“UPDATE 2-EBS sees time ripe for Irish mutual merger - Forbes” plus 4 more

UPDATE 2-EBS sees time ripe for Irish mutual merger - Forbes
Green Swan Capital Corp. Announces Termination of Qualifying ... - Market Wire
Clean Energy Capital and National Securities Corporation Announce ... - MSN Money
Equifax and Exchange Solutions Partner to Help Financial Institutions ... - MSN Money
2010 FORD taurus tackles football season in a full blitz with ... - WebWire

UPDATE 2-EBS sees time ripe for Irish mutual merger - Forbes

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:42 AM PDT

By Andras Gergely

DUBLIN, Sept 14 (Reuters) - EBS Building Society expects to see the creation of a 'third force' in Irish banking to compete with Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks following the establishment of a 'bad bank'.

EBS said on Monday it would want to be 'at the heart' of what it called a 'super-mutual' to be set up in the future, adding at a news conference for first-half results that there were no talks with potential partners at the moment.

EBS is the first lender to publicly comment on the possibility of a merger between itself, the Irish Nationwide Building Society and the banking arm of Irish Life & Permanent as part of government efforts to boost competition.

Asked which lenders could take part, chief executive Fergus Murphy told journalists:

'The three or four institutions under AIB and Bank of Ireland are obvious to you, we don't have any line of sight as to what they're doing or thinking at the moment.'

Ireland's biggest lenders after AIB and Bank of Ireland are nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life & Permanent's permanent tsb unit, Irish Nationwide and EBS.

Murphy said EBS had held talks with Irish Life in the past but those talks ended several months ago.

He also noted reports that a foreign-owned lender -- one report mentioned Lloyds Banking Group's unit Bank of Scotland (Ireland) -- may want to join the merger, but he said it was too early to speculate on that.

'This entity would act as the 'ultimate good bank' and would be built on the tradition of mutuals -- building up savings from members and providing home loans,' EBS said in a written presentation.

30 PERCENT 'BAD BANK' DISCOUNT

EBS reported a first-half pretax loss of 8.8 million euros on Monday on the back of a near 44 million euros impairment charge, adding that it saw signs of a pickup in its mortgage lending and the prospect of house prices bottoming out in six to nine months.

EBS will need at least 300 million euros ($437 million) of capital from the state after transferring loans to Ireland's bad bank, the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA), whose details the government will outline on Wednesday.

In his speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is also expected to comment on the direction smaller Irish lenders should take following the removal of risky property loans off their books.

EBS' mutual structure means the state injection will require a change in legislation to allow the government to take an equity stake in the building society, a step which it said would have no precedent anywhere in Europe outside Britain.

EBS expects to transfer about 500 million euros worth of land and development loans NAMA, plus other, performing, loans which are not land and development in nature.

NAMA will take over loans worth up to 90 billion euros in total from Irish banks and the discount applied to the assets will determine how much extra capital the banks will need.

Murphy said the discount could be about 30 percent.

'Equity analyst forecasts for Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland that I have read would seem to be talking about around a 25 percent haircut (discount),' Fergus Murphy said.

'I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit higher than that. A 30-percent haircut might be where it's at,' he said.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely; editing by Carmel Crimmins, Andy Bruce and Jon Loades-Carter) ($1=.6870 Euro) Keywords: EBS/

(andras.gergely@reuters.com; +35315001518; Reuters Messaging: andras.gergely.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Green Swan Capital Corp. Announces Termination of Qualifying ... - Market Wire

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:49 AM PDT

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 14, 2009) - Green Swan Capital Corp. ("Green Swan") (TSX VENTURE:GSW.P) has previously disclosed an agreement in principle with SportsClick Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SCV) ("SportsClick"), dated April 27th, 2009, whereby SportsClick would purchase all of the issued and outstanding shares of Green Swan (the "Proposed Transaction").

On June 26th, 2009, the Bank of Montreal, a secured creditor of SportsClick, issued a notice of intent under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to reclaim its loan from SportsClick.

On July 17, 2009, Ernst & Young Inc. became the Receiver (the "Receiver") in respect of the property of SportsClick.

Green Swan announces that, after having engaged in a process of canvassing and assessing all reasonable alternatives with due diligence, and considering the continuing delays and difficulties of implementing any suitable workout arrangement, it will terminate the Proposed Transaction.

