Europe’s lessor parent banks
enjoy first-half uplift, Claire Hack reports.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Royal Bank of
Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the
part-nationalised parent company of Lombard, posted operating
profit of £1.58bn (€1.93bn), compared to a loss of £3.35bn in the
first half of 2009.
RBS continued the run-off of its
non-core business units, including Lombard Vehicle Management,
which recorded an operating loss of £1.32bn.
Profit from its asset and invoice
finance arm rose by 24.1% to £288m in the first half of 2010,
compared to £232m in 2009.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalData
HSBC Holdings
HSBC Holdings generated pre-tax
growth of 121% to $11.1bn (€8.44bn), compared to $5.02bn in the
first half of 2009.
HSBC’s structured and asset finance
arm, under which its leasing activities fall, reported operating
income of $260m in the half year to 30 June, compared to $137m a
year earlier.
Michael Geoghegan, group chief
executive, said: “That HSBC delivered a strongly improved
performance in the first half of 2010 is in large part thanks to
this strategy and our success in repositioning and transforming the
business to deliver on it.”
Commerzbank
Germany’s second-largest commercial
institution, Commerzbank, posted a total operating profit of
€1.01bn, compared to a loss of €818m in the first half of 2009, but
its leasing arm suffered a marked loss.
Chairman of the board of managing
directors Martin Blessing attributed the rise in operating profit
to the contribution from the Mittelstandsbank segment, under which
the bank’s corporate banking activities fall.
Asset Based Finance, which includes
Commerzbank’s leasing activities, “was primarily impacted by the
systematic reduction of risk positions”, Blessing said.
This meant the segment made an
operating loss of €336m in the first half.
BNP Paribas
French banking giant BNP Paribas
enjoyed a solid first half, with revenues of €22.7bn, up 16.6%
compared to the first half of 2009.
Good control of operating expenses
(-1.4%) pushed gross operating income up 2.3% to €9.69m.
A statement read: “Thanks to a
significant shrinking of the cost of risk, which was cut by nearly
half compared to the first half 2009, net income attributable to
equity holders was €4.39m, up 38.8% compared to the first half
2009.”
Financing, including leasing,
performed solidly, with net income from operating leases up 72.2%
to €508m in the half-year to June 2010, compared to €295m in
2009.
Blessing said: “In this volatile
economic environment Commerzbank posted an operating profit of
€243m in the second quarter. Although this fell short of the very
good first-quarter result, as expected, we have nevertheless made
substantial progress versus the same period last year.
“This also applies to the performance of the segments.”
