assistance with collection accounts

By Steve Slater and Kate Holton

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Change swept through the top ofBritain's banks on Tuesday with Barclays appointing itsinvestment banking supremo Bob Diamond as chief executive andHSBC announcing its chairman is to go into government.

HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, said Stephen Green would stepdown to become trade and investment minister in Britain'scoalition government. A successor was not named.

HSBC said it had started a search for a replacement andexpects to approve one by the end of the year. The bank pridesitself on its succession strategy, but Tuesday's statement wasforced by reports that Green was set to leave.

Green, 62, joined HSBC in 1992 and was appointed chiefexecutive in 2003 before taking up the role of chairman in 2006.Another former banker, Mervyn Davies, was trade minister underthe Labour government which lost power in May, and the newgovernment has had difficulty replacing him.

Barclays, located a stone's throw away from HSBC in London'sCanary Wharf financial district, said Diamond will become chiefexecutive when John Varley steps down at the end of March.

Diamond has been credited with rebuilding its investmentbank since joining 14 years ago, earning headline-making bonusesin the process.

Varley said he wanted to move on when he turned 55, whichhappens the day after his planned departure. The handover to Diamond, who is 59 and missed out on the topjob when Varley took the helm six years ago, comes as nosurprise to industry analysts, who said it could increase itsfocus on its investment banking arm, Barclays Capital, thegroup's main source of profits in recent years.

Although the appointment puts the retail banking business inthe shade, there is unlikely to be any change in strategy awayfrom its universal banking model, the bank and analysts said.

"He's absolutely committed to making Barclays Capital theworld's number one investment bank. The unique selling point forBarclays is that they are a universal bank and they will lendand finance and source funding for your deal, and Bob has beenthe champion of that model," said Simon Maughan, analyst at MFGlobal.

HSBC SUCCESSOR?

Green's departure prompted speculation on who will replacehim.

Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan, who this year moved hisoffice from London to Hong Kong, is a candidate. So too areboard members John Thornton and Simon Robertson.

Geoghegan said in a statement: "For HSBC it is business asusual; I continue to run the company."

Media speculation swirled in May that Green would leave, buthe said at the time he was planning to stay at the helm for atleast another year.

But the bank said on Tuesday Prime Minister David Cameronhad invited Green to join his government. He will not be paidbut will become a Lord.

Barclays' Varley has also been tipped in media reports for agovernment job. But he said on Tuesday he had nothing new linedup and planned to spend more time on his charitable work.

He will remain as a senior advisor on regulatory matters atBarclays until October 2011.

BANK BREAK-UPS?

A UK Independent Commission on Banking is consideringwhether Barclays, HSBC and the other big UK banks should besplit up, to separate their riskier investment bankingbusinesses from retail lending.

If it forces a change after it reports back to the UKgovernment in a year's time, then Diamond could move the bank'sdomicile or move out with the investment bank, analysts said.

Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered have all threatened toleave Britain should a break-up be ordered.

Barclays shares closed down 2.7 percent at 314 pence,valuing it at 39 billion pounds, as dealers cited worries thatthe bank will shift its emphasis even further towards investmentbanking. HSBC's shares dipped 0.1 percent to 662.4p.

CHALLENGE

Diamond said there would be no change for strategy atBritain's third biggest bank, which avoided taking taxpayerbailout cash during the financial crisis and has emerged as oneof the relative winners.

"The biggest challenge is around execution, not strategy,"he told Reuters. "We know we have the right strategy andbusiness model and that's incredibly important for the next fiveto 10 years. There was a period leading up to the crisis whenmany bad models were making money, but that's not going to bethe case going forward.

Affable and charismatic, the Concord, Massachusetts-born sonof two teachers has built BarCap into one of the leading banksin debt markets and is attempting to take on Wall Streetpowerhouses such as Goldman Sachs by expanding into equities andadvisory, boosted by the takeover of the U.S. operations ofLehman Brothers two years ago.

Diamond will move back to London after spending most of histime in New York after the Lehman deal. He will become deputyCEO for a handover period from October.

Barclays said it took external help to look at othercandidates. "We did a thorough process and at the end of it Bobwas the standout candidate," Agius said.

Diamond's long-time lieutenants Jerry del Missier and RichRicci will take over as co-chief executives of BarCap fromOctober. Del Missier, who joined BarCap soon after Diamond, willbe based in New York, while Ricci who joined in 1994, will bebased in London. They were already co-chief executives forinvestment and corporate banking.

Part of the reason Diamond moved to New York is said to havebeen because of the intense scrutiny on his pay.

He has not taken a bonus in the last two years, but he waspaid 21 million pounds in 2007 and received 26 million poundslast year for shares from the sale of asset management arm.

As CEO his base salary will rise to 1.35 million pounds,topped up by an annual bonus of up to 3.4 million pounds and anannual long-term share incentive scheme worth 6.8 million in2011. (Additional reporting by Myles Neligan, Karolina Tagaris, KeithWeir and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

(Recasts with outcome of Basel meeting)

By Huw Jones

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Central bank and regulatoryofficials agreed tougher new global bank capital rules onTuesday but will keep investors on tenterhooks until Sunday whenformal endorsement is expected.

The Basel Committee ended its meeting with recommendationson how much extra capital banks will have to hold in future toavoid governments having to bail out the sector in the nextcrisis, a source familiar with the process said.

It also agreed arrangements for phasing in higher standardson the quality of capital banks must hold in future.

"The Basel Committee has said they are on track with theirdiscussions but there will be no announcement today," acommittee spokeswoman said without elaborating further.

The recommendations will be put to the Group of Governorsand Heads of Supervision, chaired by European Central BankPresident Jean-Claude Trichet, which meets in the Swiss town ofBasel on Sunday.

