Brett Travis Wynne used internet banking facilities to transfer the money in 72 transactions from December last year.

A finance broker has been charged with stealing more than $23,000 from his employee in the Perth suburb of Northbridge.Police allege 23-year-old Brett Travis Wynne used internet banking facilities to transfer the money in 72 transactions from December last year.They say Mr Wynne had access to the finance company's bank account number and password.The transfers were discovered following an audit of the company's accounts.Mr Wynne has been charged with 72 counts of fraud.He is due to appear in the Perth Magistrate's Court tod...

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Posted in: Perth

European stocks fell the most in a week after record oil prices dimmed the earnings

European stocks fell the most in a week after record oil prices dimmed the earnings outlook for airlines and carmakers and a slowing housing market weighed on Schneider Electric's sales.Air France-KLM and Daimler slipped the most in a week after crude climbed above $US117 a barrel. Schneider Electric, the world's biggest maker of circuit breakers, posted its biggest drop since January as sales missed analysts' estimates. Royal Bank of Scotland led banks lower after saying it may sell shares to shore up capital, while Barclays declined on a Merrill Lynch downgrade.Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 1.2% to 316.96, extending this year's decline to 13% on concern that rising energy costs and $US290 billion in writedowns and credit losses at financial companies will cut profit growth.''Oil...

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Posted in: European stocks

European banks may have exacerbated financial market turmoil resulting from a global credit crunch by failing to come clean

Some European banks may have exacerbated financial market turmoil resulting from a global credit crunch by failing to come clean about their exposure to risky assets, a top European Union banking supervisor said Tuesday.The Committee of European Banking Supervisors has analyzed 20 big cross-border banks in Europe and is concerned by some of its findings, particularly how the banks value and disclose investments whose markets have dried up because of the credit squeeze."Our preliminary findings show there are differences in terms of content of disclosure and presentations banks make in statements," Kerstin af Jochnick, head of the committee, told the European Parliament's economic affairs committee."Lack of consistency in banks' valuations, uncertainty about their accuracy and inadequate transparency...

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Posted in: European Union banking supervisor

HSBC banking group has admitted losing a computer disc with the details of 370,000 customers

The HSBC banking group has admitted losing a computer disc with the details of 370,000 customers. The disc was lost four weeks ago after being sent by courier from the bank's life insurance offices in Southampton. The customers' details included their names, dates of birth, and their levels of insurance cover. However, there were no addresses or bank account details and HSBC said the customers' exposure to potential fraud was limited."We are looking into it and basically it has got lost from A to B," said an HSBC spokesman. "The reinsurer we sent it to is doing a thorough search for the disc. We will do anything we can to find it." "There are no financial details there in terms of banking details. There are no address details or anything like that," he added. As well as name, date of birth...

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Posted in: HSBC

Banks new code shifts responsibility to customers

The latest edition of the Banking Code, the voluntary consumer-protection standard for UK banks, was released last week. The new code claims to “give customers the most up to date information on how to protect their accounts from fraud.” This sounds like a worthy cause, but closer inspection shows customers could be worse off than they were before.Clause 12.11 of the code deals with liability for losses:If you act fraudulently, you will be responsible for all losses on your account. If you act without reasonable care, and this causes losses, you may be responsible for them. (This may apply, for example, if you do not follow section 12.5 or 12.9 or you do not keep to your account’s terms and conditions.)Clauses 12.5 and 12.9 include some debatable advice about anti-virus software and clicking...

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Posted in: by allowing banks to dump yet more costs on the customers,is a step in the wrong direction.,new Banking Code

Veronica Fong,accused of taking the money from the Montgomery Street bank over an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008.

Veronica Fong, 44, appeared in Sydney's Central Local Court yesterday facing 22 charges of obtaining money by deception.Fong, of Baptist Street, Redfern, is accused of taking the money from the Montgomery Street bank over an eight-year period between 2000 and 2008.The mother of one, who started working at the bank in March 1987, was arrested on Tuesday April 8 after the police phoned her and asked her to go to the City Central police station. Fong, who was sacked by the bank this week when the allegations came to light, worked as a client co-ordinator in the private division for most of her career, apart from in 2006 when she was the senior lending officer for specialised mortgage solutions.Her duties included updating and granting temporary overdrafts. She is accused of granting $1,432,071.58...

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Posted in: Montgomery Street bank

Weserbank AG to stop doing business, making it the first German bank to close since the subprime crisis started.

German financial-market regulator BaFin ordered Weserbank AG to stop doing business, making it the first German bank to close since the subprime crisis started.BaFin said it closed the Bremerhaven, Germany-based bank to preserve remaining assets and started insolvency proceedings. The lender is over-indebted and would struggle to cover operating costs, BaFin said.Weserbank, founded in 1912 as a cooperative lender for butchers and cattle dealers, is the first German lender since 2006 to file for insolven...

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Posted in: Weserbank AG

Another airline Bankrupt

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, a long-haul budget carrier that tried to offer premium service and spacious seats at low prices, suddenly went into liquidation on Wednesday and canceled all flights.It was the fourth budget carrier worldwide to halt operations in the last week and a half. The bankruptcy filing by Oasis stranded thousands of passengers in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver.High jet fuel prices have taken a heavy toll on the airline industry and particularly on low-margin budget carriers trying to compete on price. The three others to shut down since March 31, all in the United States, were Aloha Airgroup, ATA Airlines and Skybus Airlin...

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Posted in: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines

financial industry in the United Kingdom recently reaffirmed a policy that holds online banking customers liable for losses if they fail to secure

The financial industry in the United Kingdom recently reaffirmed a policy that holds online banking customers liable for losses if they fail to secure their personal computers against data-stealing computer viruses. While this policy may seem surprising or even draconian to some Americans, the reality is that most U.S. consumers remain woefully uninformed as to their own security liabilities when banking online. News of the new U.K. banking codes comes via The Register, which reported that under the new regulations "banks will not be responsible for losses on online bank accounts if consumers do not have up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software installed on their machines." The full text of the updated banking code is here (PDF). The relevant sections are 12.5 through 12.13.This...

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Posted in: EDont Bank online

British banks will have to take an extra £11 billion from sub-prime losses - in addition to the £9.6 billion write-downs already announced.

A report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that British banks will have to take an extra £11 billion from sub-prime losses - in addition to the £9.6 billion write-downs already announced. UK lenders are sitting on far larger undisclosed mortgage-related losses than its European counterparts, according to figures in the Global Financial Stability report. In comparison, lenders in the US and the rest of Europe have already revealed their losses. In Europe, top lenders will probably total around £6 billion of additional losses while lenders in the US could report a further £25 billion of write-downs, but that is only half the figure they have already confessed to. Earlier this week, the IMF warned that losses from the worldwide credit crunch could reach $1 trillion (£500 billion)....

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Posted in: banks’ balance sheets

More shoes to drop in the credit crisis

Financial Times of London Friday that there are more shoes to drop in the credit crisis if authorities don’t prepare to head them off. One area is credit default swaps:“Instead of reshuffling regulatory agencies, the authorities ought to prepare for the next shoes to drop …. There is an esoteric financial instrument called credit default swaps. The notional amount of CDS contracts outstanding is roughly $45,000 billion … The market is totally unregulated and those who hold the contracts do not know whether their counterparties have adequately protected themselves. If and when defaults occur, some of the counterparties are likely to prove unable to fulfill their obligations. This prospect hangs over the financial markets like a sword of Damocles that is bound to fall, but only after some defaults...

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Posted in: London

Bankrupt Banker News Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000

Adam Applegarth joined the ranks of chiefs rewarded for spectacular failures when it emerged that he will pocket £760,000 after being sacked in December as Northern Rock's chief executive.Mr Applegarth's package includes a £2.6 million pension – despite overseeing a £167.6 million loss. A third of the bank's 6,000-plus jobs will disappear as it attempts to rebalance its books and repay £24 billion in government loans by 2010.The pay-off – which gives him £63,333 a month until November– is on top of the £785,000 he earned in 2007 and the £1.36 million in 2006.Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman, branded the compensation an "utter disgrace".He said: "This is a straightforward case of reward for failure. The chief executive who led the disastrous business strategy is being generously...

