TOP NEWS IN EUROPEAN FINANCIALS
* BNP Paribas SA said it is ideally positioned to implement its new 2022-2025 strategic plan, under which it aims to achieve a return on tangible equity of more than 11% by 2025 and an average annual growth in net income of more than 7% throughout the period. The France-based bank posted a year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter 2021 consolidated group net income attributable to equity holders to €2.31 billion from €1.59 billion on the back of "very good momentum" in domestic markets. For full year 2021, the group's attributable net income rose 34.3% on a yearly basis to €9.49 billion.
* Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA appointed Luigi Lovaglio CEO, replacing Guido Bastianini, whose powers were revoked with immediate effect. Bastianini, however, will remain a member of the board of directors. The beleaguered Italian lender recorded a fourth-quarter 2021 consolidated net loss for the parent company of €78.6 million, narrowing from a restated net loss of €154.5 million a year prior. For full year 2021, the bank swung to a net profit for the parent company of €309.5 million from a restated net loss of €1.69 billion in 2020.
➤ Carige move hints at Crédit Agricole ambitions for more growth in northern Italy
The French banking giant, already Italy's sixth-largest lender, has said it want to expand in the country. It made an offer to buy Italy's Carige and ultimately lost out to rival bidder BPER Banca.
➤ Green bond supply to grow in 2022 as polluting sectors step up climate efforts
NN Investment Partners anticipates "a strong acceleration" in supply by companies that have previously lagged in green bond issuance, including those operating in the metals and mining, oil and energy and chemicals sectors.
BANKING
* The Italian government could sell its stake in Monte dei Paschi through several public stock offerings to allow entry into the share capital of new investors, Il Sole 24 Ore and Il Messaggero wrote. The expected capital increase of €2.5 billion will not arrive before the end of the year.
* Danske Bank A/S Chairman Karsten Dybvad will not stand for reelection at the Danish lender's upcoming general meeting. Board member Martin Blessing will be recommended as Dybvad's successor.
* BPER Banca SpA is expected to conclude by tomorrow its due diligence on Italian peer Banca Carige S.p.A. - Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia and sign on Feb. 14 its purchase of the 88% stake held by the FITD, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
* Credito Emiliano SpA reported a reclassified consolidated net profit of €76.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, up from the year-ago €62.4 million. For full year 2021, the Italy-based bank reported a 74.8% year-over-year rise in reclassified consolidated net profit to €352.4 million, positively influenced by the accounting contribution of the acquisition of local peer Cassa di Risparmio di Cento SpA. Credem will propose a dividend of 30 cents per share for 2021, compared to 20 cents per share in 2020.
* UBS Group AG appointed Jonathan Dubroff head of payments at the Swiss lender's investment banking arm, sources told Bloomberg News.
* Wyelands Bank PLC said it has "no viable future" after its efforts to find potential buyers for the bank or its nonfinancial assets were unsuccessful. A high proportion of the U.K.-based bank's borrowing customers remained in default, which led to loan impairment provisions of £162 million on a £173 million loan portfolio in the financial year ended April 30, 2021.
* Russia-based Public Joint Stock Company Sovcombank sold brokerage unit Septem Capital IC LLC to local businessman Ilya Stanislavsky, Kommersant reported. The bank consolidated a 100% holding in Septem Capital between 2019 and 2021, paying roughly 150 million rubles for the stake, and initially planned to integrate the brokerage company into its structures.
* The board of Norway-based Askim & Spydeberg Sparebank has fired CEO Rune Hvidsten, effective immediately, amid an investigation of accusations that Hvidsten acted outside of his rights as CEO in connection with several loans, Dagens Næringsliv reported. Hvidsten was suspended in November 2021 in connection with the case. Acting CEO Carl Espen Halvorsen will continue in the role until further notice.
* Czech lender TRINITY BANK a.s. plans to raise roughly 640 million koruny by offering approximately 940,000 new and existing shares to investors to bolster its regulatory capital and finance further growth, E15 reported.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* Sweden-based Collector AB (publ) intends to merge with subsidiary Collector Bank AB in a bid to simplify the corporate structure and optimize its capital position. Collector Bank will absorb Collector AB and become the remaining entity after the merger, which is expected to complete in the second half. Dagens Industri covered this.
* Private equity groups that own Tilney Smith & Williamson Ltd. are considering listing or selling the U.K.-based wealth manager, insiders told the Financial Times. The company, which has roughly £56 billion in AUM, is estimated to be valued at between £2 billion and £3 billion.
* German smartphone bank Vivid Money GmbH has successfully completed a financing round of €100 million, doubling its valuation to €775 million, Handelsblatt wrote. The third investment round was led by Greenoaks Capital with participation from Ribbit Capital and Softbank Vision Fund 2.
* Lanistar Ltd. said it intends to resolve all of its outstanding debts as it faces a winding-up petition from its payments issuer processor, Global Processing Services, Financial News reported. CEO Jeremy Baber said the U.K. financial technology company aims to pay off its debts over the next six to eight weeks and has no intention of entering administration.
INDUSTRY NEWS
* Assets in European investment funds marketed as sustainable under EU regulations reached about €4.05 trillion at the end of 2021, up from roughly €2 trillion in April of the same year, Reuters reported, citing a report by Morningstar.
* Tadeusz Kościński handed his resignation as Poland's finance minister, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki taking over his duties until a new finance minister is appointed, according to PAP.
Erin Tanchico, Daniel Stephens, Meike Wijers, Esben Svendsen, Beata Fojcik, Yael Schrage, Brian McCulloch, Sophie Davies and Nelson Siqueira contributed to this report.
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