Lean back and read the latest City tome on women at the top August 21, 2013 HOT ON the heels of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg’s highly publicised book Lean In, a London businesswoman is about to publish her own autobiographical and instructional tome – Heels of Steel. Founder of networking site We Are The City, Vanessa Vallely – a former employee of Barclays, Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of [...]
Three market-moving political risks leave little room for error February 17, 2014 Italy, Scotland and the EU could all prompt serious ripples AS ITALY’S Democratic Party leader Matteo Renzi was given the mandate to form a new government yesterday (the country’s fourth since the start of the Eurozone crisis in 2009), Italian 10-year bond yields dropped to their lowest level in eight years. Uncertainty stemming from Italy’s [...]
Brand Index: Account switching means banks must fight to stay current September 17, 2013 THIS WEEK, new rules took effect that will allow the UK’s 46m current account holders to switch banks in seven days. According to 2011 research from the Banking Commission, the average customer stayed with the same bank for 26 years, but with switching now easier than ever before, we could be entering a new era [...]
The UK’s divided brand shows the cracks in government’s designs February 28, 2014 As the rhetoric regarding the vote for, or against, Scottish independence starts to heat up, for my part I can’t help but look at the situation from a branding perspective – and wonder at the pretty awful job the United Kingdom has done. And before you raise your eyes to the heavens, hear me out [...]
Lloyds and Shell warn on Scotland March 5, 2014 LLOYDS Banking Group and oil giant Shell have become the latest in a line of major firms to reveal fears about the risks of Scottish independence yesterday. “The outcome could have a material impact on compliance costs, the tax position, and cost of funding for the group,” Lloyds said in its annual report, with a [...]
PPI drives bank complaints to a new record high September 3, 2013 PAYMENT protection insurance (PPI) complaints have jumped to a new record high, the Financial Ombudsman Service said yesterday. However, the tide has showed some signs of slowing, with banks like Barclays recording a fall in the number of referrals to the official agency. Total financial complaints jumped to 327,035 in the six months from January [...]
BAE warns on risk of Scottish independence March 20, 2014 DEFENCE giant BAE Systems yesterday became the latest FTSE 100-listed firm to speak out against the risks of Scottish independence. “BAE Systems has significant interests and employees in Scotland, and it is clear that continued union offers greater certainty and stability for our business,” it said in its annual report. “In the event that Scotland [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 23 April 2014 April 22, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Russian bank’s post-Crimea bond A Russian bank in the oil-rich region of Tatarstan has become the country’s first lender to issue a dollar-denominated bond since Moscow’s official annexation of Crimea and the subsequent tension with western governments. Tatfondbank, which has branches across Russia, raised $70m yesterday through a three-year bond. Numericable eyes €8.5bn [...]
Inside Track: Co-op should hire a banker as chair to improve its name October 23, 2013 "PLAN A is dead, long live Plan A", was the phrase uttered by one Co-operative Group adviser as the details of its revised restructuring emerged on Monday morning. Er, not quite. As accustomed as the mutual’s new management has had to become to putting a brave face on an ugly balance sheet, this was a [...]
Salmond is man without a plan, warns chancellor February 17, 2014 ALEX SALMOND has been dealt another devastating blow after his latest attempt to rescue the legitimacy of his currency union plan was yesterday panned by the chancellor. After Salmond called Westminster politicians “out of touch and arrogant,” George Osborne said: “We were promised a detailed response to the economic arguments that I, the chief secretary [...]