Category: banks

Latitude Financial hit by malicious cyberattack

Latitude Financial has revealed it has been hit by a sophisticated and malicious cyberattack that has compromised a total of 328,000 separate pieces of data that it had sourced from its customers. The loans, credit card and insurance provider said it had detected unusual activity on its systems over the last few days that was believed to have originated from a major vendor used by Latitude.

The company said the attacker appeared to have used employee login credentials to steal personal information that was being held by two other of Latitude’s service providers. In a statement to the ASX on Thursday morning, Latitude said approximately 103,000 identifications documents – 97% of which were drivers’ licences – were stolen from the first service provider, while 225,000 customer records were stolen from a second service provider.

Bank runs used to be slow. The digital era sped them up

Regulators, policymakers and bankers are looking at the role that digital messaging and social media may have played in the collapse, and whether banks are entering an age when the psychological behavior behind a bank run — mass fear from depositors of losing their savings — may be amplified and go viral quicker than bank officers and regulators can successfully respond.

Credit Suisse slump renews fears of global banking crisis

Shares of Swiss bank lose more than a quarter of their value in one day, dragging down European and US markets.

Silicon Valley Bank execs, parent company sued after collapse

Silicon Valley Bank’s parent company and two senior executives are facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States, where shareholders have accused the financial institution of failing to disclose the risks that anticipated interest rate hikes would have on its business.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Monday, is seeking unspecified damages from SVB Financial Group and its Chief Financial Officer Daniel Beck, as well as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker.

The bank collapsed and its assets were seized by the US government late last week after a mass withdrawal of funds by customers.

The lawsuit, which accuses SVB of violating federal securities laws, noted that the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, had signaled as early as 2021 that it would increase interest rates to tame inflation.

Credit Suisse Shares Plunge as Bank Storm Spreads to Europe

Credit Suisse shares tumbled more than 20% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after its biggest backer ruled out investing any more into the troubled Swiss bank. 

“The answer is absolutely not, for many reasons outside the simplest reason, which is regulatory and statutory,” Saudi National Bank Chairman Ammar Al Khudairy said in a Bloomberg interview, responding to whether the Gulf lender would dole out more money. 

Shares in Credit Suisse slid 21.91% to $1.96 in pre-market trading in US-listed shares. Meanwhile, in Zurich, it’s stock fell 19% to $1.79, marking a new record low on Switzerland’s stock exchange. The bank’s stock is down about 24% since the start of the year.

Dow tumbles nearly 500 points as Credit Suisse stokes fears of bank failure contagion

US stocks tumbled Wednesday, as the banking sector saw renewed turmoil — but this time focused on Europe. US-listed shares of Credit Suisse plunged more than 20%, as Saudi backers ruled out further investment in the embattled lender.

Since regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday, investors have been concerned about another 2008-style financial crisis. On Tuesday, Moody’s cut its outlook for the entire US banking system. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported wholesale prices posted a monthly decline of 0.1% in February, versus expectations for a 0.3% increase.

Dark hours for Credit Suisse Bank

March 14, 2023. Blick Online: Dark hours for Credit Suisse Bank Dark hours for the bank Credit Suisse, which continues to fight against the outflow of cash from its coffers. The trend has slowed but not reversed, the bank said in its annual report on Tuesday. The Zurich group suffered massive liquidity withdrawals last year, of 123.2 billion francs, including…

Account full of holes at Credit Suisse

At the best of times this is not a good look for an institution in charge of £1.1 trillion worth of the world’s deposits and investments. In the middle of the worst jitters over bank safety for 15 years, it is doubly awkward. Coming weeks after both the chairman and chief executive had given the impression that the outflows had bottomed out, it is also deeply embarrassing. Markets gave their own unambiguous verdict. Credit default swaps on Credit Suisse debt hit a record, meaning it is more costly than ever for investors to insure against the group defaulting. The shares slumped by 4 per cent at one point yesterday, though they rallied on the back of a worldwide bounce in bank stocks.

SVB collapse offers lesson for China: State media

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will not affect China’s financial system but offers an important lesson for the country’s banking industry, the official Securities Times has said.

