banks bad loans to $1.7 billion raises the question on how
banks will prepare for the next year stress test but, and perhaps more importantly,
how this might impact access to credit in many european economies that need financing to
fuel growth.
In Short
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– Litigation risks represent a big challenge for banks and investors that need to
assess how this will impact their future results;
– Swiss banks maintain their competitive advantage due to the strong capital base and the already
reformed Swiss regulatory environment;
– European banks operate in a more challenging environment with higher bad loans and the need to reinforce their capital positions well ahead of the 2014 stress tests.
The End of Swiss Banking Secrecy ?
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The Swiss government proposed bill to allow banks to share clients data with the U.S. received a setback with the parliamentary committee rejection of the draft.
Today’s vote by the upper house will probably decide the future of Swiss banking secrecy. Both bankers and Cantonal financial directors are supporting the agreement as a rejection could lead to criminal indictments for some Swiss banks with obviously a very bad impact to business.
With very limited information available it is however clear that one of the historical competitive advantages of Swiss banks is going to be impacted. The main issue is if the acceptance of some unilateral conditions will set an important precedence that might lead to the end of Swiss banking secrecy.
In my view several Swiss major banks have already adapted their business model by leveraging their competitiveness on security and stability and by refocusing on high growth area like Asia but with a very fierce competition the loss of secrecy might have a negative impact to business.
A recent drop on several Swiss banks might still be a buying opportunity, especially for these banks that have already successfully changed their business model.
In my latest interview on CNBC I discuss about the outlook for Gold and the Banking sector, especially the better than expected results of some Swiss Banks like Credit Suisse. My students in the class “Money Management” – that is part of our Master in International Business Management and MBA in Leadership & Sustainability have a chance to combine theory with practice: the assessment of the course consist on a personal portfolio that each student can build and track on a daily basis. If you are not a student in the University of Cumbria Master in International Business Management or MBA the next intake is starting in June (with the induction starting in May) and we are currently accepting applications for the last places.
We are happy to announce that the University of Cumbria MBA at Robert Kennedy College has been listed again this year on the Financial Times 2013 Online MBA Listing.
The University of Cumbria long history that dates back to 1822 has been combined with the unique expertise of our College to offer one of the most content and cost competitive programmes in the World.
The Financial Times listing highlights that the The University of Cumbria MBA at Robert Kennedy College is now one of the largest MBA programmes in world. (you can download the full listing and report here ).
Our Students come from all over the World our programme incorporates a one week residency in Cumbria, England and allows our graduates to enjoy the same benefits of full time students including attendance to the annual graduation ceremony at the Carlisle Cathedral.
We are currently accepting applications for the April 2013 and May 2013 intakes. If you are ready for this challenge you are welcome to apply now!
In the video below you can see the impressions of our students during the residential week at the University of Cumbria World class campus in the idyllic Ambleside
Are you ready for the challenger and start your MBA ? click to apply now!