HSBC $HSBA (-0.23%) is the first foreign bank to receive a full investment banking license for Saudi Arabia.

The license entitles HSBC and its subsidiary, Saudi British Bank, to establish HSBC Saudi Arabia, which will offer wealth management and investment banking services.

HSBC said in a statement that it will offer corporate finance and wealth management advisory services to institutional clients, investment advisory and stock broking services to retail investors.

Credit Suisse was granted a limited brokerage license in a joint venture with Saudi investors.

Last month, HSBC acquired a 70 percent stake in Iraq's Dar es Salaam Investment Bank and plans to enter the country's fledgling financial sector.

At the same time, it became the second international bank to establish a branch in Kuwait.

The French BNP Paribas $BNP (-0.85%) was the first European bank to establish a branch in Saudi Arabia, but does not have an investment banking license.

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The US rating agency Fitch has rated France's creditworthiness as worse than ever before due to the political crisis and rising debt. Late on Friday evening, it lowered its credit rating for the eurozone's second-largest economy to A+ from AA-.

Fitch justified the move with the budget crisis. There is no clear plan for stabilizing the debt in the coming years.

The yields on French government bonds have already risen and are approaching those of Italy, which has a significantly lower credit rating.

The major French banks such as BNP Paribas $BNP (-0.85%) and Credit Agricole $ACA (-1.07%) are unlikely to be affected by the downgrade, as they are already rated A+ by Fitch.

Source text (excerpt): Handelsblatt, 09/13/25 | Image: Getty Images

Two major global banks - BNP Paribas $BNP (-0.85%) and HSBC $HSBA (-0.23%) - have joined the Canton Foundation, the development organization of the tokenization-focused Canton Network, underscoring the strong interest of institutional investors in real-world applications of blockchain technology.

The Foundation announced on Tuesday that BNP Paribas and HSBC are now also members, alongside recently joined members Goldman Sachs, Hong Kong FMI Services and Moody's Ratings. With more than 30 members, the Canton Foundation provides governance and strategic direction for the network while driving the development of use cases for blockchain-based financial services.

Canton Network is a blockchain designed for institutional financial services with a focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, regulatory compliance and interoperability.

Hubert de Lambilly, Head of Global Markets at BNP Paribas, said the move reflected the bank's commitment to adopting distributed ledger technology "to meet the evolving needs of our clients".

BNP's commitment builds on its previous support for Digital Asset, the company behind the Canton Network. The French bank participated in Digital Asset's $135 million funding round, which the company says is designed to accelerate institutional adoption and decentralized finance initiatives on Canton.

John O'Neil, head of digital assets and currencies at HSBC, said joining the foundation will help foster the maturation of the blockchain industry and support the creation of real liquidity in the digital asset markets.

HSBC has been actively involved in various blockchain initiatives. The company is reportedly preparing to apply for a Hong Kong stablecoin license under the city's new regulatory regime. According to previous statements, HSBC Hong Kong is also exploring blockchain applications in custody, tokenization and bond issuance.

》Institutional interest in tokenized RWAs is growing

Institutional demand for tokenized real assets is shaping the trajectory of cryptocurrencies through 2025, marking a significant departure from previous cycles dominated by private investor speculation in the 2017 and 2021 bull markets.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently highlighted this trend, pointing out that the industry is now benefiting from a unique mix of institutions, regulators and technology companies working together to "create trustworthy, interoperable frameworks".

According to the WEF, this collaboration, if successful, could lead to asset tokenization fulfilling its long-promised potential.

Regulation also plays a crucial role. In the United States, the passage of the stablecoin-focused GENIUS Act and the House of Representatives' approval of legislation on market structure and against CBDCs has boosted the confidence of major financial institutions exploring the use of blockchain technology.

To date, efforts related to tokenization have focused on private credit markets and treasury bills. However, the scope is increasingly expanding as experiments are currently being conducted with equities, commodities and energy infrastructure.

As Cointelegraph recently reported, digital asset exchange Kraken has teamed up with the SEC's crypto taskforce to discuss tokenization, underscoring how the future of the sector is increasingly dependent on regulatory dialogue.

I am missing two dividend payments: $BNP (-0.85%) and $UNI (-1.22%)

Both should have been paid out yesterday, but have not yet been received by TR in my securities account. What is your situation?

Dear community, I'll provide a link as an example $OMV (-1.11%)
$HAUTO (-1.26%)
$BNP (-0.85%)
$VOLV A (-0.37%) because they pay good dividends and withholding tax is properly deducted.

If you want to save yourself the hassle of withholding tax refunds, couldn't you just sell the share the day before the ex-date and buy a new one the next day? As a rule, the share price falls by exactly the price of the dividend, sometimes even more. This way you indirectly get the dividend into your home, but you don't have to wait for the next calendar year or deal with the bureaucracy. Of course it's annoying because of the transaction fees, but depending on the volume and broker, these may also be limited. (Incidentally, you can also reduce taxable gains with a long investment horizon in this way, as you remain within the tax-free allowance and therefore do not realize the gains only after ten or twenty years).

