KBW Reveals Changes To KBW Regional Banking Index And KBW Mortgage - RTT News
• 5/5/2008 5:39:19 PM *TXCO Resources Reports Q1 EPS Of $0.09 Vs Loss $0.06 Last Year [TXCO] • 5/5/2008 5:38:18 PM *Argo Group International Posts Q1 EPS Of $1.20 Vs $1.13 Last Year [AGII] • 5/5/2008 5:37:26 PM *Atlantic Tele-Network Posts Q1

Swiss banks refuse blame for foreign clients’ tax evasion - BusinessWeek
Swiss banks cannot be expected to police foreign clients’ tax affairs, one of the country’s top banking officials said Monday, rejecting German demands for greater cooperation to catch tax evaders. The president of the Swiss Bankers Association laid

South Korea May Keep Interest Rate Unchanged on Inflation Worry - Bloomberg
May 6 (Bloomberg) — The Bank of Korea may keep interest rates unchanged at an almost seven-year high this week after inflation accelerated and overseas shipments surged. Governor Lee Seong Tae will leave the seven-day repurchase rate at 5 percent on

Bank of America exec ready to integrate LaSalle Bank - Detroit Free Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Liam McGee, Bank of America’s president of global consumer and small business banking, chatted with The Associated Press about his thoughts on leading his bank’s retail growth and customers’ perceptions of the conversion

REFILE-UPDATE 3-Toronto stocks end flat as financials weigh - Reuters UK
TORONTO, Might 5 (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index ended tiny changed on Monday, pressured by a selloff in banking issues that countered a lift from surging commodity prices. The tumbling banking sector led the downside, caught up

Maybank buys $680 mln stake in Pakistan MCB Bank - Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s top lender, Malayan Banking (MBBM.KL: Quote , Profile , Research ), has purchased a 15 percent stake in Pakistan’s largest listed lender MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote , Profile , Research ) for $680 million, betting on a

LaSalle brand disappears in Mich. as BofA takes over - Detroit Free Press
Those red signs will be very evident in Chicago,” stated Liam McGee, Bank of America’s president of global consumer and small business banking, in an interview with The Associated Press. “When they walk into a former LaSalle banking center, it

Banks crack down on mortgage bids - News.com.au
Times get tough for would-be homebuyers Banks make loans harder to get Move made to reduce risk to lenders HOMEBUYERS face tougher questions and even knockbacks when applying for a mortgage as banks and non-bank lenders secretly tighten rules on who

RBS to hit small firms with fees - Daily Telegraph
Thousands of small businesses face an increase in their banking charges of several hundred pounds a year following a decision by one of the UK’s biggest banks to axe free business banking for a group of its customers. Business account holders at the

Maybank buys $680 mln stake in Pakistan MCB Bank - Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia’s top lender, Malayan Banking (MBBM.KL: Quote , Profile , Research ), has bought a 15 percent stake in Pakistan’s largest listed lender MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote , Profile , Research ) for $680 million, betting on a

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Filed under: Raising money, Engagements, Venture capital industry, Investments

Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) has closed its capital raise at $75 million, according to Reuters. The original target for the fund focused on clean technology exceeded its target of $60 million and they had to turn away additional investors.

Specifically, the fund will focus on Israel based or related high growth clean technology companies in sectors such as alternative energy, water conservation and purification, emissions reduction, and technologies that allow businesses to operate more efficiently and more environmentally friendly. Funded in 2006, ICV closed its first round of funding, raising $15 million in January 2006. The Globes in Israel reported that this was above target as well.

Funds came from institutional investors as well as family funds in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, such as Robeco Private Equity, a Netherlands-based asset manager, and Piper Jaffray, a U.S. financial institution.

The fund has completed seven investments, including Aqwise (waste water treatment), CellEra (fuel cells), Citrine Renewable Energy (landfill biogas treatment), Emefcy (energy production from wastewater), Metrolight (energy efficient lighting), Project Superior Place (electric automobile infrastructure), and Pythagoras Solar (solar energy).

