The Vancouver-based company provides a range of investment products, brokerage and investment banking services to institutional and corporate clients.

Canaccord posted a net loss of $31.8 million, or 42 cents per share, on $177.7 million in sales for the three months that ended March 31.

That compared with a profit of $41.3 million, or 49 cents per share, on sales of $247.5 million, a year-prior.
Stripping out a $41.2 million in special charges, the company earned $2.1 million, or two cents a share, versus $42.3 million, or 50 cents a share, a year ago.

In the latest quarter, Canaccord reported $29 million in restructuring costs, $10.4 million related to its Collins Stewart Hawkpoint acquisition, and a $1.8 million expense due to amortization and intangible assets. This amounted to $33.9 million after tax.

Last year, Canaccord said it was buying British broker and advisory group Collins Stewart Hawkpoint for $397 million, expanding its footprint in Europe.

On average, analysts had expected a per-share profit of 13 cents, on sales of $158 million, according to Bloomberg.

The company’s capital markets unit, Canaccord Genuity, led or co-led 25 transactions globally, raising total proceeds of $919.1 million. It also took part in another 84 transactions globally, and raised total proceeds of $2 billion.

Canaccord Genuity generated advisory revenue of $24.6 million in the fourth quarter, a decline of 4.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

Its wealth management business posted $54.5 million in revenue. Assets under administration slipped 13 percent to $14.8 billion from $17 billion.

The company’s book value slipped six percent to $8.26 per share from $8.79 per share. Cash and equivalents also fell to $814.2 million from $954.1 million in 2011.

The company’s board approved a quarterly dividend of 10 cents per share, which will be paid on June 15, 2012, to shareholders on record as of June 1.

Its stock closed Tuesday at $6.57 each on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Earlier this month, JPMorgan said it had lost at least $2-billion on trades tied to credit derivatives - a loss which claimed the job of chief investment officer Ina Drew.

JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon cited "errors" and "bad judgment" in trades meant to hedge risk and said the losses could deepen this quarter and beyond.

The bank now expects to lose $800 million within the corporate/private equity segment, down from prior guidance of net income of $200 million.

SEC chair Mary Schapiro told the Senate banking Committee on Tuesday that the SEC's probe will focus on the accuracy of the firm's first quarter financial statements.

The SEC did not have direct oversight of the trades as they occurred outside of the regulated brokerage.

However, had the final rules under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law been in place, the SEC would have had better knowledge of what led to JPMorgan's losses, Schapiro said, including the trading desk and the trader. The dealer also would have been registered. 

"As the leader in delivering mobile financial services innovations in Canada, we are pleased to introduce yet another innovation in the market that will shape the payments experience of the future," said senior executive VP, retail and business banking of CIBC, David Williamson.

"By teaming with Rogers, CIBC clients will soon enjoy the convenience of paying at the checkout with their mobile device while enjoying the existing benefits of their CIBC credit card, including loyalty rewards."

The Rogers "Near Field Communications" (NFC)-enabled smartphone will contain a secure SIM card tucked within that will store the credit or debit information.

Paying with a NFC-enabled smartphone will be as secure as using a contactless credit card, the type of credit card that can be waved in front of a reader at checkout instead of swiped.

The smartphone will contain multiple layers of security such as secure encryption technology, fraud protection, and an option to set up password protection, the partners said.

The new service will give complete access on the smartphone to an existing CIBC credit card at no extra cost, whether Visa or Mastercard, allowing customers the opportunity of earning loyalty points on purchases.

CIBC is the first bank to strike a deal with a wireless carrier, a pairing that is expected to act as a catalyst for several partnerships as digital wallet techology grows to become the norm.

CIBC was also the first bank in Canada to launch a mobile banking app in 2010, as well as the first bank in Canada to deliver an app allowing clients to trade stocks on their mobile devices.

This digital wallet technology will be available on select BlackBerry smartphones on the Rogers wireless network when it launches later in 2012.

Many retailers across Canada will have the capability to accept this form of contactless credit card payment in accordance with the launch of the device, CIBC said. The data loaded onto the phone will send a signal to a small receiver near the cash register at these participating retailers.

