Barclays Bank recently announced they were considering a sale of shares to avoid a rights issue and this has led to interest from Temasek Holdings in Singapore and QIA, the Qatar Investment Authority.
The bank is looking to raise over GBP4 billion to fund the different areas of business, such as Barclays Insurance, as well as the high street banking operation. The QIA, which holds a stake of over 15 percent in the London Stock Exchange, expressed an interest in European banks as early as January this year, so they are seen to be a very interested party already.
Temasek Holdings also have a 2 percent stake in Barclays Bank already and will be very interested to see how the numbers add up for this latest opportunity. There has been talk of valuations needing to be reassessed although nothing firm has come from this to date. Perhaps as buyers get nearer to committing Barclays will need to ensure everything is in place to make the sales process a smooth one.
According to a Natwest Bank survey the people of Manchester are the biggest spenders in the UK, with the typical household spending GBP26,000 each year.
This spending figure is a full GBP2,000 more than the capital city, London, which will come as a big surprise to many. What may come as an even bigger surprise is that Manchester is also a great city for saving according to the Natwest Bank survey, with a higher than the national average 53 percent of Manchester residents putting money aside.
A spokesman from the Natwest Bank was pleased to see Manchester setting such a good example with their levels of savings, especially considering their spending habits. They should be seen as a shining example to others said the spokesman.
Late last week Citibank warned the markets that more big writedowns were expected in quarter 2. They are also looking at more credit losses in the face of what they called unprecedented conditions in the market.
Following the announcement shares on the NYSE fell by over 4 percent, recovering by the end of trading though still down 1 percent. The markets have already seen disappointing results from other major financial players, leading many to feel that the credit crunch is going to hurt companies for some time to come. Citibank made a lot of their money in the sub-prime lending market so have been hit hard by the meltdown in this area.
As well as the mortgage difficulties they experienced Citibank are now seeing the credit crunch hitting their credit card arm too, with business really slowing down as consumers feel the need to rein in their spending.