Member Info for Broomfielder

Might have thought there would be a bit more share activity than there has been, particularly with the earlier positive trading update this month and a further, likely positive report on 30 April along with the prelim figures.
Anyway, looking forward with some optimism with SYM.
Thanks to all contributors to this bb - particular mention has to go to Oxo.
B

Lets hope so bbr.
Think most of the remaining PI's simply want to draw a line under this one.
It may well be that someone somewhere has a plan to use the Listing once the cash runs out to keep our BoD in the manner to which they have become very accustomed and Rur is finally laid to rest.
Can't quite believe I have hung on since way before the Bolivian robbery to get to this point......pathetic really, on my part.
All the best everyone.
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As was fairly predictable, Banks are now being widely kicked for not throwing loans at UK's struggling corporates (as well as to private individuals etc) on very generous (ie not normal commercial) terms.
Certainly this support is desperately needed but it has to come from Central Government and not commercial entities, be they banks or otherwise. After all, how many other strands of the UK economy are asked to reduce the prices they levy such as oil / energy companies or haulage / logistics cos etc which would lower industry costs nationally. No, its always the Banks that are expected to add liquidity.
A Government backed loan guarantee scheme outlining some basic customer requirements would be the quickest and most efficient form of delivery. It would also ease pressure on the Banks' capital base which will increase as other defaults inevitably increase. Similar, albeit smaller such schemes have worked in the past.
Almost beyond belief is todays coverage of the Chancellor considering a securitisation scheme (packaging up bundles of Bank loans which could then be sold to the Bank of England). No doubt the bundles wont be properly credit rated and in an instant we are back to what caused the 2008 financial crash.
Of course, this time will be different I hear everyone saying - these guys know what they are doing.............
B

I think you are spot on bbr, that £10 buy today must be theirs!
Rgds.
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With (public) quarterly reporting an accounting requirement in the US, the collapse in net earnings of the US major Banks is already in evidence in the latest figures disclosed this week. And the true impact of the Covid crisis on their economy was only beginning to be felt in the period under report.
So we can reasonably expect something similar in the UK, only it will take another 3 months for the Interims of most to hit the public domain.
Banks inevitably will take a pumelling as the scale of impact on our economy becomes better understood and thats before we come anywhere close to the time when provisions for non performing loans etc have to be made. Its also before you address the impact on Banks as a whole, but perhaps RBS in particular, reacting to Gov pressure to be less commercial and somehow aid the Gov support of the economy (by loosening their normal credit criteria).
Last year, I had been hoping for RBS to make a real start in 2020 toward recovery in their fortunes and ours as investors as far as the SP was concerned.
I think thats more than just a forlorn hope now as Covid moves beyond killing people to killing many peoples' incomes and way of life.
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The impatience of investors waiting for a deal to happen here is understandable and that really stems from the fact that PI's are always kept in the dark, esp on AIM.
However, deals ARE difficult to stitch together at the best of times and the sheer extent of practical problems created by the Covid-19 pandemic, must make things well nigh impossible at the moment.
Our BoD should have narrowed their target number down to less than a handful by now but other than conducting their initial Due Diligence may find negotiations are hampered by the availability or otherwise of the whole gamut of professionals needed to take things forward. Not just on our side but on the target co etc.
For once, I think there are genuine reasons for matters being delayed here.
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The original deal struck with Oaktree was one borne out of the very difficult credit/liquidity market post 2008 etc.
Everyone has of course their views on that deal but suffice to say we were Royally sh*fted by the American vulture fund - a view I expressed publicly at the time, although acknowledging that there was little alternative available in the Market etc.
How ironic it is therefore to have cash in our pockets when not only are the worlds' economies being trashed but the corporate opportunities to optimise our capital are everywhere. Its hard to imagine a better time to have cash to spend.
The only issue is........have we the predatory skills necessary to exploit the situation?
B

In RBS's case, Dividends are a somewhat recent phenomenon after the debacle of 2008 when, in truth, it should have been broken up. So I accept that although it was not RBS' decision to cancel, the levels of Dividend being paid were always susceptible to reduction, albeit outright cancellation was not on anyone's radar.
For those who are recent investors here, be they looking for a quick profit on assumption the current SP simply HAS to recover or, those who are simply hoping to see a longer term recovery in its SP should, IMO, reflect on the single fact that Banks' profits/performances are inherently cyclical by nature and whether you should be investing in them ahead of what is likely to be a record breaking recession for the UK (if not Global) economy, is a question many should be asking themselves, again, very much IMO.
I hope those who have bought in, know what to expect in a Bank when a full blown recession hits......and it will.
B

For a share that once traded above £20 (each), it looks as if a further defining moment in the Bank's history will shortly be made as the SP will crash below its equivalent of 10p (ie ignoring the 1 : 20 share consolidation stunt).
Exploring the scale and length of time for this decline (close to 20 years) might enlighten those promoting the case for a quick turnaround in the SP.
I wouldn't mind in the slightest if I was proved to be wrong with recovery of the SP.
B

The Gov's volte face on the Banks' (as a whole; not just RBS) payment of Dividends rather reflects the similar U-turn on the UK's approach to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Both decisions accept the reality of today's crises and are undoubtedly the correct ones albeit for investors, disappointing.
As I have mentioned before, despite RBS and other major UK Banks being significantly better capitalised than before 2008's credit/finance crash, no Banks have modelled what is in effect close the entire shut down of global trade and economies of most developed countries.
So preserving cash has to be an absolute priority although the cancellation of the Dividend is likely to be a drop in the bucket when the non performing debt figures start to mushroom (and Banks have to allocate Capital against these etc).
Lets hope Sweden rapidly alters course on its Covid-19 measures before their casualties get too significant. Reading their leaders' comments, its almost as if they are time travellers from the WW 1 battlefields.
We really should expect more from our leaders, especially in times of crisis.
B