Small payments will be processed almost instantaneously, while payments of about $50 or more will be password protected.

"Canadians are embracing new technologies at an accelerated pace and we know they're interested in using their smartphone for mobile payments," said Rogers president of communications Rob Bruce.

"Today's announcement with CIBC represents an important first step toward a whole new world of mobile transactions which is a key growth area for the company."

Mastercard's Mobile Payments Readiness Index positions Canada ahead of the US, and is ranked second of 34 countries in total.

Partnerships among financial institutions, payment networks, telcos, governments, technology providers, and other key players of mobile banking will be key to accelerating the commercialization of the technology.

The new mobile payment service follows the guidelines announced Monday by the Canadian Bankers Association for mobile payments in Canada, including rules concerning the secure handling of customer information during a mobile transaction.

Shares of CIBC were changing hands at $71.58 Tuesday afternoon, with Rogers’ shares up 1.41 percent at $36.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders for the three-month period that ended March 31 were $264 million or $0.57 per share, compared with $216 million or $0.47 per share, in the corresponding period in 2011.

The company benefited from a $30 million gain realized by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert on the partial sale of wine and spirits producer Pernod Ricard shares, and $28 million on the disposal of shares of Arkema, a French chemicals producer.

Revenue totalled $7.22 billion, up slightly from $7.03 billion.

Shares rose two cents, or 0.08 percent reaching $24.54 each in trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified management and holding company that holds interests, directly or indirectly, in companies that are active in the financial services, communications and other business sectors.

In the latest quarter, subsidiaries contributed $244 million to operating earnings, the company said.  That is down by 1.6 percent from $248 million a year-earlier.

The company’s subsidiary, Power Financial – whose primary business is insurance and mutual funds – netted net profits attributable to common shareholders of $455 million, or 64 cents per share, up from the $370 million, or 52 cents a share, in 2011.

Power Corp.’s board also declared a quarterly dividend of 29 cents per share on participating preferred and subordinating voting shares. The payout will be given to shareholders on June 29.

Many post-crisis rules governing risk-taking by banks are still being written.

Among them is the so-called Volcker rule, which would block banks from trading for their own profit, a practice known as proprietary trading.

The company also announced on Tuesday that Bernstein Liebhard LLP has launched a securities class action lawsuit on behalf of a class of purchasers of JP Morgan Chase & Co common stock during the period between April 13, 2012 and May 11, 2012.

Plaintiffs are seeking recover damages on behalf of all class members who purchased or otherwise acquired JP Morgan common stock during the aforementioned period.

Despite all the controversy, JP Morgan’s stocks were on the rise on Tuesday afternoon, up almost four percent and trading at $37.22.

According to reports, Drew has had her resignation accepted after more than three decades in the job.

The top female executive is leaving following the firm's recent $2.3 billion trading loss.

She will be succeeded by Matt Zames, who currently co-heads the investment bank's global fixed income unit and head of capital markets in the mortgage bank.

Drew, 55, oversaw the division of the bank responsible for the loss and was, according to reports, paid US$15.5 million last year and almost US$16 mln in 2010.

It may be that more departures will be seen at JP Morgan this week, as the chief executive Jamie Dimon attempts to keep a lid on the damage done.

Private equity group Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) said it had made a “terrific start” to 2012 as it beat market forecasts in its latest quarter.

Revenues were boosted by rising stock markets at the start of the year, which lifted management and performance fees.

Chairman and chief executive Leon Black said: “We believe our first quarter results demonstrate the strength of Apollo’s global integrated platform and that 2012 is off to a terrific start in terms of capital formation, capital deployment, and cash distributions for our shareholders.”

Economic net income (ENI) in the three months to March rose by 23 per cent to US462 million, compared to US$377 million a year earlier.

ENI includes staff bonus payments and unrealised gains on Apollo’s portfolio.

Earnings per share on an ENI basis rose to $1.10 compared to $0.99. 

Statutory net profits soared to US$98 million, or 66 cents a share, from $38.2 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier.

Apollo, which listed last year, increased assets under management to US86.1 billion from US$70 billion and today said they have increased to US105 billion following the Stone Tower acquisition in April.

