Bloomberg – German banks may exit proprietary trading and hedge-fund businesses rather than set up separate units under a government plan to strengthen the finance industry, according to Fitch Ratings Ltd.
The banks could opt to stop “restricted activities rather than incur the costs of separation, as the affected businesses make relatively small contributions to earnings,” Fitch analysts including Michael Dawson-Kropf said in an e-mailed statement today. “Only a few banks would end up putting trading activities into separate subsidiaries.”