Green Swan continues to investigate its options for obtaining the return of the refundable deposit to SportsClick pursuant to the Proposed Transaction. The receivership process introduces a significant operating risk and management believes the return of the deposit is unlikely.

Green Swan is continuing to pursue and review other businesses and assets with a view to completing a qualifying transaction. Green Swan cannot offer any assurances that a qualifying transaction will be completed.

Information About Green Swan Capital Corp.

Green Swan is a capital pool company which was listed on the TSXV on October 7, 2008, following the completion of its initial public offering of $400,000, including $104,000 raised from founders, Benoit Robitaille (Chief Executive Officer and Director), Chris Skaarup (Director), Morgan Cowl (Director), Dan Hilton (Chief Financial Officer and Director), Sean Caulfeild (Corporate Secretary and Director) and Stephan May (Director). Copies of Green Swan's documents may be obtained electronically from the SEDAR system at www.sedar.com.

Green Swan is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "GSW.P".

Except for the historical and present factual information contained herein, the matters set forth in this news release, including words such as "expects", "projects", "plans", "anticipates" and similar expressions, are forward-looking information that represents management of Green Swan's internal projections, expectations or beliefs concerning, among other things, future operating results and various components thereof or the economic performance of Green Swan. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Green Swan's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, those described in Green Swan's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Accordingly, holders of Green Swan shares and potential investors are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted. Green Swan disclaims any responsibility to update these forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange Requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

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Clean Energy Capital and National Securities Corporation Announce ... - MSN Money

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:35 AM PDT

Clean Energy Capital Advisors LLC and National Securities Corporation, a subsidiary of National Holdings Corporation NHLD, a full service investment banking holding company, announced today they have entered into a strategic affiliation to provide investment banking and financial advisory services to companies operating in the renewable power and clean technology infrastructure sectors.

David M. Moore, founder of Clean Energy Capital and twenty-five year banking veteran, said, "Our business is providing financial services to companies active in renewable energy and clean technology infrastructure. National's broad and excellent resources allow us to offer expanded services, such as securities issuance and M&A advisory, to our growing client base. Our affiliation lets us leverage National's infrastructure and capabilities to accelerate our vision."

Under the terms of the affiliation, the principals of Clean Energy Capital will become registered representatives of National Securities, a registered broker-dealer and member, FINRA & SIPC. Clients of Clean Energy Capital will receive investment banking services and securities placement through National Securities.

"Clean Energy Capital is dedicated to renewable energy project finance, and brings capabilities and experience to the sector," said Leonard Sokolow, President of National Holdings Corp. "We consider project finance to be an important growth opportunity in cleantech finance and are pleased that Clean Energy Capital has chosen National Securities for this important affiliation."

About Clean Energy Capital:

The principals of Clean Energy Capital provide investment banking and financial advisory services to companies operating in the renewable power and clean technology infrastructure sectors. Their core focus is project financing of renewable energy infrastructure investment. They combine broad knowledge of the US electric utility sector with specialization in structured finance, tax credits, and debt and equity private placements. With offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Atlanta, they help companies raise expansion capital and project financing in order to bring renewable power plants into commercial operation. They also advise utilities, project developers, and investors on the complex issues of project finance. For more information please visit www.cleanenergycap.com.

About National Holdings Corporation

National Holdings Corporation is a holding company for National Securities Corporation, vFinance Investments, Inc., EquityStation, Inc., National Asset Management, Inc., and National Insurance Corporation. National Securities, vFinance and EquityStation are broker-dealers registered with the SEC, and members of FINRA and SIPC. vFinance is also a member of the NFA. The three principal lines of business of the broker-dealers are offering full service retail brokerage; providing investment banking, merger, acquisition and advisory services to micro, small and mid-cap high growth companies; and trading securities, including making markets in over 4,000 micro and small-cap stock, distributing direct market access platforms, and providing liquidity in the United States Treasury marketplace. National Asset Management is a federally-registered investment advisor. For more information, please visit our websites at www.nationalsecurities.com and www.vfinance.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. The forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to future events and/or future financial performance, and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the documents National Holdings files, from time to time, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, as amended, and the cautionary statements contained therein.These documents contain and identify important risk factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by these forward-looking statements.These risk factors included, without limitation, (i) our ability to increase revenues, achieve profitability or obtain additional financing, (ii) changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the securities industry), (iii) actions of our competitors, (iv) market fluctuations and volatility, (v) the extent to which we are able to develop and enhance new services and markets for our services, (vi) the time and expense involved in such development activities, (vii) risks in connection with acquisitions, (viii) the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, and (ix) changes in our business strategies.The words "may," "will," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "plan," "intend," "project," "anticipate," "could," "would," "should," "seek," "continue," "pursue" and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. National undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and, therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

