Europe ETP News Older Than 1 year-If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
Turkey's largest commercial bank granted license to operate from DIFC
Becoming the first commercial Turkish Bank to join the DIFC community
November 12, 2009--Akbank, Turkey’s most valuable bank and company in terms of market capitalization, has received a license to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The Dubai office is named Akbank (Dubai) Ltd. and is the first Turkish Bank to set up at the DIFC. It aims to become one of the preferred consultants in Investment Banking & Corporate Finance in the region by leveraging the expertise and knowledge of its parent company and its local staff in the Dubai office. It will be headed by Mr. Cem Atac, who has vast experience in the banking sector throughout the region.
Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, DIFC Authority said, “DIFC is the ideal gateway for Akbank to launch its operations in the region, particularly as Turkish-GCC business relations continues to grow positively. We are delighted to welcome Akbank to the DIFC family, and look forward to a fruitful relationship that will bring these two high-potential markets closer together. The move is proof-positive that Dubai and Turkey have remained largely resilient during the ongoing global economic crisis, and re-affirms the vast potential in region.”
“We are pleased to launch our operations in Dubai which has proven to be a highly dynamic city replete with opportunity. Its geographical positioning makes it vital in international business, hence our strategic decision to open offices in DIFC, which is the ideal hub for the growth opportunities we seek. Akbank will be reaching towards both the West and the East with its best-in-class banking services. Akbank NV (Netherlands) is our base in the West and our Dubai Office will be the center in the East,” stated Suzan Sabancý Dinçer, Chairman and Executive Board Member of Akbank.
The core competence of Akbank Dubai will be its ability to intermediate in Mergers & Acquisitions, manage IPO’s and dual listings of Turkish companies. It will also act as placement agent or arranger of funds, give advice on financing long/medium term projects and provide private banking services.
“Akbank Dubai aims to act as a catalyst in the development of enhanced economic cooperation and dialogue between Turkey and the GCC, serving the needs of its clients both in the region and in Turkey, by offering the highest professional standards,” commented Mr. Atac, Senior Executive Officer of Akbank (Dubai) Ltd.
Akbank’s successful performance was recently awarded by prestigious international publications such as Euromoney and Global Finance. Euromoney recognized Akbank as “The Best Bank of Turkey” under “Awards of Excellence - 2009” in July 2009. Global Finance also selected Akbank as “Turkey’s Best Bank”, “Best FX Bank” and “Best Trade Finance Bank” in 2009.
Source: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
ETF Statistics October 2009-London Stock Exchange
November 12, 2009--The ETF Statistics October 2009 are available.
view report
Source: London Stock Exchange
Calyon to Expand Commodity Team; May Add Exchange-Traded Funds
November 12, 2009-- Calyon, the investment-banking arm of Credit Agricole SA, is expanding its commodities group and may introduce exchange-traded funds as investor demand for raw materials strengthens.
The commodities team has 70 so-called front office workers, which includes traders, analysts and sales people, said Martin Fraenkel, global head of commodities. He didn’t say how many the bank would hire. A venture with EDF Trading Ltd., which started this month, is adding 12 people by the end of the year, he said.
read more
Source: Bloomberg
New OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Portfolio Selected - The New Portfolio Of The OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Index Will Become Effective On December 1, 2009
November 11, 2009--New OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Portfolio Selected - The New Portfolio Of The OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Index Will Become Effective On December 1, 2009
Schaumann Properties (SCHAUP), Søndagsavisen A-S (SOEN) and Rockwool International B (ROCK B) will be added to the index.
Østasiatiske Kompagni (EAC) and Ringkjøbing Landbobank (RILBA) will be removed from the index.
The OMXCB index is a free float adjusted index designed to act as a transparent and liquid benchmark with low transaction costs for the investors while maintaining a high correlation to the Danish market.
OMXCB is sector diversified and major sectors represented are Industrials, Financials and Health Care. The securities must also meet other eligibility criteria including a turnover screening. The OMXCB index is evaluated on a semi-annual basis in May and November, and the new index portfolio becomes effective on the first trading day in June and December respectively.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
FSA proposes to strengthen prudential standards for credit unions
November 11, 2009--The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today set out its proposals for strengthening the financial resilience of the credit union sector and ensuring that its customers are adequately protected.
The proposals aim to raise prudential standards in the sector, particularly on capital and liquidity. The proposed regime could also help ensure credit unions are prepared for the new government legislation allowing them to carry out a wider range of financial activities.
The main proposals are set out below:
Introduction of a minimum capital to assets ratio of at least 3% for smaller credit unions;
Higher initial start up capital for new credit unions - £10,000 for small start-ups and £50,000 for larger ones; and
An increase in the minimum liquidity requirement to 10% of total liabilities for all credit unions.
These changes will be phased in over two to three years to give firms enough time to comply with any new rules.
Paul Sharma, FSA director of prudential policy, said:
"Our reforms for credit unions will ensure they are financially sounder, well managed with fewer failures and defaults. Raising the standards will also enable firms to be better placed to take advantage of the proposed legislative changes."
The FSA is also proposing to reduce the submission period for annual financial returns from seven to four months so that financial information received from credit unions is more timely and consistent.
