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GE Commercial Finance has announced the promotion of Martin Risman as the new sales and marketing leader based in the UK head office in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Martin has substantial experience and expertise in the commercial finance sector, having joined GE in 2000 as regional director for London and previously being senior sales manager for Bank of Scotland Cashflow Finance.
17/04/2003
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The latest business confidence survey from the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises organisation, ISME, was published this morning.
The results are not encouraging. The survey finds that 28% of manufacturing employers expecting to employ fewer people over the next 12 months.
Of the companies surveyed, 44% say their order books are below normal for this time of year while 37% say exports have fallen in value, a doubling of the figure reported this time last year.
17/04/2003
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Margrith Lьtschg-Emmenegger, formerly MD and global head of forfaiting at WestLB in London has decided to call it a day after 12 years at the bank. She has taken up a position at FIMBank in Malta as Executive Vice-President with a mandate to "try to grow the bank internationally - maintain and develop further the already excellent reputation established", she says. FIMBank has traditionally concentrated on the Middle East and African trade business - something that she aims to open up and expand globally.
17/04/2003
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Lloyds TSB has released its director’s report and financial statement for year ended 31 December 2002. The report shows the company made a 3.7% increase in profit before tax.
Profit before tax totalled Ј45.88 million for year ended 31 December 2002 compared with Ј44.24 million for year ended 31 December 2001.
16/04/2003
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The Asia Development Bank (ADB) has approved a US$15m equity participation in a new private equity fund that provides capital for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the People's Republic of China (PRC).
This is the first ADB-assisted investment fund. Besides ADB, the fund's initial core limited partners include the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs of Switzerland, which will also invest up to US$15m, and the United Overseas Bank Group of Singapore, which will invest up to US$10m.
16/04/2003
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Deutsche Bank, the German bank, has called a halt to the takeover of Gerling NCM by Swiss Re. The only possible solution would be to involve a neutral investor in the deal. Gerling NCM achieved turnover of Ђ1.35bn in 2002 in its credit insurance business.
The problem with the current negotiations is the value of Gerling NCM. The financial sector believes it is worth Ђ500m-Ђ600m, but this is far less than the sum agreed by Deutsche Bank, Swiss Re and Gerling NCM a couple of years ago, when they said it had a value of approximately Ђ1bn.
Source: Financial Times
16/04/2003
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Bankruptcies in Japan fell about 5 per cent in the last business year, according to independent research firm Teikoku Databank, as a mild economic recovery and banks' reluctance to cut off ailing firms helped limit failures.
Teikoku Databank warned that the stock market's plunge to 20-year lows could cause a spike in bankruptcies in the new business year, but some economists say that is unlikely given the political fallout.
15/04/2003
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Two familiar faces in the Houston financial services industry have formed Briar Capital LP., which focuses on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking working capital or real estate financing.
The new company's chairman and CEO is Frank Goldberg. Steve Rosencranz is Briar's president and chief operating officer.
15/04/2003
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Bank of America, Business Credit Europe won European Venture Capital Journals’s award for asset-based finance provider of the year in 2002 for its increasing support of private equity-backed businesses.
Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance was highly commended in this category for its commitment to private equity transactions and its expansion into Europe.
NMB Heller was also highly commended in this category.
Source: EVCJ
15/04/2003
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Worldwide factoring industry experiences healthy growth despite difficult market conditions
Fresh statistics for 2002 show a 4% growth for worldwide factoring, according to the latest euro denominated figures for the industry, just released by Factors Chain International (FCI), the world’s largest network of factoring companies with a presence in nearly 60 countries. In U.S. dollar terms, the growth was a quite impressive 21%.
14/04/2003
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Small businesses in Japan are having severe cash-flow difficulties, even though the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is pumping plenty of money into the banking system. This is because debt-burdened banks are following restrictive lending practices. In an unprecedented move to help those cash-strapped companies, the central bank's policy board has decided to study the feasibility of purchasing securities backed by small-business assets directly from the market.
14/04/2003
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Leading Mexican banks Santander Serfin, Banco Bital and BBVA Bancomer have made only 30% of the 15,800 small business loans previously pledged under a government sponsored loan programme, according to the economy ministry's business promotion chief Jose Becerra.
The federal government has put up 96m pesos (US$8.9m today) in loan guarantees under the Programme Nacional de Garantias as an incentive for banks to lend to small businesses.
11/04/2003
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The capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen, was the location for this year’s BCR Receivables Finance International European conference. Running from 26 – 28 March 2003, the event was organised in association with Factors Chain International (FCI) and the International Factors Group (IFG), with Hammonds of the UK as sponsors. The location was the five-star Marriott hotel.
11/04/2003
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Whether Kmart Corp. should have paid several suppliers in the days after its bankruptcy filing has fuelled a legal fight between the retailer and one of its creditors.
This week, a U.S. District Court judge in Chicago sided with creditor Capital Factors Inc., which complained about Troy-based Kmart's January 2002 decision to pay more than $250 million to certain suppliers before its bankruptcy was complete.
Only one local company was included in that group. Troy-based Handleman Co. received about $64 million from Kmart.
11/04/2003
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Two Royal Navy frigates will be setting course for a new lease of life in the Black Sea after a Ј116m BAE Systems refit supported by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) under a Government-to-Government contract.
The Type 22 frigates will be overhauled in Portsmouth before heading for Romania under a contract between the UK's Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the Romanian Government. The MOD has subcontracted the transfer, regeneration and modernisation of the ships to BAE Systems.
11/04/2003
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