The so-called Basel III reform is the cornerstone of theworld's response to the financial crisis and endorsement byBasel's oversight body will pave the way for the G20 summit ofleaders in November to give their seal of approval.

Germany's Die Zeit newspaper reported on Monday evening thata draft of the finalised package showed banks will have to holdTier 1 capital of 9 percent, including a 3 percent so-called"conservation buffer".

At least 5 percent of Tier 1 would have to be in the form ofpure equity or retained earnings for maximum market shockabsorbency. The current Tier 1 ratio minimum is 4 percent, witha core pure equity minimum of 2 percent.

The leak sparked some skittishness in Europe's stock marketas investors refocused on how much capital banks may need toraise and how this might hit dividend payments.

ONEROUS END

Germany continued to press for more time to implement thechanges so its banks do not have to raise huge amounts ofcapital quickly.

"We want a tightening of the rules... (but) the financialsector must be in a position to continue to carry out itsbusiness," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.But Germany gave up trying to win blanket regulatoryrecognition for a form of non-voting bank capital known as"silent participations," widely used in the country'sstate-owned banking sector.

"That battle is hopeless," said one source familiar with thetalks, adding that the participations would no longer count ascore capital at joint-stock companies, while savings banks andlandesbanks without a joint-stock corporate structure would needto meet a raft of new requirements to use them.

Analysts and regulators have been expecting the new levelsunder Basel III to come in at around 6 percent for core Tier 1,with a conservation buffer of at least 2 percent.

Andrew Lim, an analyst at Matrix Group said the minimumratios outlined in the newspaper leak were at the more onerousend of what the market had been expecting once the additionalbuffers are added.

"This, we believe, is incrementally negative and is one ofthe reasons why the market is weak today," Lim added.

"Our analysis shows that BBVA, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo,Unicredit and Barclays would still be at risk of being in theconservation buffer even by year-end 2013," Lim said.

Any bank that failed to keep above the capital conservationbuffer would have to restrict payouts such as bonuses, dividendsand share buybacks.

Banking and regulatory sources confirmed the Die Zeitfigures but said it was unclear if the figures were final.

"If the new core minimum is 5 or 6 percent then that looksgood. A majority of European banks would be definitely abovethat level," said Antonio Ramirez of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

2013 DEADLINE

Analysts said much of the impact will hinge on what qualitycapital banks will be expected to hold in their conservation and"countercyclical" capital buffers that will sit on top ofminimum core levels.

The Group of 20 leading countries that had called on Baselto come up with tougher standards, agreed earlier this year thatits original end of 2012 deadline should include wiggle room forcountries to have more time to comply.

Sticking to 2013 would signal a tough stance by regulatorsafter the Basel Committee came in for criticism in July when itdiluted other elements of Basel III by delaying a new leverageratio and some of the tougher liquidity rules.

European bankers meet in Frankfurt this week to discusstheir response to the tougher regulation now looming. (Additional reporting by Alexander Huebner and Angelika Gruberin Frankfurt and Noriyuki Hirata in Tokyo; Editing by DavidCowell)

By Denny Thomas and Kate Holton

HONG KONG/LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Vodafone, the world'slargest telecom operator by revenue, launched the sale of its3.2 percent stake in China Mobile on Tuesday, sources withdirect knowledge of the process told Reuters.

The entire stake is worth $6.7 billion, based on ChinaMobile's last traded price, though it was unclear how much ofthe stake was on sale as of Tuesday.

Two people familiar with the matter said Vodafone could endup placing the whole of its stake.

The planned sale is part of Vodafone's strategy to exitnon-strategic investments which analysts and investors believehave hit the firm's overall value in recent years.

Vodafone declined to comment. China Mobile could not bereached.

People familiar with the matter said eight banks includingGoldman Sachs, UBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan,Morgan Stanley and HSBC were pitching to arrange the placing,managed by corporate adviser Rothschild.

The planned exit comes after Vodafone's lock-up period onthe China Mobile stake ended recently.

Vodafone has seen the value of its stake more than doublesince it purchased it in two tranches between 2000 and 2002 fora total of $3.25 billion.

China Mobile shares are up 12.5 percent in 2010 comparedwith a 2.2 percent fall in the broader Hong Kong Index.

And analysts had said it would be one of the easier minoritystakes for Vodafone to sell, compared with other possibledisposals such as its 44 percent stake in France's SFR and its45 percent holding in Verizon Wireless, which only have onepossible buyer each.

Despite China's position as the world's biggest mobilemarket, with nearly 800 million subscribers, growth for ChinaMobile and its competitors has also been slowing as revenue fromvoice calls declines amid increasing cellphone penetrationrates.

Vodafone said in July it was reconsidering its strategy onholding minority stakes in companies, prompting speculation itwould look to sell or spin off its stakes in operators incountries including France, the United States, Poland and China.

Senior bankers said Vodafone was not under pressure to sellassets to shore up its balance sheet or improve cashflow.

Its shares were flat at 159.7 pence at 1539 GMT after beingdown in earlier trading.

All of the banks either declined to comment or were notimmediately available for comment. (Additional reporting by Michael Flaherty, Victoria Howley andQuentin Webb; Editing by Will Waterman and David Cowell)

By Steve Slater

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - After 14 years at Barclays building up its investment bank into a Wall Street power, BobDiamond will have no fear that the last American chief executiveat the bank lasted just a day in the job.

Six years after previously missing out on the top job,Robert E. Diamond -- universally known as Bob -- was on Tuesdaynamed as the British group's new chief executive.

He will take over from John Varley at the end of March,after a six-month handover period.