National Holdings Corporation
Leonard J. Sokolow, President, 561-981-1005
or
Clean Energy Capital
David M. Moore, Managing Director, 510-647-9947

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Equifax and Exchange Solutions Partner to Help Financial Institutions ... - MSN Money

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:28 AM PDT

New Solution Enables Increased Account Acquisition and Cross-Selling with Greater ROI

ATLANTA and BOSTON, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Equifax Inc. EFX and Exchange Solutions, Inc. (ESI) have formed a partnership to deliver joint solutions powered by ESI's innovative technology and Equifax's rich data and analytic capabilities. These new solutions will enable clients to more effectively engage in a two-way dialogue with their customers to identify opportunities for attracting a greater share of their customers' business. This new collaboration capability will provide companies with a powerful new approach to account origination and cross-selling that also better addresses the needs of the customer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060224/CLF037LOGO)

"In these challenging economic times, financial institutions and telcos must find new ways to improve the customer experience and build stronger relationships," said Dann Adams, President, Equifax Consumer Information Solutions. "Our relationship with ESI provides these companies with an innovative way to collaborate directly with their customers to drive more profitable outcomes at every point of interaction. This has the potential to transform the way businesses and customers work together in financial services and many other industries."

The ESI customer-company collaboration platform enables a personalized two-way exchange between customers and businesses during interactions in web, call center or in-store channels. ESI's web 2.0 platform includes software applications called "exchange agents" that help the customer work with the company to obtain special product and service benefits in return for giving the company more of their business - ensuring a "win-win" outcome. Financial institutions and telcos can use this capability to help their customers qualify for preferred benefits such as better pricing, service levels and loyalty incentives. These benefits can be sourced by the various functional departments within the client enterprise and/or from partner companies.

The ESI platform also provides the necessary account tracking, fulfillment and settlement capabilities needed by the client to monitor, administer and settle the exchange agreements formed during the interaction with the customer.

The new solution integrates ESI's technology with Equifax's extensive data and leading credit risk decisioning solution, InterConnect. Leveraging robust reporting and business rules technology, InterConnect allows financial institutions to easily edit and optimize business rules during a company-customer interaction. For financial institutions faced with rapidly changing market demands, this new class of solution gives them the ability to:

Accelerate account acquisition and increase new business revenues
Manage credit risk and cross-sell decisions across multiple product lines
Improve customer satisfaction through an innovative new customer experience
Achieve a competitive advantage through faster speed-to-market

"We look forward to bringing this powerful capability to the marketplace," said Alan Grant, Chief Executive Officer, ESI. "The performance improvement solutions we can deploy with Equifax will help our clients increase the profit generated from each customer interaction by engaging them in a way not possible before. This solution will be of interest to companies seeking breakthrough competitive advantages and new ways to improve customer relationship profitability."

ESI's innovative performance improvement solution has garnered recognition from industry influencers such as Gartner Research, which has called ESI a "cool vendor" that "will catch the attention of innovative C-level business executives." As part of their relationship, ESI and Equifax plan to offer a range of pre-packaged performance improvement solutions targeting key industries such as banking, retail and telecommunications.

For more information about the Equifax and ESI relationship, visit www.equifax.com or www.exchangesolutions.com.

About Equifax Inc. (www.equifax.com)

Equifax empowers businesses and consumers with information they can trust. A global leader in information solutions, we leverage one of the largest sources of consumer and commercial data, along with advanced analytics and proprietary technology, to create customized insights that enrich both the performance of businesses and the lives of consumers.

With a strong heritage of innovation and leadership, Equifax continuously delivers innovative solutions with the highest integrity and reliability. Businesses - large and small - rely on us for consumer and business credit intelligence, portfolio management, fraud detection, decisioning technology, marketing tools, and much more. We empower individual consumers to manage their personal credit information, protect their identity, and maximize their financial well-being.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Equifax Inc. operates in the U.S. and 14 other countries throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Equifax is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500(R) Index. Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol EFX.

About Exchange Solutions, Inc. (www.exchangesolutions.com)

Exchange Solutions, Inc. (ESI)is a leading provider of customer-company collaboration solutions utilizing intelligent software agents. Companies use the ESI GiveGet platform and "exchange agent" deployment capabilities to enable customers and prospects who agree to give more of their business to the company to get enhanced product or service benefits in return.

