Wednesday’s Headlines: European Banks May Shutter Entire Businesses

European banks can only cut so many jobs. The next move: closing down entire units, reports Bloomberg. Since 2009, deals on the continent have been down 25 percent, and banks there have cut more than 172,000 positions. Yet the bleeding continues as capital requirements and further regulation are joined by sovereign debt that just won’t go away.

Writes the news agency: “Banks that relied on record low interest rates and a flood of cheap funding from the European Central Bank to delay deciding which units to close will be compelled to make choices.”

Recent changes:

• UBS reduced its fixed income operations to focus on wealth management.
• Deutsche is shrinking its investment banking operations.
• Barclays is under regulator and political pressure to shrink its securities unit.
• RBS continues so slash investment banking jobs and announced it will sell or close its cash equities, mergers advisory and equity capital markets divisions.

 

Other News:

Nomura to consider overhauling overseas investment banking push. [WSJ]

The private equity industry is dividing between haves and have-nots as investors grow pickier and more closely scrutinize recent performance. [WSJ]

Carlyle and Lone Star have raised money from rich people for risky real estate funds, as institutional investors pull back. [WSJ]

The top executive at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China makes $308,000 annually. [Bloomberg]

RBS and Commerzbank are drawn into the Iran money probe with Standard Chartered. [Reuters]