The affable and charismatic Diamond, who at 59 is five yearsolder than Varley, is one of Europe's best paid bankers and alightning rod for criticism in Britain of the industry's big payawards.

That was one reason why the Concord, Massachusetts-born sonof two teachers might be happy to have spent much of his time inthe last two years in New York instead of London.

The power base of Barclays Capital shifted to New York afterthe opportunistic takeover of the U.S. operations of LehmanBrothers two years ago. That transformed BarCap, giving it theequities and advisory firepower for Diamond's ambition to takeon Wall Street powerhouses such as Goldman Sachs.

But Diamond will return to London as chief executive, givingthe avid sports fan and former football linebacker moreopportunities to watch London soccer team Chelsea instead of hisbeloved Boston Red Sox, Celtics and New England Patriot teams.

He often draws parallels between sports and business, andsays he runs a meritocracy and rewards success, touring thedealing room and talking to the players.

LECTURER TO BANK BOSS

Returning to London will also put Diamond back in the lineof fire over his pay.

Diamond has not taken a bonus in the last two years, but waspaid 21 million pounds in 2007 and received 26 million poundslast year after the sale of asset management arm BGI and ownsBarclays shares worth 30 million pounds. Earlier this year thethen senior government minister Peter Mandelson branded him the"unacceptable face" of banking.

But Diamond remains an Anglophile. After sealing the Lehmandeal, he is reported to have played "God Save the Queen" overthe tannoy of the bank's trading floor.

He told reporters on Tuesday he was honoured to get the toppost. "The opportunity for anyone to be CEO of Barclays, withits 300 years of history, in the environment we work in today istremendously motivating and challenging."

The only other American to take the helm at Barclays wasMike O'Neill, a little known former U.S. Marine who was namedCEO in February 1999. O'Neill's lucrative pay packet wascriticised at the time but a health scare meant he only attendedthe office for one day to unravel his contract.

Diamond has been the public face of BarCap since joining in1996 and is credited with reviving it from the ashes of Barclaysde Zoete Wedd (BZW) soon after arriving.

He became an investment banker almost by accident, onlyentering banking after two years as a lecturer in business atthe University of Connecticut.

Both his parents were teachers and he retains close links toeducation through charities -- his Diamond Family Foundationsupports Colby college in Maine.

After being attracted to bond trading he joined MorganStanley and moved up the ranks during 13 years there. Fouryears followed at Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), which heleft to join Barclays in 1996, reportedly after a row over his1995 bonus, to become head of BZW's Global Markets Division at atime when BZW was struggling to compete as a full-serviceinvestment bank.

A year later Diamond took over at the top of BarclaysCapital, the renamed rump of BZW after the decision was taken todispose of its equities and mergers and acquisitions (M&A)departments and concentrate instead on building up its debtmarkets and foreign exchange business.

Initially Diamond joined BZW on a two-year contract said tobe worth at least 5 million pounds ($8 million) plus perks tomake him one of Barclays' highest paid executives andimmediately set about building a new team with the help of acheque book described at the time by one market commentator as"so large it had to be delivered via parcel post".

Twelve years later Barclays was sufficiently confident ofDiamond's capabilities to buy at a knock-down price the U.S.business of Lehman Brothers, returning the group to equities andM&A work.

That made BarCap a "top tier" investment bank, and Diamondtold Reuters on Tuesday group strategy will continue along thepath it is already on.

"You're going to see a more balanced group but a group thatis like the Barclays of today -- that's a very well respectedglobal universal bank. I think the biggest challenge is aroundexecution, not strategy," he said.

After missing out to Varley for the top job at Barclays in2003 he was linked with other top bank jobs but stayed with theBritish bank despite persistent media speculation that he didnot get on with Varley.

"We have a great relationship and I'm wondering what youguys are going to do after April when you can no longer ask howJohn and Bob are getting along," Diamond said.

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The deluge of new bonds in the investment-grade corporate bond market is growing as Hospira Inc. (HSP) offers a $500 million 30-year bond on Tuesday.

So far, bonds valued at over $6 billion have been issued on Tuesday alone. This exceeds the total volume issued in September last year, when bonds worth $5.35 billion were sold, according to data provider Dealogic.

The heightened issuance is a result of low interest rates and investor appetite for high-quality bonds as they put their money to work.

Among the issuers are Aon Corp. (AON) and International CCS with $1 billion notes each, Dell Inc. (DELL) with a $1.5 billion bond, Medco Health (MHS) with a $1 billion two-part note and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) with a $500 million note.

Dell's $1.5 billion three-part note has maturities of three, five and 30 years. Joint leads on the deal are Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The use of proceeds is listed as general corporate purposes and the bond is expected to price on Tuesday.

MetroPCS Wireless, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), is in the market with a $500 million registered senior note due 2018.

The joint bookrunning managers are J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and the co-manager is Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.

Also on Tuesday, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) is in the market with a benchmark three-year note, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The bond, rated Aa2/A+/AA-, is jointly led by Barclays Capital, Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and CIBC.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, as per the term sheet. Pricing could be as early as Tuesday.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe is in the market with a $500 million two-part note.

Health Care Reit Inc. (HCN) is also in the market with a $400 million 7-year note, according to a term sheet. Joint leads on the note, rated Baa2/BBB-/BBB, are Barclays, J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS.

Other bonds expected to be issued Tuesday include those from Home Depot Inc. (HD) and France Telecom (FTE).

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

By Nina Chestney

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - NYSE Euronext and environmentalmarkets infrastructure provider APX Inc. will create a jointventure, NYSE Blue, to develop global environmental markets, thecompanies said on Tuesday.

"The intention is to create other exchanges in other partsof the market. NYSE Blue will operate as one single companyaround the world and the trading infrastructure will be linked,"Brian Storms, who will become NYSE Blue's chief executive whenthe deal is cleared, told Reuters in an interview.

