U.S. regulators are looking into how Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs (GS.N) helped debt-stricken Greece arrange derivatives deals that critics say were used to disguise the size of its budget deficits.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made the disclosure on Thursday and suggested securities regulators also wanted the

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JP Morgan Chase has reported profits of $3.3bn for the last three months of 2009. That compares with profits of $702m reported at the end of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis.
Total profits for the year were $11.7bn, the bank said, with

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Citigroup says the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has filed a claim against it seeking to stop a 2007 deal to buy $7.5bn (£4.6bn) worth of stock.
If the deal is not blocked, ADIA is asking for damages of more than $4bn. ADIA, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world,

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A card payment service commonly used by customers to avoid high transaction charges when booking flights is being phased out by two major providers.
Customers who pay by Visa Electron are not charged transaction fees by airlines such as Ryanair, Aer Lingus, BMIbaby, Easyjet and Flybe.

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Insurer American International Group Inc. said late Monday it has agreed to sell its nearly 98 percent stake in Taiwan unit Nan Shan to an investor group led by Hong Kong’s Primus Financial for about $2.15 billion.
Nan Shan, which serves more than 4 million life insurance policy holders in Taiwan, is the third-largest life insurer [...]

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Freddie Mac’s new chief financial officer, lured from the banking industry this month, is receiving a pay package worth up to $5.5 million.
The government-controlled mortgage finance company tapped Ross Kari for the position on Sept. 22. He had previously been serving as

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Shares in Nomura Holdings have fallen 16% in Tokyo following the announcement of a share issue to raise up to 510bn yen ($5.6bn; £3.5bn). The issue by Japan’s biggest brokerage is designed to help meet the expected tougher new capital requirements.
Nomura also said it would use the money to strengthen its businesses

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Many banks are finally back on their feet. The question now is how to keep them there for good.
So after propping up lenders with billions of taxpayer dollars, the Obama administration is contemplating long-term measures aimed at preventing, or at least minimizing, any future financial crisis.

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The HSBC bank is trying to gain an even larger share of the mortgage market by launching a new deal at just 1.99% for borrowers with a 40% deposit.
The low rate lasts for two years and is set at a 1.95% discount to the bank’s standard variable rate of 3.94%.

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Banking group HSBC saw pre-tax profits halve to $5bn (£2.98bn) in the first six months of 2009. Rising bad debts in the US, Europe and Asia forced it to write-off $13.9bn – 39% more than the same period in 2008.
Earlier Barclays also announced pre-tax half-year profits of £2.98bn boosted by its investment banking arm.

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