Britain’s financial watchdogs will this weekend make up their minds about Lloyds Banking Group’s plans to raise private capital and escape further government control, a source close to the situation said.
The banking group has yet to receive official approval for a package of measures it has lined up to stay out of the Asset Protection Scheme, including a rights issue of more than £11 billion (US$17.87 billion), the source said.
“They have a group of underwriters [for a rights issue] and we know they’ve spoken to the market, but they haven’t got a green light from the government,” the source said.
Two sources familiar with the matter said Lloyds could announce its plans in the course of next week, depending on whether it received approval. The first source said Lloyds’ chances were “definitely 50-50.”
However, a government source dampened expectations of a rapid announcement, saying a decision was not “imminent,” meaning an announcement would not come tomorrow.
“There’s no decision on Lloyds asset protection scheme or rights issue being made this weekend,” the source said.
The first source, when confronted with that statement, maintained the regulators would need to inform Lloyds of their decision early next week and it was then up to the bank to proceed.
The UK government owns 43 percent of Lloyds since last year’s emergency bail-out and the bank signed up to insure £260 billion in the government-backed asset protection (APS) scheme to protect the bank’s assets against losses.
Lloyds repeated the comment it has made when asked about its plans.
“We have a number of options available to us. We continue to review them,” a spokesman said.
Signing up to the APS would be a costly matter for Lloyds and the talks between the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury will centre on whether the three think it safe for Lloyds to stay out.
“From a financial stability point of view, is the tripartite happy to let them go their own way?” the first source asked. “People need to make that judgement this weekend.”
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS