US banks get $21bn foreign bail-out
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US banks get $21bn foreign bail-out
花旗美林将获外国投资者211亿美元纾困
Citigroup and Merrill Lynch turned to foreign investors for an unprecedented bail-out yesterday, saying they will raise a total of $21.1bn in fresh capital, mainly from outside the US, to shore up balance sheets devastated by the subprime mortgage crisis.
Citigroup also unnerved investors by warning of losses to come from consumer loans as it revealed a $9.83bn fourth-quarter loss, $18.1bn in subprime credit writedowns, a 40 per cent dividend cut and remaining exposure of $37bn to subprime mortgages.
Citigroup is raising $14.5bn and Merrill $6.6bn, largely from private investors and governments in the Middle East and Asia, representing the biggest-ever single transfer of capital to US banks from abroad. It could raise pressure from US politicians concerned about foreign influence on the US banking system.
Citi shares were down by nearly 7 per cent in midday trade after it said it had a $5.4bn increase in consumer credit costs in the fourth quarter, reflecting $1.56bn in credit losses and a charge of $3.85bn to shore up loan loss reserves.
Citi, which late last year raised $7.5bn from Abu Dhabi, said it would raise another $12.5bn through the sale of convertible preferred securities. It will cut its dividend from 54 cents to 32 cents a share and its staff by 4,200 jobs.
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation will invest $6.88bn in Citi. Other investors include the Kuwait Investment Authority; Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, one of Citi's biggest shareholders; Sandy Weill, former chief executive; and the New Jersey investment division. It will also seek to sell $2bn of securities to public investors.
Merrill Lynch, expected to report a heavy loss on Thursday, said it would raise $6.6bn through the issuance of mandatory convertible preferred stock in private placements to investors, primarily the Korean Investment Corporation, the Kuwait Investment Authority, and Mizuho Corporate Bank of Japan.
英国《金融时报》本•怀特(Ben White)纽约报道
2008年1月16日 星期三
花旗(Citigroup)和美林(Merrill Lynch)昨日向外国投资者寻求一笔规模空前的纾困资金。这两家银行表示，它们将再度筹集总额为211亿美元的资金，来源主要是美国以外的投资者，以便为因次贷危机受损的资产负债表提供支撑。
花旗针对消费贷款业务发出的亏损预警也令投资者感到不安。该行披露第四季度亏损98.3亿美元、次贷资产减记181亿美元、派发股息减少40%，以及其仍持有370亿美元的次贷风险敞口。
花旗将筹集145亿美元的资金，而美林将筹集66亿美元，资金来源主要是中东和亚洲的私人投资者和政府，这是外国对美国银行业有史以来最大的单笔资金转移。这可能招致来自美国政界人士的压力，他们对外国对美国银行业体系的影响颇感担忧。
截至昨日午盘交易，花旗股价下跌近7%。此前，花旗表示，第四季度其消费信贷成本上升54亿美元，其中包括15.6亿美元的信贷亏损，以及38.5亿美元的计提，以补充贷款损失准备金。
去年年底，花旗已从阿布扎比筹得75亿美元资金。该行表示，将通过发售可转换优先证券，再筹集125亿美元资金。该行将把其派发的股息从每股54美分削减至32美分，并将裁员4200人。
新加坡政府投资有限公司(Government of Singapore Investment Corporation)将向花旗投资68.8亿美元。其它投资者包括科威特投资局(Kuwait Investment Authority)、花旗最大股东之一阿尔瓦利德•本•塔拉尔王子(Prince Alwaleed bin Talal)、花旗前首席执行官桑迪•威尔(Sandy Weill)、以及新泽西州投资部门。花旗还将计划公开出售20亿美元证券。
美林表示，将通过私募渠道向投资者发行强制性可转换优先股，筹集66亿美元资金，其投资者主要包括韩国政府投资公司(Korean Investment Corporation)、科威特投资局和日本瑞穗实业银行(Mizuho Corporate Bank)。预计该行将在周四披露重大亏损。
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