I think, for fairly obvious political reasons, the Dividend will be paid. Part of the Gov ethos at present is simply to provide the notion they are still in control and things may be very unpleasant but we will work through it etc. (not that whole segments of the population will buy that for a moment).
The Gov will need their Div cash and its just about too early for the Banks to really see the extent of damage that will be inflicted by the economy effectively shutting down.
However, it would in fact be prudent for RBS to preserve cash (and not pay the Dividend) given the sheer scale of financial tsunami which will hit everyone and especially Banks, in the very near future.
Its one thing to say that RBS etc are well capitalised, and they certainly are in contrast to 10-12 years ago in the last finacial/credit crisis, but Basle lll and the BoE stress tests of Banks' capital adequacy and liquidity never envisaged the kind of total economic shutdown Covid-19 has already wreaked, not just on the UK, but globally.
With the BoE about to do the supposedly unthinkable - buy UK Govs own Bonds - we are truly entering the realms of the unknown.
This (financial) crisis has only begun.
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Rarely in Corporate land would the lack of income ever be viewed as a 'plus', but you are absolutely right Daz, what we don't have, we cannot lose.
Our cashflow projections should be more stable than many with stability in keeping staff healthy possibly its biggest risk (which everyone else also has etc).
When sales etc are forecast will be the biggest guess looking at the world today as it seems to collapse into tomorrow.
B

Absolutely agree Maverick.
So many BoD's seem to conveniently forget they have responsibilities for the Public (and not Private) Cos they operate. That means, amongst other things, they are accountable to shareholders and have a duty to keep them informed.
......what a joke.
B

With what seems the inexorable drop in SP towards (and perhaps) beyond its Nominal Value, apart from simply giving an opportunity to 'top up', it does have severe implications for the Bank in raising further capital should it be required were, for example, the SP to be less than a £1.
A situation that doesn't see too far away in these volatile times.
What is really concerning, are the implications for the economy arising from the draconian steps being introduced re: the Covid-19 pandemic.
No-one is disputing the rightful focus on health and welfare coupled with the ability via NHS to provide it etc.
What's still to come, both in terms of social and economic implications of further restrictions yet to be announced, will push the UK economy and many others into deep recession with many customers of the Bank across whole swathes of the economy failing very quickly.
I've no idea of the Bank's (current) capital adequacy position amongst other measures, but there will be little doubt the Bank will suffer severe strain irrespective of potential Gov support (for some of these customers).
Until the virus implications become clearer, IMO anyone buying Bank shares for the foreseeable future are simply taking a gamble .....and a fairly aggressive one at that.
I think we all have a lot more to worry about than the Dividend upcoming.
B

The previous absence of any RNS concerning Tom Anderson's shareholding had long puzzled me as I had (mistakenly) believed he may have been reducing his stake fuelling, at least in part, the drop in SP since we agreed to accept Oaktree's 30 pieces of silver.
The fact that he is now stakebuilding clearly moves a potential threat to the SP into a completely different category and a positive one at that.
We are course not privvy to the games being played but I think many PI's have been surprised to date that noone had yet broken surface. We all know the holes in your pocket money can burn etc.
A Public Listing and €6m (gross) in cash along with our albeit modest gold interests should surely tempt some serious players as many on this BB have voiced.
Lets hope we are about to see some action and soon. Lets also hope it might just benefit some of the (very) long suffering shareholders here.
B

On the basis the Covid-19 virus and its wider effects continue along the path expected, once this stock goes ex div on 26 March, we can indeed expect to see the SP drop materially, even from its present depressed levels.
I desperately want this stock to rise but I am having great difficulty thinking of any reasons why it should.
B

Still the SP falls with no real end in sight it seems.
While it is fully understandable that everyone's focus is on health and welfare, the sheer extent of potential economic catastrophe arising from the implications of Covid-19 is now coming into view.
With many of the world's largest economies seemingly trialling hibernation as a full time experiment, we are really witnessing an abrupt jump into unchartered waters when the outcome can be nothing other than recessionary.
The implications for Banks are not good and for the rest of us, there is little to comfort given Governments and Central Banks collective inability to dig us out of the financial crash of 2008.
It may not be as dramatic as watching RBS share price fall off a cliff on the fateful Friday in 2008 before the Gov bail out that weekend, but its fairly painful to see us start to challenge SP levels closer to a £1. It wasn't supposed to be like that.
B

Exiting Barruecopardo was not down to choice - Orm (or rather Saloro) were about to default - Oaktree's offer was one they simply couldn't refuse.......yes, not even our BoD are that stupid.
Now perhaps others can enlighten. Does PC's share purchase imply that no deal is imminent given the 'insider dealing' rules etc?
Normally when Directors purchase shares, it is viewed positively but clearly, and with some justification, many are sceptical if not downright hostile.
After all, who do the funds (from the disposal of Orm's interest in Barrucopardo) actually belong to if not the shareholders. All too ironic for words.
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Thank you JAdam for clarifying your earlier remarks - I understand where you are coming from.
B

JAdam - thats a fairly big insult to people who have undertaken a lot of effort on behalf of other shareholders.
Try reading some back postings before you start spouting comments like yours.
Theres a lot more to Rur than a superficial glance at headline figures - we are due much more than this BoD can ever deliver.
Smarties today and fake smarties tomorrow it seems if the Argentina gov have their way. Slightly more civilised than the theft by Bolivia all those years ago but thats all you can say.