ESI's web 2.0 solution can be used to identify win-win exchange agreements during company-customer interactions in web, call center and in-store channels. ESI's SaaS deployed platform provides companies with a low risk, high return on investment way to drive significant increases in channel sales productivity with minimal upfront investment. ESI has offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Toronto, Canada.

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

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2010 FORD taurus tackles football season in a full blitz with ... - WebWire

Posted: 14 Sep 2009 08:35 AM PDT

* Multifaceted 2010 Ford Taurus advertising campaign targets 2009 pro football season, which debuted Sept. 13 with Ford Drive One FOX NFL Sunday Pregame Show; continues with TV ads, online presence and sweepstakes
* Ford Taurus Game Day House Party offers an up-close and personal look at the new sedan as 1,000 lucky hosts across the country get a chance to make game day even better
* New 2010 Ford Taurus offers unprecedented levels of technology and innovation for the segment at an entry-level price of $25,995 same price as the outgoing model

DEARBORN, Mich. ― This fall, pro football fans will be on the edge of their seats, and the all-new 2010 Ford Taurus will be right there in the middle of the action.

The car thats changing the way America looks at full-size sedans will be spotlighted on the Ford Drive One FOX NFL Sunday Pregame Show this season, kicking off the second phase of a multifaceted Taurus advertising campaign.

Ford has always had a presence in football, but this season were putting the 2010 Taurus in the game, said Matt VanDyke, marketing director for Ford. The all-new Taurus is changing the game for full-size sedans; we wanted to bring that excitement to the fans of one of the most passionate sporting events.

The full-on blitz continues throughout September and October during sponsorship of the pre-game show, paired with television ads highlighting the completely redesigned, technology-packed 2010 Taurus.

The 2010 Ford Taurus, starting at $25,995, the same price as the 2009 model, has been elevated considerably from even its iconic forerunners and includes Ford exclusives such as MyKey, SYNC, Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion and Blind Spot Information System (BLIS).

Going deep to the target market
The Ford Taurus is being marketed toward a very specific customer a value-oriented substance seeker who appreciates a heightened attention to detail and is looking for the latest innovations without having to break his or her bank account, said Lew Echlin, car marketing communications manager for Ford.

Football is the perfect platform for the Ford Taurus story. According to statistics provided by FOX, in 2008 the NFL on FOX averaged more than 17 million viewers per telecast.

Were taking a very holistic approach to the football season, said Echlin. Were sponsoring the pre-game show, were showing off the Taurus with advertisements during the game, and when fans check in to see how their fantasy teams are doing online, were there, too. And if you miss something and want to check in online, you can check out some of our Web clips, too.

Surprise matchups online
Not all the action is on the TV screen this season. For fans who check out the games or recaps on www.cbssports.com, therell be a few other matchups to check out, as well. CBS Sports commentator James Brown will star in a series of short online ads that introduce clips showcasing some of the leading Taurus technologies, including BLIS, SYNC and EcoBoost.

Brown keeps the spirit of the game intact, using football lingo and gridiron stats to introduce the technology, along with the Web clips that pit the quality of the Taurus against pricey competitors like Lexus and Audi.
Its not meant to be intrusive advertising, said Jonathan Beebe, of the digital online launch team. Everything relates to football, and online visitors will see Browns familiar face. There might just be a new star on the field.

House party hoopla
Ford will be taking the Taurus to the home field on Oct. 18, with 1,000 simultaneous game day parties hosted across the country, said Jeff Eggen, car experiential marketing manager for Ford.

The Ford Taurus Game Day House Party makes it possible for fans of both football and Taurus to be football viewing party hosts. Fans can apply online at www.houseparty.com/fordtaurus for the opportunity to not only receive a party pack, but perhaps get the chance to test drive an all-new Taurus the day of the party. One lucky host will win a Taurus in a special sweepstakes thats also part of the event.

Pairing Taurus with Houseparty.com has given us an interactive way to reach a new audience to introduce our all-new flagship, Eggen said. Football fans love a great game-time experience. Well give them the tools to have that, and watch them recruit friends and family online to make it even bigger.
Applications for party hosts will be accepted until Sept. 19; the National Taurus Party Page will go live online Sept. 22, showing locations of all the parties.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 201,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the companys automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Fords products, please visit www.ford.com.

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