Investment banks

Spanish bank BBVA is considering making an offer for British bank HSBC?s businesses in Brazil and Turkey, senior bank executive Vicente Rodero said at an annual meeting in Mexico City, website CNNExpansion reported on June 10.

Scandal-hit bank HSBC said on June 9 it would cut its global headcount by up to 50,000 as part of a restructuring that entails its withdrawal from Brazil and Turkey, while it also mulls abandoning London as its HQ.

In a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange it also said it intends to save $5 billion in annual costs within two years.

The appointment of John Cryan as chief executive of Deutsche Bank sent shares in Germany's largest lender up 8 percent on June 8 as investors judged the Briton a more credible contender than his two ousted predecessors to revive its fortunes. 

ING Group, BNP Paribas and Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corp (ABC) have submitted bids to buy HSBC's Turkish business, a source familiar with the process said on May 29.

The source said the bids are non-binding, suggesting that the process could still take some time to complete, but that one-to-one talks have begun.

HSBC Holdings Plc could select a preferred bidder for its struggling Brazilian unit as early as next month, with the sale expected to be finalized by August, three sources with knowledge of the process said.

Deutsche Bank faced a multi-billion-dollar fine on April 23 as British and U.S. officials prepared to announce a legal settlement over alleged attempts at its London-based subsidiary to manipulate interest rate benchmarks. 

Leonidas Bobolas, CEO of construction firm Ellaktor, said on Wednesday that he contacted authorities to settle a tax issue of his own accord and was not arrested as reports suggested.

A Swiss banker who was one of the key suspects in the Siemens cash-for-contracts scandal and in connection to allegedly corrupt arms deals is in custody in Greece, it emerged on Monday.

The disclosure of leaked HSBC documents revealing how the Swiss branch of the banking multinational facilitated some of its wealthy clients, including several Greek citizens, to conceal millions in assets, caused global uproar last month.

Investigators launched a search on Feb. 18 of British banking giant HSBC's Geneva offices as part of a money laundering probe following allegations the bank helped clients evade millions of dollars in taxes, Swiss prosecutors said.