Askar Capital was an investment bank in Iceland (2007–2010) offering advisory services related to investments in alternative financial products. The bank was established at the beginning of 2007 after a series of mergers, building on its history from 1993 as a financial advisor. [1] The specialities of Askar Capital were corporate finance, real estate investments and debt management. As an authorized Investment Bank, Askar Capital was regulated by the Financial Supervisory Authority, headquartered in Reykjavík. The bank was heavily affected by the collapse of the major Icelandic banks in October 2008. The company carried on but eventually filed for bankruptcy on July 14, 2010. [2]
In 2007 Askar Capital, part of the Milestone Nordic Financial Group, was granted a license to operate as an investment bank. The firm provided a range of complementary financial services in three units, Capital Markets, Real Estate Investment Advisory and Avant Asset Financing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Askar Capital. [3]
Askar Capital was the only Icelandic bank to experience losses from structured investment vehicles originating in the United States. [4] [5]
Askar Capital filed for bankruptcy on July 14, 2010. [6] The verdict by the Supreme Court that foreign currency denominated loans were illegal had serious repercussions for the assets of the bank. In May 2010, the assets were appraised at 23 billion ISK. After the verdict, the estimate was lowered to 9-13 billion ISK. As the net worth was negative at least 10 billion ISK and restructuring was uncertain, the board did not consider it had a legitimate basis to continue. On January 27, 2010, claims on the bank amounted to 41.5 billion ISK. [7]
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
A leveraged buyout (LBO) is one company's acquisition of another company using a significant amount of borrowed money (leverage) to meet the cost of acquisition. The assets of the company being acquired are often used as collateral for the loans, along with the assets of the acquiring company. The use of debt, which normally has a lower cost of capital than equity, serves to reduce the overall cost of financing the acquisition. This is done at the risk of magnified cash flow losses should the acquisition perform poorly after the buyout.
Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that engages in providing advisory-based services on financial transactions for clients, such as institutional investors, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.
Financial services are economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of service sector activities, especially as concerns financial management and consumer finance.
Landsbanki, also commonly known as Landsbankinn which is now the name of the current rebuilt bank, was one of the largest Icelandic commercial banks that failed as part of the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis when its subsidiary sparked the Icesave dispute. On October 7, 2008, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority took control of Landsbanki and created a new bank for all the domestic operations called Nýi Landsbanki so that the domestic bank could continue to operate, the new bank continued to operate under the Landsbanki name in Iceland.
Brookfield Corporation is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct control investments in real estate, renewable power, infrastructure, credit and private equity. The company invests in distressed securities through Oaktree Capital, which it bought in 2019. Brookfield's headquarters are in Toronto.
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and many recessions coincided with these panics. Other situations that are often called financial crises include stock market crashes and the bursting of other financial bubbles, currency crises, and sovereign defaults. Financial crises directly result in a loss of paper wealth but do not necessarily result in significant changes in the real economy.
Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies. The firm is based in New York City, and run by Steve Feinberg, who co-founded Cerberus in 1992, with William L. Richter, who serves as a senior managing director. The firm has affiliate and advisory offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.
New Century Financial Corporation was a real estate investment trust that originated mortgage loans in the United States through its operating subsidiaries, New Century Mortgage Corporation and Home123 Corporation.
EverBank is an American diversified financial services company providing banking and investment services, primarily via a direct bank. It is based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned by funds managed by Stone Point Capital, Warburg Pincus, Reverence Capital Partners, Sixth Street Partners, and Bayview Asset Management as well as TIAA. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States.
The Icesave dispute was a diplomatic dispute among Iceland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom which began after the privately owned Icelandic bank Landsbanki was placed in receivership on 7 October 2008. As Landsbanki was one of three systemically important financial institutions in Iceland to go bankrupt within a few days, the Icelandic Depositors' and Investors' Guarantee Fund had no remaining funds to make good on deposit guarantees to foreign Landsbanki depositors who held savings in the Icesave branch of the bank.
The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, also known as the Crash of '08 on September 15, 2008, was the climax of the subprime mortgage crisis. After the financial services firm was notified of a pending credit downgrade due to its heavy position in subprime mortgages, the Federal Reserve summoned several banks to negotiate financing for its reorganization. These discussions failed, and Lehman filed a Chapter 11 petition that remains the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, involving more than US$600 billion in assets.
The Icelandic financial crisis was a major economic and political event in Iceland between 2008 and 2010. It involved the default of all three of the country's major privately owned commercial banks in late 2008, following problems in refinancing their short-term debt and a run on deposits in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Relative to the size of its economy, Iceland's systemic banking collapse was the largest of any country in economic history. The crisis led to a severe economic slump in 2008–2010 and significant political unrest.
Ares Management Corporation is a global alternative investment manager operating in the credit, private equity and real estate markets. The company was founded in 1997 with additional offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.
The subprime mortgage crisis reached a critical stage during the first week of September 2008, characterized by severely contracted liquidity in the global credit markets and insolvency threats to investment banks and other institutions.
Paulson & Co. Inc. is a family office based in New York City, previously it was a hedge fund established by John Paulson in 1994. It specializing in "global merger, event arbitrage and credit strategies", the firm had a relatively low profile on Wall Street until its hugely successful bet against the subprime mortgage market in 2007. At one time the company had offices in London and Dublin.
The 2007–2008 financial crisis, or Global Economic Crisis (GEC), was the most severe worldwide economic crisis since the Great Depression. Predatory lending in the form of subprime mortgages targeting low-income homebuyers, excessive risk-taking by global financial institutions, a continuous buildup of toxic assets within banks, and the bursting of the United States housing bubble culminated in a "perfect storm", which led to the Great Recession.
CrossHarbor Capital Partners is an American investment firm, specializing in private equity, based in Boston. CrossHarbor Capital Partners develops and manages private equity investment products in three principal business areas: real assets, distressed securities and mezzanine capital. CrossHarbor has assets under management of $5.5 billion diversified over a half dozen distinct funds. Its client base includes college endowments, state and large organization pension funds and high-net-worth individuals seeking lower fee, high potential opportunities to offset more traditional market investments.
Hilco Global is a multinational financial services holding company. It operates over twenty businesses in five continents and specializes in asset valuation, advisory, monetization capital, and disposition services. Headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, it has offices throughout the world and provides services to companies, their lenders and professional services advisers across a broad spectrum of business categories including retail, commercial, industrial and financial. Hilco Global delivers services focused on maximizing the value of under-performing and excess retail, consumer products and industrial inventory, real estate, intellectual property, including consumer brands, patents, and accounts receivable. Hilco Global is also considered one of the largest distressed investment and advisory companies in the world.
Digital Currency Group (DCG) is a venture capital company focusing on the digital currency market. It is located in Stamford, Connecticut. The company has the subsidiaries Foundry, Genesis, Grayscale Investments, and Luno. It also formerly owned CoinDesk.