The latest Market Talks covering Financial Services. Exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1002 ET - A Fed survey on consumer finances finds that borrowers may be falling behind on loans or spending a larger share of their income on debt payments. The median debt payment-to-income ratio was 15.4 percent, up 2.0 percentage points from 2022, the survey says. The Fed suggests this may relate to the concurrent increase in interest rates for mortgages and consumer loans. Families with particularly high debt payment obligations relative to their incomes increased from 6.5 to 8.6 percent, a level last seen in the 2013 survey. In addition, between the 2022 and 2025 surveys, the share of families that reported being behind on loan payments sharply increased from about 12 percent to nearly 20 percent.(jessica.coacci@wsj.com)

0905 ET - RBC Capital Markets lowers its 2027 adjusted pretax profit forecast for Barclays due to weakness in investment bank income and slightly higher expenses, analysts Benjamin Toms and Sherry Lin write. RBC guides for Barclays' return on tangible equity to grow from 12.2% in 2026 to 14.1% in 2027 and further to 15.0% in 2028. Barclays expects a return on tangible equity above 12% for 2026 and above 14% for 2028. RBC models cumulative shareholder returns of 17.5 billion pounds through 2028, higher than Barclays' guidance of more than 15 billion pounds. It maintains an outperform recommendation on the stock and lowers the target price to 525 pence from 550 pence. Shares are up 1.0% at 430.55 pence. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0721 ET - Liontrust Asset Management's shares appear inexpensive, but there could be downside to net flows and earnings if outflows from the U.K. retail segment continue, RBC Capital Markets' Dawid Pych and Sarah Chong write. RBC expects assets under management to fall 2% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of fiscal 2027 with 700 million pounds of outflows, mostly in U.K. retail. Liontrust's acquisition of Hawksmoor's fund management and model portfolio services business shows the company has the right strategy, the analysts say. However, outflows and a subdued but improving fund performance mean RBC stays cautious. It maintains an underperform recommendation on the stock but raises the price target to 300 pence from 270 pence. Shares are up 1.9% at 302 pence. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0640 ET - Italian, Spanish and Portuguese banks should report another solid quarter, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' Hugo Cruz and Ben Maher write. The banks will report net interest income growth quarter-on-quarter due to positive average volumes and interest rates staying higher-for-longer, KBW says. Operating costs and asset quality for the banks will also remain under control, the analysts note. Mergers and acquisitions will continue to be a major topic, particularly in Italy due to progressing live deals. KBW keeps its price targets, annual estimates and recommendations for Iberian and Italian banks unchanged. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0604 ET - IG Group's acquisition of U.S. sports-gambling and prediction-market company Underdog has longer-term upside, Panmure Liberum's Barun Singh writes. In July, the U.K. online trading platform agreed to buy Underdog for up to $1.3 billion. Panmure Liberum is now more positive on the acquisition, following a seminar from IG on Thursday. Net revenue for Underdog more than doubled in the third quarter--its seasonally slowest quarter--the analyst says. "We do not expect a big swing from Underdog in the near term, but we think its upside is a longer-term story." However, IG Group's core over-the-counter business is still less stable than assumed, so shares will trade on the core business rather than on Underdog, the analyst notes. Shares are up 1.35%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0532 ET - Allianz's realization of fixed income losses is "proactive and prudent" and causes a small increase to outer year forecasts, Jefferies' Philip Kett and Derald Goh write. The German insurer is reinvesting gains from the sale of its stakes in Indian joint ventures back into "strategic growth and productivity initiatives" and into the realization of fixed income losses. "One secondary implication is that this smooths the group's earnings, neutralizing an unsustainable gain," Jefferies says. The change lifts Jefferies' forward forecasts by 1% a year, and Jefferies raises the target price to 440 euros from 420 euros. "In light of the ongoing bond market volatility, we would not be surprised if peers also proactively recognized fixed income losses," the analysts add. Shares are up 1.2% at 418.20 euros. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0502 ET - Amundi's earnings momentum is still positive for now, despite a more volatile rate backdrop, particularly in France, Jefferies analysts write. The French asset manager has broader flow momentum across equities, fixed income and passive products ahead of its third quarter results, Jefferies says. Investors will be focused on whether this can withstand a tougher and more uncertain backdrop for rates. Capital allocation will also be in focus, after the company completed its share buyback program, Jefferies says. Attention will be on how quickly surplus capital rebuilds, and the trade-off between spending on mergers and acquisitions and capital returns. Shares are up 1.2%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0409 ET - DWS might face a hit to earnings from a potential broad market downturn across asset classes, Baader's Quentin de Villeneuve writes. Baader lowers its estimate for 2027 earnings per share for the German asset manager as a result. Lower average assets under management would impact management fees, while performance fees are also unlikely in a weakened environment, the analyst notes. Net inflows would slow as investors become more cautious, Baader adds. "Our 2026 EPS are cut slightly, as most of the year is already in the bag, but 2027 bears the full effect of this scenario," Baader says. Shares are up 1.4%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0357 ET - Assicurazioni Generali faces a setback as Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena's bids for Banca Generali and Banco BPM look increasingly unlikely to succeed, Baader's Antoine Bouchetoux writes. Statements from shareholders this week have suggested it is likely MPS's bids will be rejected, the analyst writes. MPS made the two public exchange offers to attempt to fend off Intesa Sanpaolo's takeover bid. A successful counter-offensive by MPS would have been a better outcome for Generali shareholders than an Intesa win, Baader says. A victory for Intesa would mean one of Generali's main competitors would become its largest shareholder, which could raise antitrust concerns. By buying MPS, Intesa would obtain its controlling stake in Mediobanca, which is the largest single shareholder in Generali. Shares are up 1.1%. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0332 ET - CaixaBank shows little sign of weakening in its underlying business, despite the share price underperforming recently compared to peers, Citi analysts write. Shares in the Spanish bank have fallen over the past month, after management made cautious comments on deposit growth. However, the bank continues to gain market share across key products, and its earnings per share are less sensitive to a weakening in deposit growth than some peers, the analysts say. "In our view, the magnitude of [CaixaBank's] underperformance appears inconsistent with the relative earnings risk implied by our stressed deposit scenarios," Citi notes. Shares are up 0.8% but have fallen 9.1% during the last month. (michael.hennessey@wsj.com)

0058 ET - With uncertainty likely to stay, we expect a rotation from foreign to domestic investors to dominate the French government bond, or OAT, market, Societe Generale rates strategists say in a note. "While the bias remains for wider spreads, there are limits: investors may be underweight France, but are unlikely to exit OATs altogether," the strategists say. Meanwhile, the debate over further rate hikes is far from settled, with lingering inflation risks a reminder that central banks may still need to tighten further if price pressures re-emerge. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0020 ET - India's consumer inflation print for September, due next week, is likely to show a sharp acceleration to 5.65% on year from 4.8% in August, primarily due to higher vegetable prices, strategists at Barclays say. The Reserve Bank of India in its monetary policy statement this week noted that the inflation outcome and outlook were not as benign as last year. However, unless the coming CPI inflation and 2Q GDP growth data surprise RBI on the high side, the central bank may not be in any rush to hike the policy rate again, they say in a report. Barclays expects one more 25bp hike in the remainder of the current fiscal year--February 2027 being more likely than December of this year.