NYSE Blue will focus on environmental commodities related tocarbon emissions and renewable energy trading but it also seespotential for new types of trading around energy efficiency andwater.

Storms, who is currently the chairman and CEO of APX, wouldnot comment on the value of the joint venture.

NYSE Euronext shares in Paris rose 0.76 percent to 23.20euros at 1429 GMT.

U.S.-based financial markets operator NYSE Euronext saidearlier it would contribute its 60 percent shareholding inFrench emissions exchange BlueNext and be the majority owner ofNYSE Blue.

Shareholders in APX Inc., including Goldman Sachs,MissionPoint Capital Partners and ONSET Ventures will take aminority stake in NYSE Blue in return for their shares in APX.

NYSE Blue will try to attract "important and strategic"investors into the new company, Storms said.

It will offer services such as pre-trade and post-tradeplatforms, environmental registry services, markets referencedata and the BlueNext spot emissions platform.

The companies expect the transaction to close by the end ofthis year, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

EXPANSION

Storms said environmental markets will grow in North Americaand Asia, even though legislation for a federal U.S.cap-and-trade scheme and global climate pact talks have stalled.

"We are very mindful of the pace environmental markets aredeveloping," said Storms.

"This is a critical marketplace. Over time, policies will berationalised and we want be in a position to help influencethose outcomes and be a major participant when they do develop,"Storms said.

Privately-owned APX Inc. provides infrastructure forenvironmental commodities and energy markets. It has a strongpresence in the U.S. renewable energy certificate market and theglobal voluntary carbon market.

APX may change its name eventually, but its current serviceswill continue under the new joint venture, Storms said.

NYSE EuroNext has a 60 percent stake in Paris-basedBlueNext, while French state-owned bank Caisse des Depots holdsthe remaining 40 percent.

BlueNext is the main marketplace for spot trading inEuropean Union carbon permits under the bloc's $100 billionemissions trading scheme.

"BlueNext will continue to intensely focus on its corebusiness in Europe," Storms said.

He denied that the joint venture was formed in response toNYSE's main U.S. rival Nasdax OMX's purchase of Nordic powerexchange Nord Pool ASA in March.

"It was a reaction to the market, not an individualcompetitor. We believe the two companies will enjoy competitiveadvantages which they wouldn't have enjoyed separately." (Reporting by Nina Chestney; editing by Anthony Barker)

By Saeed Azhar

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China's state-owned chemicalsgroup Sinochem Corp has approached Singapore state investorTemasek to join a consortium that may bid for Canada's PotashCorp, sources with knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

The move appeared to underpin Reuters reports that Chineseofficials had ordered state companies to meet investment bankersto explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion bid forPotash Corp.

Potash Corp, based in the western Canadian province ofSaskatchewan, is facing a $130-a-share hostile takeover bid fromBHP, the world's largest miner.

Potash, the world's No. 1 potash producer, has rejected theoffer as "grossly inadequate".

Temasek, which manages $134 billion in assets, has beenapproached, one of the sources told Reuters, but added it hadmade no decision on whether it will join the consortium.

It was unclear if this potential consortium will bid to buya blocking stake or make a full counter offer.

But given the experience the Chinese had with Rio Tinto, ablocking stake is unlikely and it will be a full bid if ithappens, according to a source familiar with the matter.

"The consortium is coming along, but the situation is stillfluid," said the source.

Rio last year scrapped a $19.5 billion tie-up with Chinesestate-owned metals group Chinalco, sparking a falling-out whichbruised Sino-Australian ties.

Chinalco had teamed up with U.S. aluminium producer AlcoaInc to pick up a 9 percent stake in Rio Tinto and become theminer's biggest single shareholder.

The move forced BHP to raise an all-share offer for Rio whenit went hostile. In the end BHP scrapped its bid due to theglobal economic slump and Rio's $40 billion debt pile, and neverhad to resolve how it would deal with Chinalco.

BEHIND THE SCENES

An Asia-based resources banker said it is going to be verydifficult for a Sinochem-led consortium to succeed in anapproach for Potash Corp because of political opposition inCanada.

The consortium might need to bring in international playersto make the bid more legitimate.

The banker said other global diversified miners are alsosearching for potential options behind the scenes.

Temasek, which had high exposure to banks at the start ofthe credit crisis, has been diversifying its portfolio withinvestments in miners and energy companies.

Earlier this year it agreed to buy $500 million worth ofnon-voting convertible preferred shares in Chesapeake EnergyCorp and later invested more..

The state investor also bought securities worth C$500million ($483 million) in Inmet Mining and $50 million inPlatmin Ltd this year.

A Temasek spokesman declined to comment and Sinochem was notimmediately available to comment.

The sources declined to be identified because the talks arenot public. (Additional reporting by Denny Thomas and Joseph Chaney in HongKong; Editing by David Cowell)

SINGAPORE -(Dow Jones)- Singapore state investment company Temasek Holdings has been approached by Sinochem Corp. for a potential bid for Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT.T) but it has made no decision yet on whether it would join a bidding consortium, a person familiar with the situation said Tuesday.

"They (Temasek) have been approached by Sinochem to participate in a bidding consortium that might also include private sector companies," the person said. "But it's very premature, talks are in early stages. No decision has been taken yet. It will become more clear within the next two weeks or so."

Potash is the target of a $39 billion takeover bid by Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU).

BHP made a hostile $130-a-share bid last month, but Potash's board rejected the offer as too low and said it is fielding inquiries from other potential suitors. Chinese companies, including state-owned Sinochem and a group led by private-equity firm Hopu Investment Management Co. have been looking into investment options, people familiar with the situation have told The Wall Street Journal.

