BrokerDealer.com blog update courtesy of slow day on Wall Street, inspiring CNBC to offer coverage suggesting that Russian spies are breaking into broker-dealers in effort to gather finance industry intelligence (pardon the oxymoron)..
For those spies and others seeking information about brokerdealers throughout Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East, BrokerDealer.com offers a global database of firms in all of these regions..
Here’s the fun video clip from CNBC
While the initial public offering market in China is percolating, it appears that film industry IPOs are not yet ready for prime time. Below BrokerDealer.com blog update courtesy of extract from 3 Feb edition of Hollywood Reporter
China Film Group’s planned $740 million stock market listing has been delayed after the state-owned colossus failed to provide sufficient documents for an initial public offering, local media reported.
Shanghai Film Group’s plans to raise $155.45 million from its listing have also been delayed because of insufficient documents, the Beijing Business News reported.
China’s film market is the second biggest in the world and has grown rapidly, and the listing of China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group is read as a sign of concerted effort to build up an infrastructure for future growth and help the industry compete with Hollywood.
However, local commentators say that regulators are trying to cool the pace of initial public offerings, as the market is becoming overheated with companies trying to gain access to the film and TV industry via backdoor investments and mergers.
A prospectus issued in June 2014 said China Film Group was trying to raise $740 million.
China Film is a giant in the Chinese film industry. In addition to producing, importing, exporting and distributing films, it also operates theater chains, sells film equipment and manages talent.
The newspaper quoted Peng Kan, research and development director of the Legend Media consultancy, saying that China Film Group had an advantage over other film companies because it provided greater distribution and also enjoyed government allowances and a favorable tax policy.
China’s biggest cinema chain, Wanda Cinema Line Co., raised $210 million in a Shenzhen stock exchange listing last month.
There are fears that regulators are trying to slow the pace of IPOs. Investors feared that IPOs had effectively been frozen before they resumed on the country’s two bourses in early 2014 after a hiatus of 14 months, allowing around 50 already approved companies to list on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.
Brokerdealer.com blog update is courtesy of a press release from Opus Bank and found on MarketWatch
Opus Bank, a California-chartered commercial bank, provides high-value, relationship-based banking products, services, and solutions to its clients through its Retail Bank, Commercial Bank, Merchant Bank, and Correspondent Bank. They recently just expanded to provide brokerdealer services through a subsidiary called Opus Financial Partners.
Opus Bank (“Opus” or the “Bank”) OPB, -0.54% announced today that it has established and received regulatory approval for Opus Financial Partners, LLC (“Opus Financial Partners” or “OFP”), the broker-dealer subsidiary of the Bank. Opus Financial Partners will further enable Opus’ Merchant Bank to help its clients address their financial and advisory needs related to raising equity capital, targeted acquisition and divestiture strategies, general mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financing, balance sheet restructuring, valuation, strategy, and performance improvement. Dale Cheney, Senior Managing Director, Head of the Merchant Bank, will also lead Opus Financial Partners.
Dale Cheney, Senior Managing Director, stated, “Opus Financial Partners’ capabilities complement Opus’ Merchant Bank by providing a comprehensive and integrated capital and advisory solution to lower middle-market companies, business owners, and private equity groups.” Cheney added, “The traditional investment banking model, with its layers of intermediaries and capital providers, is inefficient and outdated for today’s dynamic business environment where business owners and entrepreneurs are constantly challenged by limited time and resources. We partner with these executives and their companies to provide a sophisticated, one-stop capital and advisory solution that allows them to focus on building a successful business.”
Stephen H. Gordon, Opus Bank’s Founding Chairman, CEO & President, commented, “There is a void in the lower middle-market where access to debt and equity capital is limited and delivered inefficiently. Additionally, even successful companies that want to expand and grow their businesses typically don’t have access to the sophisticated M&A and other advisory services they need in order to capitalize on strategic opportunities and remain competitive. The capabilities provided through Opus’ Merchant Bank and through our broker-dealer, Opus Financial Partners, will help our clients to thoughtfully and strategically grow, capitalize or monetize their business.” Mr. Gordon concluded, “Having begun my career over 30 years ago as an investment banker, I recognize that we have an opportunity to fill a void and address a significant need by building a market-leading West Coast-based merchant bank that adheres to Opus’ entrepreneurial philosophy of partnering with our clients, as opposed to simply serving as transaction advisors.”