I wonder whether this strategy has ever been seriously considered, discussed or even tried out by anyone.

In my case, I will probably try it out in two weeks with OMV, as I currently still hold the share with Revolut, but I am gradually "transferring" my European shares in particular to Trade Republic - not least because Revolut always pays so many fees into its own pocket for dividends and Revolut is also very annoying as a broker in other respects.

I'm curious to know whether you think this plan is completely crazy or somehow sensible. LG

Almost three-quarters of all DAX and MDAX companies pay out dividends in May.

Dividend calendar with payday and expected yield:

This year's dividend champion is likely to be $RTLL (+0.39%) - RTL Group. Shareholders can expect a yield of around 8%. However, this is only half as high as three years ago.

Deutsche Telekom is now increasingly seen as a dividend pearl. $DTE (-0.8%) - Deutsche Telekom is increasingly seen as a dividend pearl. This year's dividend is EUR 0.90, i.e. an increase of 17% on the previous year, with a yield of around 2.7%.

Other reliable payers are $SIE (-0.88%) - Siemens and $SAP (-0.93%) - SAP.

One of the most reliable payers of all is $MUV2 (+0.12%) - Munich Re. There has never been a dividend shortfall since 1960 and the amount paid per share has increased sixteen-fold since the beginning of the millennium.

There are also some attractive dividend payers in Europe, such as $ENI (+0.31%) - ENI and $ISP (-1.02%) - Intensa and $BNP (-0.85%) - BNP.

Source (excerpt) / graphics: WELT

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- GOLDMAN raises the price target for DELL from USD 155 to USD 165. Buy. $DELL (-6.71%)

- GOLDMAN raises the price target for ANALOG DEVICES from USD 247 to USD 261. Buy. $ADI (-1.8%)

- GOLDMAN raises the price target for HP INC from USD 35 to USD 38. Neutral. $HPQ (-2.36%)

- WARBURG RESEARCH raises the price target for VONOVIA from EUR 40.20 to EUR 42.30. Buy. $VNA (+0.23%)

- WARBURG RESEARCH upgrades STRATEC from Hold to Buy. Target price 40 EUR. $SBS4

- DEUTSCHE BANK RESEARCH raises the price target for DEUTSCHE BÖRSE from EUR 235 to EUR 237. Buy. $DB1 (-0.37%)

- MORGAN STANLEY raises the target price for DEUTSCHE TELEKOM from EUR 33 to EUR 38. Overweight. $DTE (-0.8%)

- GOLDMAN raises the price target for TRATON from EUR 31.80 to EUR 35.50. Neutral. $8TRA (+1.73%)

- GOLDMAN raises the price target for BRENNTAG from EUR 94 to EUR 95. Buy. $BNR (+1.25%)

- BERENBERG upgrades EQUINOR from Hold to Buy and raises target price from NOK 290 to NOK 325. $EQNR (+0.87%)

- JPMORGAN raises the target price for BEIERSDORF from EUR 150 to EUR 160. Overweight. $BEI (-0.65%)

- JPMORGAN upgrades HENKEL from Neutral to Overweight and raises target price from EUR 82 to EUR 100. $HEN (-0.11%)

- JPMORGAN upgrades BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO to Neutral. $BATS (-2.66%)

- JPMORGAN raises the price target for EON from EUR 15.50 to EUR 16. Overweight. $EOAN (+1.4%)

- JPMORGAN raises the target price for AUTO1 from EUR 12.10 to EUR 17.10. Overweight. $AG1 (+2.99%)

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- STIFEL lowers the price target for SIEMENS from EUR 207 to EUR 202. Buy. $SIE (-0.88%)

- JPMORGAN lowers the price target for HP INC from USD 41 to USD 40. Overweight. $HPQ (-2.36%)

- WARBURG RESEARCH lowers the price target for LANXESS from EUR 40 to EUR 37. Buy. $LXS (+0.88%)

- CITIGROUP lowers the price target for BASF from EUR 49 to EUR 46. Neutral. $BAS (+0.71%)

- RBC lowers the target price for COMMERZBANK from EUR 18 to EUR 17.25. Sector Perform. $CBK (-2.34%)

- RBC lowers the target price for ING from EUR 17.50 to EUR 16.75. Sector-Perform. $ING (-0.85%)

- RBC lowers the price target for BNP PARIBAS from EUR 79 to EUR 78. Outperform. $BNP (-0.85%)

- JPMORGAN lowers the price target for ELRINGKLINGER from EUR 6.70 to EUR 6. Neutral. $ELLRY (+0.55%)

- JPMORGAN lowers the price target for SYMRISE from EUR 130 to EUR 120. Overweight. $SY1 (-0.06%)