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The deluge of new bonds in the investment-grade corporate bond market is growing as Medco Health Solutions Inc. (MHS) offers a $1 billion two-part note Tuesday.

The heightened issuance is a result of low interest rates and investors' quest for avenues to put their money to work. So far, bonds valued at about $6 billion have been issued on Tuesday alone. This exceeds the total volume issued in September last year, when bonds worth $5.35 billion were sold, according to data provider Dealogic.

Among the issuers are Aon Corp. (AON) and International CCS with $1 billion notes each, Dell Inc. (DELL) with a $1.5 billion bond and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (BNI) with a $500 million note.

Also, Tuesday, Dell is in the market with a $1.5 billion three-part note, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The bond has maturities of three, five and 30 years.

Joint leads on the deal are Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The use of proceeds is listed as general corporate purposes and the bond is expected to price Tuesday.

MetroPCS Wireless, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (PCS) is in the market with a $500 million registered senior note due 2018.

The joint bookrunning managers are J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., and the co-manager is Wells Fargo Securities LLC.

Also Tuesday, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) is in the market with a benchmark three-year note, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The bond, rated Aa2/A+/AA-, is jointly led by Barclays Capital, Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and CIBC.

Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, as per the term sheet. Pricing could be as early as Tuesday.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe is in the market with a $500 million two-part note.

Health Care Reit Inc. (HCN) is also in the market with a $400 million 7-year note, according to a term sheet. Joint leads on the note, rated Baa2/BBB-/BBB, are Barclays, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and UBS.

Other bonds expected to be issued Tuesday include those from Home Depot Inc. (HD) and France Telecom (FTE).

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Treasury Department said it intends to sell warrants in Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) and Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) that it got as part of a bailout of the two insurers.

Treasury will auction the warrants over the next several weeks. When the auction is completed, the two insurers will be completely free from the government's Trouble Asset Relief Program, which allowed Treasury to give cash infusions to financial firms amid the height of the financial crisis in exchange for ownership stakes in the companies.

Treasury has 52.1 million warrants in Hartford and 13 million in Lincoln.

Linus Wilson, an assistant professor of finance at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, said the Hartford warrants were worth about $777 million, or $14.92 a share, while Lincoln's were worth about $258 million, or $19.76 a share, as of last week.

The warrants in the two insurers are among Treasury's "most valuable holdings," Wilson said. "I was surprised that the U.S. Treasury waited so long to auction these holdings. These are deep in the money warrants that could be exercised today for a profit. I believe investors will be eager to buy these insurers' warrants."

The strike price on the Hartford warrants is $9.79, with an expiration date of June 26, 2019. The strike price on the Lincoln warrants is $10.92, with an expiration date of July 10, 2019. Hartford's shares fell 3.7% to $21.68 on the news in morning trading, while Lincoln's stock dropped 5.2% to $24.74.

Wilson's valuation uses the strike price, the current stock price, and the volatility of the shares, among other inputs.

While hundreds of banks got federal help, just three insurers received money under the TARP program. Hartford, which got a $3.4 billion bailout, and Lincoln, with $950 million in federal help, already repurchased the government's preferred shares that were the other condition of the rescue. The third insurer, American International Group Inc. (AIG), still owes $49 billion that it got under TARP as part of a broader bailout.

Some firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), elected to buy the warrants back from Treasury directly to forestall the government's plans to auction them off.

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

By John O'Donnell

BRUSSELS, Sept 7 (Reuters) - European Union financeministers agreed on Tuesday to a sweeping overhaul of how thebloc's financial industry is policed, but remained locked indispute over the taxation of banking and trading.

Three years after the start of a financial and economiccrisis, some have grown frustrated by Europe's slow pace ofreform in its financial sector, held up by indecision anddisputes among the bloc's 27 countries.

On Tuesday, they announced a rare breakthrough with a dealto set up pan-European watchdogs at the start of next year tooversee banking, insurers and markets despite concerns in Londonthat the new agencies would undermine its national regulators.

The reform, labelled historic by some experts, establishesthree financial sheriffs who can overrule national agencies likeBritain's Financial Services Authority.

But the region's economic leaders failed to resolve a rowabout how to impose levies on banks. Although most Europeanpoliticians want to tax banks more, they remain at loggerheadsover what should be done with the money.

The European Union's executive in Brussels would likecountries to use some money from bank levies to go to emergencyfunds that could be used to shore up flagging banks.

On Tuesday, Britain made clear it would not accept any suchorder from the European Commission.

"It is up to national governments and parliaments to decidewhat should happen to the revenues from those (bank) levies,"said George Osborne, the British finance minister, adding thatBritain had "plenty of allies" on this issue. "There is a significant body of opposition at (the meetingof finance ministers) to a European resolution fund."

SOCIAL JUSTICE

European leaders are also divided over whether to startimposing a tax on financial transactions such as the buying andselling of shares.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble appealed for sucha charge, which he said would be socially fair. "It is aquestion of social justice, the acceptance by society of such asystem."

But Osborne, whose finance ministry would likely stand togain most from such a tax because of London's big financialcentre, threw cold water on the idea.

Osborne said it was difficult to see how such a transactiontax could be made to operate in a world in which "financialactivity can move very quickly ... outside the European Union." "Our efforts would be more fruitfully directed at the G20(Group of 20 major economies) level and the European level toother pressing issues in the world economy," he said.

France, which has said it would support such a tax if othersaround the globe follow, signalled flagging support for such ascheme.

"It is technically feasible, practically difficult,politically desirable and financially uncertain," said FrenchFinance Minister Christine Lagarde.

