Mukesh Ambani gets Bank of America shares as director fees

Bank of America has given shares worth nearly Rs 11 lakh to Mukesh Ambani as part of annual retainer fee to the billionaire industrialist, who joined the US banking giant's board last month.

Ambani may get a total of over Rs 1 crore of annual compensation in cash and stocks, going by the bank's director compensation policy.

However, the bank has not disclosed its specific director fees for Ambani, chief of energy giant Reliance Industries.

Emailed queries sent to Bank of America and Reliance Industries remained unanswered on what would be Ambani's exact remuneration for his role as a director.

Ambani leads one of India's biggest corporate groups with presence spanning across energy, retail and telecom businesses and plans underway for financial services entry.

As Chairman and Managing Director of RIL, Ambani was paid Rs 15 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2010.

He has decided to take a lower salary than his eligibility of Rs 39.36 crore, as per shareholders' approval, to reflect "his desire to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels." The salary figure for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, is not yet known.

Bank of America has informed the US market regulator SEC that it has allotted 1835 Bank of America shares, worth over USD 24,500 (about Rs 11 lakh), to Ambani as a "portion of the annual retainer" payment to its directors.

Bank of America appointed Ambani as an independent director on its board on March 16.

Ambani is the first non-American to join the board of one of the world's largest financial institutions, which currently commands a market value of over USD 136 billion and had a revenue of more than USD 111 billion last year.

Zong Finds Merchants Pay Higher Mobile Payment Fees If Sales Rise

The mobile payments provider Zong Inc. says that merchants are increasingly willing to pay higher transaction fees in exchange for higher sales.

Zong's platform lets organizations such as Facebook Inc., Sony Online Entertainment and Sulake Corp.'s Habbo Hotel that sell digital goods to offer their customers the option to pay using their mobile phone number, Hill Ferguson, Zong's vice president of product and marketing, said in an interview.

Of the 500 Zong users who responded to a company survey in November, 34% said they chose the mobile payment option because it is "fast and easy," while 23% said they chose the option because it is "fun."

"Consumers will always choose the option that is easier for them," said Todd Ablowitz, president of Double Diamond Group LLC. "If consumers are buying something online or on their mobile phone, the fewer keys they have to press, the more likely they are to complete the purchase."

Carriers set the transaction fees merchants pay, which typically are much higher than those for debit and credit card transactions.

The fees vary by carrier but usually are between 10% and 40% of the sale, Ferguson said. By comparison, merchants may pay up to 3% of the sale to accept credit and debit cards, Ablowitz said.

Many merchants, however, are willing to accept the higher transaction fees if it means more sales, especially if they sell goods with a high margin, such as virtual currency, music videos and other digital content, Ferguson said. The profit margin for merchants from sales of digital goods may be as high as 80%, he said.

Ten Largest Banks in the World

Although signs of recovery appear to be on the horizon, the financial crisis continues to plague the global banking system.  Banks are being shut down on a regular basis and interest rates continue to fall, making it harder and harder to find a reliable and trustworthy bank, that also has a high savings account rate.

As shown below, European banks have appeared to fare better than their American counterparts. Below are the world’s ten largest banks, determined by the amount of assets and a description of each.

BNP Paribas (BNP) – This French bank comes in at No. 1 with $3.21 trillion in assets.  BNP is one of the largest global banking networks in the world with operations in 84 countries.  BNP has four domestic retail banking markets located in France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg.  In April 2009, as a result of BNP’s 75% purchase of Fortis Bank, the Belgian bank is now the largest Eurozone deposit holder.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group – RBS Group ranks as the number two bank in terms of assets held. Currently, the British government is the largest owner of the bank.  As a result of severe losses and the conditions of a government backed bailout, RBS Group has halted dividend payments. RBS Group is the largest banking group in Scotland and operates a wide variety of banking brands including personal and business banking, private banking, insurance and corporate finance throughout its operations located in Europe, North America and Asia.  As of May 2010, RBS Group had $2.99 trillion in assets.


Barclays PLC (Barclay’s) – Barclays, with $2.54 trillion in assets, is a British financial services firm operating worldwide. It is a holding company listed on the London and New York Stock exchanges, is a component of the FTSE 100 Index and until 2008 was also listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Barclays operates through branches, offices and subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and overseas and provides retail banking, credit card, corporate and investment banking and wealth management services. Its two major business groups are: Global Retailing and Commercial Banking, and Investment Banking and Investment Management.

Deutsche Bank – Deutsche Bank, the largest German bank with $2.43 trillion in assets, has a strong presence throughout Germany and Europe and continues to grow in North America and Asia. As of March 31, 2010, Deutsche Bank had approximately 2,000 branches in 72 countries.

HSBC Bank – HSBC Bank has more than 460 bank branches throughout the United States, with the majority (380) in New York State. Coming in at number 5 on our list of the biggest banks with $2.42 trillion in assets, HSBC offers its 4 million customers access to global markets through its personal financial services, private banking, retail banking, commercial banking and global banking and market segments.

Credit Agricole – The second and final French bank on the top 10 list with $2.3 trillion in assets, Credit Agricole is a retail banking leader in France and throughout Europe. It is part of the CAC 40, a benchmark French stock market index. It has 11,500 branches throughout the world, more than 160,000 employees and 59 million customers in 70 countries.

Bank of America (BAC) – BAC is the largest bank holding company in the United States, by assets, with $2.25 trillion. The company serves clients all over the world and has a relationship with 99% of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies. In 2008, BAC acquired Merrill Lynch making it the world’s largest wealth manager.  It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is part of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Mitsubishi) – With $2.07 trillion in assets, Mitsubishi is Japan’s largest bank holding/financial services group. Part of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the company provides a wide variety of financial and investment services including commercial banking, trust banking, international finance, and assets management services.

J.P. Morgan Chase – One of the two so-called “too big to fail” banks, along with Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase is the 10th largest bank in the world with $2.02 trillion in assets. The company provides products and services to its clients in 100 countries including asset management, investment banking, private banking, treasury and securities services, and commercial banking. J.P. Morgan Chase is traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol JPM.

UBS AG – Rounding out the top ten banks in the world by asset type is UBS AG with $1.8 trillion in assets. Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, UBS provides financial services to private, corporate and institutional clients. UBS has a foothold in major financial centers all over the world and has offices in more than 50 countries.