My personal bank account with HSBC is housed in a new office, and I visited for the first time yesterday. One of the two ATMs in the lobby doesn’t work and there was a seriously long line at the human cashier’s booth. An earnest Chinese-American clerk eventually took my deposit so I could avoid the queue, and blithely announced that ATMs work better in Asia and Europe than in the USA. So I responded that given its Asian origins, HSBC (once Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Corp.) should have mastered ATM technology by now. To which the fellow responded that HSBC is British to the core. Well, not exactly.
HSBC it is threatening to exit the UK if too many impediments and taxes are imposed on its operations. And the two likely new homes are either back to Hong Kong or reincorporating in the USA, where it has grown with several acquisitions, including that of Republic National Bank (how they got my account started with Williamburgh Savings Bank where we got a mortgage). It is comforting that US banking regulations are not so off-putting that HSBC is now tempted by our business.
One reason HSBC may remain in the British motherland of its former Hong Kong colony was that it and all other UK banks today passed a new stress test set by the Bank of England, their central bank. Governor Mark Carney said: “with today’s announcement, the basic amount of capital our system requires is settled.†That means the banksters do not need to raise more capital to handle potential big losses from extreme market conditions. It and Standard Chartered, another old Asia hand, did not get top scores but at least they passed the exam.
Many US charities were out in force on the Internet seeking donations on Giving Tuesday. This silly custom probably cuts the money they are getting since they are competing with each other for donor attention.
Moreover, now Facebook (FB) is charging non-profit organizations for their campaigns so some charities have to ask their donors and fans to “like†them, opening the way to irritating emails and ads. Why do those soliciting donations let themselves be manipulated this way?
Today I got another irritating e-mail, a holiday card from a Saskatchewan (Canada) uranium mining company with irritating tinny nuclear music. Since there is no delay for the mail with an e-mail, why did they send it December 1 long before any seasonal holiday?
My anti-virus just blocked an update purporting to come from windows.
As you can see, I am becoming an unrepentant Scrooge.
Services and Light Industry
*Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) reported mixed results with its Q4 and FY results in C$s and under IFRS. Q4 net of $1.843 bn beat Thomson Reuters forecasts. EPS at C$1.45 after adjustment for amortization and the sale of CIFAF, beat by a loony penny and were up 8% Y/o/Y. Without adjustment the rise was 28%. Prior year Gross revenues came in at C$6.125 bn, flat sequentially.