These divisions, coupled with a reluctance internationallyto implement similar measures, are likely to scupper anyagreement.

Sweden, whose own attempt to tax financial deals backfiredwhen trading moved abroad, warned at the meeting againstrepeating that mistake.

"We don't want to see a new transaction tax," FinanceMinister Anders Borg said. "The banking levy is more suitable asit would bring us revenue to deal with future crises."

To read a Q+A on whether the EU will agree on taxing banksmore after the crisis, double click on

To read how EU watchdogs will change policing of banks,double click on

SINGAPORE (Dow Jones) DBS Bank Ltd. sold US$1 billion in five-year bonds on healthy demand Tuesday, marking the first overseas senior note bond by a Singapore bank.

Southeast Asia's largest bank by assets priced debt to yield 100 basis points over five-year U.S. Treasurys, at the tight end of the 100- to 105-basis-point price guidance it offered earlier in the one-day launch, said people familiar with the deal.

The sale is part of DBS's US$10 billion debt program. DBS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital are joint bookrunners.

Singapore companies, especially those like DBS that are linked to state-investment company Temasek Holdings (TEMAH.YY), have been aggressive in the bond market this year.

Temasek unit PSA International Pte. Ltd. sold US$500 million in 10.5-year bonds last month. Temasek itself tapped the international bond market this year, raising GBP700 million, its first sterling-denominated bonds. The investment fund has previously sold 10- and 30-year U.S. dollar bonds.

DBS wanted to raise the funds to ease a "very high" U.S. dollar loan-to-deposit ratio and better match the currencies and maturities of its assets and liabilities, J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note to clients.

DBS Bank has a Aa1 rating by Moody's, AA- by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

SAN FRANCISCO -- Canadian stocks fell on Tuesday as re-emerging concerns about European debt prompted investors to sell metals and financial shares. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 0.4% to 12,097.40 points. Energy and technology sectors also declined while materials and consumer staples stocks helped to offset some of the market's losses. Teck Resources led the slide, falling 3.2% and Manulife Financial Corp. shed nearly 3%.

Copyright © 2010 MarketWatch, Inc.

BOSTON -- The iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund was down about 1% in early U.S. trading Tuesday following news the Australian Labor Party has secured enough seats to form a minority government. Also Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia kept its policy interest rate unchanged as expected.

Copyright © 2010 MarketWatch, Inc.

* Brother of first vice-president subject to asset freeze (Adds details, background, paragraphs 1-2, 5)

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Afghanistan has frozen the assetsof leading shareholders and borrowers at Kabulbank, officialssaid on Tuesday, throwing graft-riddled Afghanistan's topprivate bank into crisis and sparking long queues of anxiousinvestors.

Afghanistan is one of the world's most corrupt countriesand President Hamid Karzai's seeming inability to attack graftwill be a major issue at a Sept. 18 parliamentary election. TheUnited Nations estimates graft costs Afghans $2.5 billion ayear.

The central bank on Monday ordered frozen the assets ofKabulbank's former chairman, Sher Khan Farnood, and chiefexecutive officer, Khalilullah Fruzi, together with those ofseveral other shareholders and major borrowers.

"This basically stops the sale of their assets until thesituation becomes clear," said Aimal Hashoor, the centralbank's spokesman.

Corruption is one of the most common complaints fromordinary Afghans and Washington fears widespread graft isboosting the Taliban-led insurgency and complicating efforts tostrengthen central government control so U.S. and other foreigntroops can begin withdrawing.

Last week, U.S. media reported the central bank had takencontrol of Kabulbank, forcing Farnood and Fruzi to resign andordering the chairman to hand over $160 million worth of luxuryvillas bought with bank funds in Dubai.

The Afghan government and the central bank governor haveboth rejected the allegations, denying that the central bankhad stepped in and saying Farnood and Fruzi had stepped asidein line with new financial regulations.

The allegations sent jittery customers rushing to the bankslast week, although queues eased at the weekend.

Long lines formed again on Tuesday as customers queued,sometimes for several hours, to withdraw funds before athree-day holiday to mark the end of the Muslim fasting monthof Ramadan.

"I've been sweating in the sun for three hours," Abdullah,a Kabul man in his 40s, said as he rested on a walking stick.

"I can't afford to waste any more time. I will have to comeback tomorrow."

There were no complaints from customers at two Kabulbankbranches in the capital about not being able to withdraw money.

PRESIDENT'S BROTHER A SHAREHOLDER

Farnood and Fruzi both own a 28 percent stake in Kabulbank.

Karzai and Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, seeking toavert a run on the bank, both said the pair stepped downbecause of new banking rules forbidding shareholders fromholding senior management positions at the bank.

One of Karzai's brothers and the brother of one of his twovice presidents are also major shareholders at Kabulbank, whosecustomers include about 250,000 state employees.

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saidMahmoud Karzai, the president's brother, was not subject to thecentral bank's asset freeze because he does not have propertyregistered in his name. However, he said Mohammad Haseen, thebrother of First Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim, was amongthem.

Last week, U.S. officials said the Treasury Department hadsent a team to Kabul and that it supported the Afghan CentralBank's action in response to reports of fraud at Kabulbank.

But the official said the United States was not taking anysteps to recapitalise Kabulbank. (Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Paul Tait and DavidFox)

BRUSSELS -(Dow Jones)- European Union finance ministers Tuesday neared agreement on plans for stronger sanctions against countries that violate the bloc's budget rules and closer scrutiny of total national debt levels, in a bid to prevent a repeat of this year's sovereign debt crisis.

But the governments are still divided over the issues of taxing banks and taxing financial transactions, EU officials and finance ministers said after their monthly meeting Tuesday.

"I must confess there is no unanimity at the moment on the details," said Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders.

