SWITZERLAND’S aim of preserving banking secrecy has been cast in doubt after the finance minister suggested all options are open, reopening the debate over a pillar of the country’s economy.
The Swiss government had pledged its commitment to tax deals allowing European Union citizens to pay tax on secret Swiss accounts without revealing their identity.
But Swiss finance minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said: “We will enter a dialogue with the EU Commission on possible information and what we are prepared to discuss and what we would want for it in return.”
Banks urged to use in–house managers
Banks will need to step up their use of in-house asset management operations to fund loans for their customers, according to a new report.
Lenders have already begun tapping asset managers for cash to fund deals but the practice is expected to spread from multi-national corporate work into other parts of the banks’ operations.
Steven Lewis, an analyst at Ernst & Young, who compiled the report, said: “Banks will also need to respond to innovation from newer players who offer more targeted and fewer ‘one-size-fits-all’ services.”
SeaWorld tests New York’s IPO waters
SeaWorld Entertainment, which runs a chain of theme parks in the United States, yesterday unveiled plans to raise $100 million (£62m) by floating in New York.
Private equity firm Blackstone Group bought SeaWorld from brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2009 in a deal worth $2.3 billion.
SeaWorld, home to a series of famous killer whales all named “Shamu”, will use the cash raised from the float to pay down its debt and make a dividend payment to Blackstone, which would retain a majority stake after the initial public offering.
Claridge’s owner in Starwood financing
Maybourne Hotel Group, the owner of the Berkeley, Claridge’s and the Connaught in London, has been refinanced in a
£547 million deal backed by London-listed Starwood European Real Estate Finance (SEREF) and New York-listed Starwood Property Trust (SPT).
The five-year refinancing consisted of £400m of senior debt and £147m of mezzanine lending, with SEREF chipping in with £19m and SPT contributing a further £30m.
SEREF said it will earn “a double-digit yield in line with its investment criteria as outlined in its prospectus”.
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