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Posted in: Northern Rock

Opes Prime, was put into receivership last week owing $1 billion to lenders.

The corporate watchdog is investigating allegations of fraud and manipulation against the head of Opes Prime, which was put into receivership last week owing $1 billion to lenders. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is looking into allegations that Opes Prime Chief Executive Laurie Emini instructed staff to falsify the accounts of six wealthy clients to help prevent them from personal losses of up to $200 million, according to a transcript of court documents from a Federal Court hearing last Friday. The collapse of Opes Prime is the biggest of its kind in Australia since the global credit crunch took hold in August last year. Opes Prime's problems stemmed from severe and sustained financial market volatility, which continues to adversely affect some market participants....

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Posted in: Opes Prime

Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, will write down 2.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) of loans and asset-backed securities and said markets are d

``Conditions have become significantly more challenging during the last few weeks,'' Deutsche Bank said today in a statement. The Frankfurt-based company's shares, which have declined 17 percent this year, rose on speculation the worst of the losses in the banking industry may almost be over. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, will write down 2.5 billion euros ($3.9 billion) of loans and asset-backed securities and said markets are deteriorating.Deutsche Bank, which increased earnings in 2007, said a week ago its 2008 pretax profit target is under threat. Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackerman cited ``difficult'' market and economic conditions. UBS AG said today Chairman Marcel Ospel will depart after reporting an extra $19 billion of writedowns. ``The subprime crisis is catching up...

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Posted in: Deutsche Bank

Interpol cracks down on football betting

Another crackdown on Asian football betting syndicates which are said to be “controlling” European major league results is on the cards. With the coming Euro 2008 competition to be held this summer, Interpol is seeking the cooperation of police forces from several Asian countries to carry out raids. Interpol secretary-general Ronald Noble said in Singapore yesterday that Interpol was planning to launch a second operation to curb illegal football gambling in Asia following last year’s success which netted US$680,000 (RM2.24mil) of suspected criminal proceeds. He was quoted by AFP as saying that more countries would be involved in the second operation against football gambling, which was one of the most rampant organised crimes in the region. The first operation, codenamed ”Soga”, was launched...

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Posted in: KUALA LUMPUR

Switzerland's role as secret banker to the world’s wealthy is under threat as never before

Last week The New York Times quoted Konrad Hummler, the managing partner of Wegelin & Company, a small private bank in the canton of St. Gallen.The nervous Herr Hummler warned that Switzerland's role as secret banker to the world’s wealthy is under threat as never before, as he sees it. Hummler said what we all know -- that the German tax evasion scandal involving Liechtenstein has been manipulated by the media into a debate about Swiss banking secrecy, just as Europe's Leftists wanted. Worried at the degree to which the traditional discretion of Swiss banks is under assault, Hummler said his foreign clients have been inquiring about their money. The nervous Herr Hummler says that this time, Switzerland may not be able to stop the rest of the world from prying open Swiss banki...

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Posted in: Switzerland

plan to rescue thousands of homeowners at risk of foreclosure

The Bush administration is finalizing details of a plan to rescue thousands of homeowners at risk of foreclosure by helping them refinance into more affordable mortgages backed by public funds, government officials said. The proposal is aimed at assisting borrowers who owe their banks more than their homes are worth because of plummeting prices, an issue at the heart of the nation’s housing crisis. Under the plan, the Federal Housing Administration would encourage lenders to forgive a portion of those loans and issue new, smaller mortgages in exchange for the financial backing of the federal government. The plan is similar to elements in legislation...

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Posted in: Federal Reserve

Fire sale at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc first of many

``We still maintain that we don't need capital, but we've realized that perception is the dominant issue in today's markets,'' Callan said. ``It's a step in the right direction,'' said CreditSights Inc. analyst David Hendler. ``If you're a smaller player, you need more capital to do business in tough times. They now need to show that they can keep churning profits in this environment.'' Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is seeking to raise at least $3 billion from a share sale it says should help quell concern about a shortage of capital that drove the stock down 42 percent this year. Lehman is offering 3 million convertible preferred shares in a sale that will be ``an endorsement of our balance sheet by investors,'' Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan said in an interview yesterday. Demand for...

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Posted in: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc