Themes from December
Lloyds Banking has agreed to buy MBNA Ltd from Bank of America for £1.9bn – its first major acquisition since 2008. The buyout will increase its UK credit card market share to 26% from 15%.
Credit Suisse agreed to pay US$5.28bn in settlement with the US Department of Justice related to toxic sub-prime mortgage securities issued in 2007. Deutsche Bank agreed a similar US$7.2bn settlement, (around half of the $16bn previously mooted) – it will book charges of $1.17bn in Q4 (above its provision).
Barclays has refused to settle, prompting a DoJ lawsuit alleging Barclays wrongdoing relating to $30bn of mortgage securities.
BP will issue 2% of its capital to the Abu Dhabi government for a 10% stake in the ADCO onshore oil concession. BP is also buying a 62% working interest in Kosmos Energy’s exploration block in Mauritania. BP shares ended 2016 near year high levels.
USD ended 2016 at near best levels against the Yen at ¥117.96 and $1.2279. The USD is benefiting from expectations of higher US interest rates during 2017.
Capita Group said the BBC will extend its BBC TV licence contract for 2 years. The CEO and two other directors bought shares following a second profit warning.
CFD providers IG Group, Plus500 and CMC Markets declined after the FCA and BaFin announced regulatory reviews of retail client facing products including CFDs, binary options and spread bets.
Rightmove launched a £17m share buyback which will run until February 23rd.