Reynders chaired the meeting, since Belgium is president of the EU until the end of this year.

France and Germany support the financial transaction tax, but the U.K., Sweden and others are opposed. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in his "state of the union" speech to the European Parliament Tuesday that he supports a tax on "financial activities."

But even advocates of the tax acknowledge the significant technical challenges associated with implementing it, particularly if the U.S. and other major financial centers are opposed.

"It is technically feasible, practically difficult, politically desirable and financially unpredictable," French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said after the meeting.

The commission will publish a paper in October on the financial transaction tax to understand better the policy's risks, EU Tax Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said.

"Now we have to work on possible solutions to mitigate these risks," Semeta added.

The U.K., however, is staunchly opposed.

"It is very difficult to see how in practice you could make a [financial] transactions tax operate in a world in which capital markets and financial activity can move very quickly to jurisdictions outside the European Union," said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Also controversial was the idea of a bank levy. The commission wants an EU law requiring nations to tax their banks and stash away the money in a nationally-administered fund that could be used to unwind a failing bank without drawing on taxpayer money.

Most governments support a levy on banks--some already have one in place -- but there is significant disagreement on how revenue from the levy should be used. A few countries, such as Sweden, support the commission's position that the money should be reserved for minimizing the damage of a bank failure, but the U.K. and France both say the money should be available to fund general spending, particularly now when many EU countries are running large budget deficits.

The governments agreed on a number of other issues, as the EU continues its lengthy response to the economic crisis of 2008 and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis, in which euro-zone member Greece came near to defaulting on its debt.

The European Commission has proposed that the penalties for violating budget rules should be "semiautomatic" and that tougher limits should be imposed on overall debt levels, rather than annual budget deficits.

According to European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn, both proposals "gather a large consensus" among EU members.

The commission will propose that any sanctions it seeks against an EU government should apply automatically unless a super-majority of governments at the European Council disagree, Rehn said.

"[This] is an indispensable part of the new economic governance architecture," he said.

The finance ministers backed a plan that will give EU institutions the power to review national budgets before they are approved by national parliaments. And the ministers formally approved a new EU system of financial supervision that will create three new regulatory bodies, one each for the region's banks, securities firms and insurance companies.

matthew.dalton@dowjones.com

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

British stocks dropped on Tuesday, breaking their multisession winning streak, as shares of Barclays PLC came under selling pressure after the banking giant announced the appointment of a new chief executive.

The mining sector also posted losses after Australia's Labor Party was able to form a minority government, escalating worries that a proposed tax on resource companies would be implemented.

The FTSE 100 index fell 0.9% to 5,392.42 points in afternoon trading. It gained 0.2% in the previous session.

"If you look at the rally the market has had over the last 10 days or so, we've had a very strong and aggressive rally and there will always be some profit-taking," said Adam Stark, director of trading at Central Markets in London.

Shares of Barclays dropped 3.1%, making the bank one of the top decliners in the main index.

Barclays announced that Robert Diamond will become its new group chief executive starting early next year. He will succeed John Varley, who has been at the helm since 2004.

"Clients aren't that impressed with that [Diamond's] appointment," Stark said. "That has caused a sell-off across the other banks as well."

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC fell 2.2% and those of Royal Bank of Scotland Group slipped 2%.

The broader decline for the U.K. banking sector came as European lenders also lost ground amid worries about how regulators will implement new capital requirements.

Shares of HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) bucked the negative trend, trading little changed. HSBC said that Chairman Stephen Green will step down from his post to become the U.K.'s minister of state for trade and investment.

Also in the financial sector, shares of investment-management firm Man Group PLC fell 3.8%, hit by concerns that August was a difficult month for fund managers.

In the telecommunications sector, shares of Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC dropped 3.8%. They had gained in the previous session following a media report that Singapore Telecoms is considering a bid for the firm.

Miners fall as Australia forms government

The Australian Labor Party on Tuesday gained enough seats to form a minority government, ending several weeks of political limbo triggered by an inconclusive election.

"Before the market opened, we had the appointment of the new Australian government," said Stark from Central Markets. "One of their major points is introducing tax plans on the mining companies. That has caused a selloff in the miners today."

Shares of Vedanta Resources PLC slipped 1.4% and Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. fell 2.3%. Rio Tinto PLC declined 2.3%.

Shares of U.K. online grocer Ocado Group PLC tumbled 6.2%, even as it reported a 30% increase in quarterly sales. The firm recently went public in a troubled initial offering.

In other trading, shares of Whitbread PLC fell 0.6%. The U.K. hotel and restaurant group said its total group sales rose 14% in the 24 weeks to Aug. 19.

Shares of U.K. tour operator TUI Travel PLC dropped 1.5%. Goldman Sachs cut its rating on the stock to neutral from buy, saying it sees better value elsewhere in the sector.

Bucking the negative trend, shares of Tullow Oil rose 2.4%, as rumors swirled in the market that the firm may become the subject of a takeover bid.

Copyright © 2010 Dow Jones Newswires

We’ve grown fairly accustomed to seeing announcements from state attorneys general about how sore their hands are from slapping around debt collection agencies and debt buyers.

Well, here’s another one to add to the list: “Attorney General McGraw Reaches Settlement with Out-of-State Debt Collectors…” That announcement came from West Virginia AG Darrell McGraw. He put the press release up on his site Friday afternoon. Yes, the Friday before a long holiday weekend.

Why, I wondered, is a state AG burying such a juicy announcement? After all, every time a state AG sues or settles with a debt collector, an angel gets its wings. It should be bigger news, right?

Reading the press release reveals why everyone at the West Virginia AG’s office decided it would be a good idea to just give this one a cursory release. There is no story here.