Brokerdealer.com blog update courtesy of JDSupra Business Advisor.
The number of independent brokerdealers has continually decreased due to low interest rate. Many of these brokerdealers have joined up with already established financial firms and that’s where things get murky. Finra’s rule 1017 has caused a lot of confusion, this hopefully will help clear it up.
M&A transactions involving regulated broker-dealers often require Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) approval under NASD Rule 1017. Such approval is required for any direct or indirect acquisition by a broker-dealer of another broker-dealer,1 change in control of a broker-dealer or “material change in business operations” of a broker-dealer.
Rule 1017 has gained prominence in light of recent consolidation within the independent broker-dealer industry, which experienced a decrease in broker-dealers registered as members of FINRA from 4,905 in 2008 to 4,105 as of October 2014.2 The consolidation has been driven by low interest rates (which have harmed independent broker-dealers by decreasing revenues from lending on margin) and difficult business conditions following the credit crisis. At the same time, the requirements of Dodd-Frank and other new regulations have imposed additional compliance costs on independent broker-dealers.
The timing and ultimate outcome of the Rule 1017 process are often critical factors in broker-dealer M&A transactions. Participants in broker-dealer M&A transactions may be unable, without FINRA assistance, to determine whether a transaction requires approval under Rule 1017. If Rule 1017 approval is required, uncertainties as to the likely timing for approval may further complicate the transaction.
Scope of Rule 1017 in the Context of M&A Transactions
A FINRA member broker-dealer that undergoes any of the changes described in Rule 1017 is required to file an application for FINRA’s approval under the rule. Some common examples of transactions requiring Rule 1017 approval include:
FINRA approval is required as a condition to closing each of the foregoing types of transactions and, in many cases, requires a longer period of time than any other closing condition — thus becoming the “critical path” to completing the deal.
For the entire article, click here
Brokerdealer.com blog update profiling recent study from job review site Glassdoor.com is courtesy of extract from eFinancialCareers.com with reporting by Beecher Tuttle.
People would rather work at In-N-Out Burger Than in Banking
Ok. That headline contains just a twinge of hyperbole. But the latest employer rankings show that Wall Street still has a ways to go in terms of improving its reputation and keeping workers happy.
Job review website Glassdoor recently came out with its Top 50 Places to Work, and not a single bank made the list. Now, you could make the argument that the hours required to make it on Wall Street would likely eliminate banks from contention, but several consulting firms made this year’s list. Consultants put in plenty of hours themselves and often have brutal travel schedules, yet they’re represented extremely well.
Bain finished second on the list, just behind Google, with a 4.4 rating (out of 5). Meanwhile, Boston Consulting Group finished 5th, just a few spots ahead of fellow consulting firm McKinsey, which at nine was nipped by In-N-Out Burger, known for its “fast-paced team environment.” So that’s three out of the top 10 for consulting, trumping every other industry, including tech.
Really, it shouldn’t come as that big of a surprise. Vault.com, which uses employee reviews to rank banks, accounting firms and consulting companies, reported similar rankings in consulting, with Bain, McKinsey and BCG topping the list. But as an industry, consulting took banks and accounting firms to the woodshed. McKinsey, the top ranked consulting firm, finished more than a full point above the highest-ranked accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and seven-tenths of a point ahead of J.P. Morgan, the top-ranked bank.
Maybe the reviews are accurate and quantify a true measure of happiness. Or it could be that bankers are chronic complainers, no matter what the reality. A separate study found that bankers are just as satisfied in their careers as tech executives yet they were twice as likely to complain about their compensation, despite making more.
For the record, Goldman Sachs finished highest among the six biggest U.S. banks in Glassdoor’s survey, earning a score of 3.7. Morgan Stanley ended with a 3.6, J.P. Morgan a 3.5, Bank of America and Citigroup each received a 3.3, and Wells Fargo trailed the group with a 3.2.