Jon Ogg is an editor and producer for the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

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Filed under: Banks, Debt

The unchecked use of homes as ATM machines has left many home owners in the uncomfortable position of being former home owners.

Now that they’re out equity and have tiny left to be milked for fees and interest, the huge banks have turned to another group: people who have been responsible, paid off their mortgages, and preserved their equity. The New York Times reports that the large banks would “love to serve” these people.

Will isn’t that just dandy. Having spent the past decade reporting massive profits (and then huge writedowns) helping financially unstable people get themselves into larger trouble, the industry is now looking to move on to the more responsible borrowers.

To be sure: some retired people who own their homes outright do need to tap into the equity to provide for living expenses. But as I wrote back in March, retirees need to proceed with caution, especially when it comes to reverse mortgages.:

There’s a reason salespeople love these products — and therein lies the problem. One elderly lady quoted in the New York Times piece paid an up-front fee of 8% — $17,100 — out of the initial proceeds of the loan. And the independent counsel that people are federally-required to receive before closing on a reverse mortgage appears to be a total joke –oftentimes it’s paid for by the lender making it, by definition, not independent.

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On TV / Radio Today - Miami Herald
Choose a State: – All United Says – Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan

UPDATE 2-Maybank bets on Pakistan, buys $680 mln MCB Bank stake - Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia’s largest lender, Malayan Banking (Maybank) (MBBM.KL: Quote , Profile , Research ), has purchased a strategic stake in Pakistan’s MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote , Profile , Research ) for $680 million, betting on a

Malaysia’s Maybank says to raise capital by June - Reuters
KUALA LUMPUR, Might 5 (Reuters) - Malaysia’s largest lender, Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) (MBBM.KL: Quote , Profile , Research ), will need to restore its capital ratios after acquiring Pakistan’s MCB Bank (MCB.KA: Quote , Profile , Research ) and

Banking young - Baltimore Sun
Children know money doesn’t grow on trees. But some of them believe it grows out of that machine in the wall. They see their parents pull out an ATM card, punch in a code, and - voila! - dollars dispense. What they don’t always know is that there is a

Singapore shares higher at midday on easing U.S. economic concerns - CNBC
SINGAPORE (Thomson Financial) - Singapore shares were higher at midday on Monday following the Dow’s gains on Friday after U.S. jobs data eased concerns about the world’s biggest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shut up 48.20 points or 0.4

New Report Gives a One-of-a-kind Insight Into the Taiwan Commercial Banking - Forbes
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c90703) has announced the addition of Taiwan Commercial Banking Report Q1 2008 to their offering. The Taiwan Commercial Banking Report provides independent forecasts and competitive

LaSalle Bank brand to disappear as BofA takes over - MSN MoneyCentral
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Bank of America Corp. will officially mark its $21 billion purchase of Chicago’s LaSalle Bank Corp. on Monday, taking down LaSalle’s green and yellow colors for the blue and red of Bank of America. “Those red signs will be very

Indian bond yields edge up as cash seen tightening - Reuters India
MUMBAI, Might 5 (Reuters) - Indian federal bond yields rose slightly on Monday from one-month lows as cash availability is expected to tighten this week due to government debt auctions and ahead of an increase in reserve requirements. At 9:47 a.m

Bankinter seeks to buy RBS out of Spanish JV-paper - Reuters UK
LONDON, Might 4 (Reuters) - Spain’s Bankinter (BKT.MC: Quote , Profile , Research ) has approached Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote , Profile , Research ) about buying its stake in the Linea Directa 50-50 joint venture, the Sunday Times said. The

Mobile Banking to Transform Microfinance - PR Newswire
WASHINGTON, Might 4 /PRNewswire/ — A new report from the global microfinance body CGAP predicts that, with the right market conditions, mobile banking could reach large numbers of poor people who are outside the formal financial system. The Early

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