Apparently, a consumer in the Mountain State had complained to McGraw’s office that his “credit card account had been sold so many times he could no longer identify who the creditor was.” So McGraw’s office launched an investigation. They learned that a debt buyer from Texas had bought some accounts belonging to WV residents and then had assigned those accounts to be collected by a debt collection company in Kansas.

The two companies’ biggest crime? Not being licensed to collect debt in West Virginia. So McGraw’s office “settled” with the companies for $1,000 each and the letter was signed with a promise to become licensed should the ARM firms need to call on delinquent West Virginia consumers.

And that’s it. Literally. There were no other accusations at all in the three paragraph press release. No claims of harassment or FDCPA violations; just the licensing issue. But this was still such a big deal that the AG’s office felt it warranted a press announcement. And you’ll see that press announcement in the news today on many other sites, I’m sure.

But there is a little more to the story. We could rail on McGraw for hyping up a non-story just to stay in front of his constituency. But he’s a politician, and that’s what they do. The more disturbing part of the story comes from the last paragraph of the announcement. According to the AG’s office, the debt buyer “agreed to cancel the outstanding balances of West Virginia consumers whose debts it had previously assigned for collection.”

That’s crazy. McGraw is using a licensing issue to help consumers in his state avoid paying their obligations. This is where I insert the earnest caveat that all ARM companies need to go the extra mile to ensure they are fully licensed and bonded, where required, to collect in any state in which they do business. This is actually very, very important. But for the highest law enforcement officer in a state to compel a company to simply throw away one of its capital assets is beyond the pale.

Remember: state attorneys general are not infallible. They generally have the law on their side, and most genuinely have the interests of their citizens at the tops of their minds. But they overstep their bounds, as well.

The attorney general in Missouri recently learned that he couldn’t just sue an ARM firm for anything and everything, “Judge Throws Out State AG Case Against Debt Buyer,” June 30). But their announcements carry a lot of weight. When the media sees a headline of “so-and-so AG settles with evil debt collector,” a Pavlovian response kicks in, and the old tired narratives are trotted out once more.

We as an industry must get better at nuance. We have to do a better job of explaining when there’s a “there” there in legal action announcements, and when there isn’t.

 

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ALBANY, N.Y., Sept. 2 -- The Albany Water Board and the City of Albany Department of Water and Water Supply hereby requests proposals from qualified firms to provide collection services applicable to unpaid and delinquent accounts.

The Albany Water Board, a New York State Public Authority, operates and maintains the City of Albany water, sanitary, stormwater and combined sewer collection systems. Minority Business Enterprises and Women's Business Enterprises are encouraged to submit proposals.

***ORIGINAL DEADLINE TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS HAS BEEN EXTENDED FROM SEPTEMBER 7, 2010 TO OCTOBER 1, 2010 BY 2:00 P.M. Further, an addendum to the RFP will be posted on the City of Albany website on or before September 10, 2010. The addendum will answer all vendor questions submitted to date.

To download a copy of the RFP, please click here: http://www.albanyny.org/Files/RFPCollectionAgencyServices2010.pdf.

 

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Hamburg, Germany – Despite the international financial and economic crisis, in 2009/10 EOS Consolidated achieved a result slightly higher than the previous year’s figure: earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 61.6 million in the financial year 2009/10 – compared with EUR 61.1 million in 2008/09. Consolidated sales generated by the international provider of receivables management, marketing and risk information, and payment services increased by EUR 16.7 million to a total of EUR 314.0 million. This represents a growth rate of 5.6 per cent. Hans-Werner Scherer, Chairman of the EOS Group’s Board of Directors, comments: ‘The quality of our services – even in more demanding circumstances – has convinced our clients so far. We will continue to focus on this aspect.’

The sales of EOS Consolidated on the German market rose by 1.7 per cent, from EUR 180.7 million in the past year to their current level of EUR 183.7 million. Germany’s share of aggregate sales was 58.5 per cent (60.7 per cent in 2008/09).

In the previous financial year, EOS Consolidated continued to grow in the Western European markets. The increase of 18.4 per cent in sales, taking them to EUR 55.2 million (EUR 46.6 million in 2009/2010), results above all from the 100 % acquisition of EOS Acción de Cobro España S.A. from the Spanish Banco Pastor Group in September 2009. The Belgian company and the three Swiss companies also made positive contributions to sales.

In Eastern Europe, the effects of the financial crisis are evident. While previous financial years were shaped by dynamic growth, sales at the Eastern European EOS companies fell by 9.2 per cent to EUR 35.2 million (EUR 38.8 million in 2008/2009) due to the difficult economic circumstances.

EOS Consolidated bucked the difficult overall economic trend on the US market and significantly strengthened its solid competitive position – amongst others due to acquisitions –, increasing its sales by 26.0 per cent to some EUR 39.2 million in the process.

Growth will continue to define the EOS strategy in future. While it expects to see a continuation of solid development in Germany, Western Europe and the US, it is anticipating significant improvements in profits in Eastern Europe. EOS remains true to its goal of attaining or maintaining a top-three position in all relevant countries over the next few years.

For more information, please refer to the current issue of our annual publication ‘EOS Insights’, which can be downloaded at www.eos-solutions.com/insights

The EOS Group
The EOS Group, an Otto Group subsidiary, is a leading international provider of tailor-made services covering the entire life cycle of a customer relationship – from customer acquisition to electronic payment processing, debt collection and purchase of receivables portfolios. The core business is receivables management. EOS is committed to high standards of debt collection to protect creditors and consumers. With over 5000 employees, EOS serves its 20,000 customers in more than 20 countries worldwide through over 40 subsidiaries. More information: www.eos-solutions.com

 

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