Berlin - With the global economy in the grip of severe slowdown, a leading German banker warned Tuesday that parts of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) could face a major shakeout in their economies and banking systems.

"The economic crisis threatens to broaden out and engulf nations such as Ukraine," Juergen Fitschen, who called on the European Union (EU) and other key international groups to step up efforts to help shield more economically fragile parts of the CEE from the financial firestorm currently sweeping the world economy.

New York - John Thain, the former head of Merrill Lynch who resigned January 22 after record losses at the brokerage, will repay 1.2 billion dollars spent on redecorating his office last year, he told CNBC Monday evening.

Thain, 53, stepped down from the brokerage last week after it registered even sharper losses than had been anticipated. The former investment bank had already been brought up by Bank of America last year in an effort to save Merrill Lynch in the midst of the ongoing financial crisis.

Tokyo - Nomura Holdings Inc on Tuesday reported a record net loss of 492.36 billion yen (5.53 billion dollars) for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2008, which ends in March.

It was the largest loss Nomura incurred since 2001, when Japan's top brokerage house began using the US accounting standard.

It was also the first time Nomura reported losses in four quarters in a row, according to the Jiji Press news agency.

New York  - Credit card company American Express said Monday its profits plunged 72 per cent as customers fell behind on loan payments and were also spending less amid the widening recession.

Profits fell to 238 million dollars from 858 million dollars a year earlier.

American Express sought 3.5 billion dollars in federal emergency assistance last year as it tried to cope with the effects of the financial market crisis. It qualified for aid after converting itself into a bank-holding company.

Encouraged by significant increase in net profit for Q3, the Andhra Bank is now eying of business growth of 23 per cent in the eastern region for the current financial year. The bank did total business worth Rs 95,770 crore till December 2008 and now sets a target to increase its business to Rs 100 thousand crore by the end of this financial year.

Ramakrishnan K S, Zonal manager, Andhra Bank said that bank expects business worth Rs 150000 crore by September 2010. The bank has initiated various measures to increase current account and saving accounts (CASA) deposits.

Amsterdam  - Shares in Dutch bank and insurance giant ING Group shot up over 27.7 per cent on Monday as investors reacted positively to the bank's announcement of plans to slash 7,000 jobs in order to cut costs by 1 billion euros (1.287 billion dollars).

Investors were also pleased with new Dutch government support for ING Group.

A so-called Illiquid Assets Back-up Facility would cover the risks of the ING's Alt-A division, which deals with mortgages in the US subprime market. Due to the financial crisis, the mortgages can no longer be traded.