An SVB-style bank failure is unlikely to happen in China but the incident would have “important implications for the development of China’s small- and medium-sized lenders, and the stability of China’s financial system”, the media outlet said in an editorial on Wednesday.

SVB’s shutdown on Friday has roiled global markets, forced US President Joe Biden to rush out assurances that the financial system is safe and prompted emergency US measures giving banks access to more funding.

US / Sterling Bancorp, Inc. to Plead Guilty to $69M Securities Fraud

A Southfield, Michigan-headquartered bank holding company has agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud for filing false securities statements relating to its 2017 initial public offering (IPO) and its 2018 and 2019 annual filings.

According to a signed plea agreement that will be publicly filed in court, Sterling Bancorp, Inc. (the Company) was the holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary, Sterling Bank and Trust F.S.B. (the Bank, or together with the Company, “Sterling”). Sterling – with branches located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Southfield – completed an IPO in 2017, and the Company’s stock began trading on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol “SBT.”

Exclusive: Russia’s secret document for destabilizing Moldova

CHISINAU, Moldova — On Friday, John Kirby, the spokesperson for the National Security Council, made a surprise announcement at a White House press briefing. U.S. intelligence, he said, had determined that the Kremlin was plotting to topple another European democracy. “Russian actors, some with current ties to Russian intelligence, are seeking to stage and use protests in Moldova as a…

US / Silicon Valley Bank execs, parent company sued after collapse

ilicon Valley Bank’s parent company and two senior executives are facing a class-action lawsuit in the United States, where shareholders have accused the financial institution of failing to disclose the risks that anticipated interest rate hikes would have on its business.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Northern District of California on Monday, is seeking unspecified damages from SVB Financial Group and its Chief Financial Officer Daniel Beck, as well as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Greg Becker.

The bank collapsed and its assets were seized by the US government late last week after a mass withdrawal of funds by customers.

Western sanctions shielding Russian financial system from global crisis – Kremlin

Russia has its own financial messaging system, SPFS, which can act as a substitute for SWIFT in the domestic market. While its coverage is still much smaller than that of SWIFT – which boasts 11,000 financial organizations globally – the spread of SPFS has been gaining speed in recent months.

When asked about a spillover effect from the collapse of US lenders, which has led to a global stock rout, Peskov said problems in the American banking system cannot affect Russia in any way. “Our banking system, of course, has, let’s say, certain connections with some segments of the international financial system, but for the most part it is under illegal restrictions,” he said.

However, Peskov added that sanctions have been “a blessing in disguise” because Russia is “to a certain extent immune to the negative impact of the crisis that is now unfolding across the ocean.” 

Moody’s puts US banks on notice

The agency cited concerns over the lenders’ reliance on uninsured deposit funding and unrealized losses in their asset portfolios. “The review for downgrade reflects the extremely volatile funding conditions for some US banks exposed to the risk of uninsured deposit outflows,” it stated. Moody’s also slashed the debt ratings of collapsed New York-based Signature Bank deep into junk territory, withdrawing future ratings for the insolvent lender. The downgrades come while US bank stocks have continued to plummet despite the government’s measures to support lenders and prevent more bank runs. First Republic Bank has led the sell-off, with its share price nosediving more than 60% on Monday, forcing a brief halt in trading due to volatility. Western Alliance Bancorp lost over 47% while Zions Bancorp declined by about 26%. Dallas-based Comerica dropped 28% and UMB lost more than 15%.

Robert Kiyosaki predicts next big bank to fold

“The problem is the bond market, and my prediction, I called Lehman Brothers years ago, and I think the next bank to go is Credit Suisse,” said the co-author of the best-selling book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’, “because the bond market is crashing.” Kiyosaki explained on Monday that the bond market, which is bigger than the stock market, is the economy’s “biggest problem” and will put the US in “serious trouble.” “The US dollar is losing its hegemony in the world right now. So, they’re going to print more and more and more of this… trying to keep this thing from sinking,” he explained.

Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank collapse; signs of the next financial crisis

Economists see Lehman Brothers-style crisis as unlikely despite jitters following collapse of California-based lender.