The group added that with the acquisition of Stone Tower, capital markets had become its largest business segment.

Apollo Global’s share price currently stands at US$12.20, compared to a listing price of US$19.0 per share in March 2011.

AIG got the biggest bailout of the financial crisis: $182.5 billion. The Treasury Department provided $68 billion under its financial bailout program, and the New York Fed gave AIG a $114 billion lifeline. AIG has repaid all but $17.5 billion of the Fed loans.

The Treasury is selling 163.9 million shares at $30.50 each, a 7 percent discount to Friday's AIG closing price of $32.83.

Monday's transaction, the U.S. government’s third offering of AIG’s shares since last May, reduces the Treasury’s stake in the insurer to 63 percent from 70 percent.

AIG chief executive Robert Benmosche has sold assets to help raise funds to buy back shares from the government. The company said in March that dividends from insurance subsidiaries along with proceeds from a plane-leasing unit and other holdings would allow it to generate as much as $30 billion that could be returned to shareholders by the end of 2015.

Underwriters have the option to sell 24.6 million additional shares of AIG common stock, the Treasury said.

Last week, AIG said its first-quarter profits grew more than twofold in the first quarter.

For the three months ended March 31, AIG reported that its net income climbed to $3.2 billion, or $1.71 a share, from $1.3
billion, or 31 cents per share a year earlier.

After-tax operating income, which excludes certain investments and hedging activities, was $3.1 billion, or $1.65 per share. In
the prior-year period, it was $2.1 billion, or $1.34 per share.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting on average adjusted net income of $1.19 per share.

The bank also declared and paid C$83 million in dividends on its common shares, which is up from the year-ago payout of $75
million.

HSBC Bank Canada is among one of the world’s largest international banking institutions. It is Canada’s biggest foreign-owned bank with about 8,000 workers and more than 140 branches.

Losses rose to £1.4 billion in the three months to March, compared to a loss of £116 million in the same period last year.

These figures were heavily distorted by movements on what RBS calls own credit adjustments. Stripping those out, pre-tax profits totalled £1.05 billion while operating profits were flat at £1.18 billion.

Hester said: “We are happy with progress in the first quarter though the economic and regulatory backdrop remains tough.”

As a signal of its improving financial position, the bank also confirmed it is to pay off the last of the £163 billion UK government-backed rescue funds it received after the financial crisis in 2008.

RBS said it will make a final repayment of £5.7 billion this month, meaning it will have repaid the Special Liquidity Scheme and Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) funding.

The bank said it will also resume discretionary coupons and dividend payments on hybrid capital instruments, which have been deferred for the last two years.

Income rose by 25 per cent at £7.13 billion over the quarter, while expenses rose 9 per cent to £3.9 billion and impairments fell by 22 per cent to £1.3 billion.

All of its core businesses reported falling profits from the same period last year, despite slight increases from the last quarter in UK Retail and UK Corporate.

Although it rose 4 per cent from the last quarter to £477 million, UK Retail operating profit was down from last year’s figure of £518 million, while UK Corporate posted an operating profit of £492 million, £125 million less than last year.

The company said that Retail & Commercial operating performance remained “resilient” in challenging economic conditions, but profits were down £130 million and £257 million from the fourth quarter and the first quarter of last year respectively.

Management remains “cautious” on its Irish arm Ulster Bank, which reported an increase in losses from the previous quarter to £310 million.

Group Finance Director Bruce van Saun called this “disappointing” in a conference call this morning and said it was primarily due to “further softening of residential asset value”.

Earlier this year, the bank announced it was to cut nearly 1,000 jobs at Ulster Bank as part of its restructuring, while a further 3,500 jobs were eliminated at its investment arm.

RBS took restructuring costs of £460 million during the quarter, of which £271 million related to the Markets and International Banking restructuring.

The company admitted it had not anticipated such a high volume of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claims.

It took an additional reserve of £125 million for claims and it has now amassed a total of £1.2 billion.

Going forward, the company remains resilient despite the tough economic backdrop.

"RBS continues, markedly, to regain strength and resilience," Hester said.

"Our focus is on improving the future for customers and our business whilst ensuring that the bank's past issues are dealt with."