Source: FSA
Knight Introduces Knight Link: A New Source of Liquidity for Europe
November 11, 2009--Knight Capital Group, Inc. today announced the official launch of Knight Link in Europe, an innovative trading model for European equities which provides institutional and retail broker-dealers with access to Knight's unique liquidity.
"We are very excited to be launching Knight Link in Europe," said Kee-Meng Tan, Managing Director, Head of the Electronic Trading Group in Europe. "Knight Link is designed to bring European clients quality executions with high fulfilment rates and low cost on a low-latency platform."
Knight Link is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Service Authority as a Systematic Internaliser, in accordance with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Knight Link helps clients to achieve MiFID-mandated best execution requirements through a combination of high-quality stock execution and low transaction costs.
"Knight Link is customisable to each client's needs and preferences," Mr. Tan added. "We accommodate a wide range of trading architectures and capacity requirements based on our leading technology, extensive market-making operation, and connectivity to the full range of trading venues in Europe."
Knight introduced Knight Link to a handful of institutions with European operations in January 2009, and Knight Capital Europe Limited commenced business as a Retail Service Provider in the U.K. in June 2009. Knight also will begin offering its market-making services on the Equiduct regulated market shortly, bringing best execution to the continental European retail market. Knight Link offers rapid order execution in a broad and growing range of pan-European large- and mid-cap equities, bringing together execution of institutional and retail flow. Since early 2009, Knight Link has added both institutional and retail broker-dealer clients, regularly trading more than US$100 million (euro 67 million) daily.
Knight Link in Europe is based on the highly successful model Knight developed for trading in the U.S. equity markets. In the U.S., Knight Link provides access to one of the largest sources of off-exchange liquidity in the marketplace with 129 million U.S. equity shares traded daily in October 2009.
Knight provides clients with voice and electronic access and trading in Europe through our London-based trading operations. Knight is a direct member of more than 20 European exchanges and multilateral trading facilities (MTFs).
Source: Knight Capital Group
ETF Landscape: European DJ STOXX 600 Sector ETF Net Flows, week ending 06-Nov-09
November 11, 2009--Highlights
Last week saw US$143.2 Mn net outflows to DJ STOXX 600 sector ETFs. The largest sector ETF inflows last week were in Basic Resources with US$79.8 Mn and Food & Beverage with US$65.7 Mn while Banks experienced net outflows of US$76.8 Mn.
Year-to-date, Basic Resources has been the most popular sector with US$491.0 Mn net new assets, followed by Oil & Gas with US$315.5 Mn net inflows. Retail sector ETFs have been the least popular with US$33.8 Mn net outflows YTD.
Visit Barclays Global for more information.
Source: ETF Research and Implementation Strategy, BGI
Deutsche Börse Launches Index for the Family Business Segment
New DAXplus Family index launch on 4 January 2010
November 11, 2009--Deutsche Börse is to launch a new index on 4 January that tracks the performance of listed family businesses. The DAXplus family index comprises German and international companies from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Prime Standard in which the founding families hold at least a 25 percent share of the voting rights or sit on the management or supervisory board and hold at least a 5 percent share of the voting rights. 113 businesses currently qualify for the index. The DAXplus Family 20 index comprises the 20 largest and most liquid shares of the DAXplus Family index.
“The DAXplus Family index functions as a benchmark for the important family business segment,” said Rainer Riess, Managing Director of Xetra Market Development at Deutsche Börse. “The index is also intended to serve as an indicator for medium-sized family businesses preparing for an IPO. Moreover, due to its liquidity, the DAXplus Family 20 index meets the requirements of an investment and trading function to a high degree.”
Weighting is based on market capitalization of freely tradable shares, i.e. free float. No single stock may account for more than 10 percent of the DAXplus Family index. The DAXplus Family 20 index follows Deutsche Börse’s concept of selection indices. It is calculated as a price and performance index every minute. Its composition will be monitored on a quarterly basis.
The DAXplus Family index is based on a cooperation project between Deutsche Börse and the Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies of the Technical University of Munich. Deutsche Börse Market Data & Analytics calculates and publishes a total of more than 3,000 indices, thus ranking among the world’s major index providers.
Source:Deutsche Börse
Europe sets down firm deficit deadlines
November 11, 2009--The European Commission on Wednesday gave 13 countries -- including Britain, France and Germany -- firm deadlines to bring bloated public deficits back under tight control.
Budget overspending and consequent national debt, already a severe problem for many countries before the financial crisis, are now turning into a critical dilemma for some nations as they recover from the slump with deficits three times the required limit.
Four of them, Britain, France, Ireland and Spain, were deemed by European Union Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia to have taken "effective action" since existing recommendations in April.
Astor launches actively managed ETF mutual fund
“In our opinion, our new mutual fund allows active management to be part of any investment portfolio,” says Robert Stein (pictured), chief executive of Astor Financial. “By offering a mutual fund we have made our services more accessible to those interested in a more active approach to money management. We believe that the past few years have proven that new techniques are needed to further diversify and reduce the risk of one’s investments.” read more
If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us
Source: EU Business
November 11, 2009--Astor Asset Management has launched its first actively managed ETF mutual fund, the Astor Long/Short ETF Fund.
Astor Asset Management is known for its Long/Short Balanced ETF Program. It is now applying its macroeconomic-based approach to the new fund.
Source: ETF Express
