CVC carries on spending with €600m buy August 19, 2013 CVC CAPITAL Partners, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, yesterday said it had snapped up a controlling stake in online payment system Skrill for €600m (£511m), its second buy of the week. It will buy the stake from Bahrain-based alternative investor Investcorp, which originally backed Skrill in March 2007 with €25m. The deal [...]
RBS names new chief Ross McEwan August 2, 2013 Along with its results the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a new CEO. Kiwi Ross McEwan will take the role from 1 October. McEwan will take a small pay packet than his predecessor Stephen Hester, taking a £1m annual salary and waiving his bonus. The new boss thanked his colleagues and Hester, saying [...]
Former First Direct boss to front £1bn offer for 316 RBS branches August 4, 2013 A CONSORTIUM led by the former head of online bank First Direct is preparing a £1bn bid for 316 branches being sold by Royal Bank of Scotland. Alan Hughes is working with a group comprised of private equity firms Blackstone and Anacap, which plans to make an offer for the branches as an unofficial deadline [...]
Carney blow to Scot split plan January 29, 2014 SUPPORTERS of Scottish independence have been given a headache by Bank of England governor Mark Carney, following a speech in which he outlined the “clear risks” for the country if it leaves the UK but keeps hold of the pound. A referendum on whether or not Scotland should break from the UK and become an [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 7 October 2013 October 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Temasek bids for Repsol gas stake Temasek and Sinopec have both approached Repsol over buying its €4.7bn stake in Gas Natural as the Spanish oil company seeks to raise cash to increase its investment in oil exploration. Repsol, which is working with Deutsche Bank and Citigroup to find a buyer for the domestic [...]
Barclays in need of €12bn capital to meet tough new regulations August 11, 2013 BARCLAYS will need to raise around €12bn (£10.3bn) of new capital over the next five years in order to meet tough new European regulations, according to research by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The report lays bare the scale of the deleveraging required to meet Basel III requirements and concludes Eurozone banks will have to [...]
Letters to the Editor – 13/02 – Confused guidance, Scottish sterling, Best of Twitter February 12, 2014 Confused guidance [Re: Carney’s new focus is spare capacity. Here’s what you need to know, yesterday] Having clearly demonstrated that it is utterly incapable of producing credible forecasts for inflation, GDP, and unemployment, the Monetary Policy Committee is now going to determine policy based on something (spare capacity) that is not only unforecastable, but unmeasurable [...]
Of course Scotland can use the pound without a currency union. Jersey does exactly that February 13, 2014 Panama might do well in an informal currency union, but proponents of Scottish independence might prefer an example closer to home. The British crown dependency of Jersey has just such an arrangement with the UK, and has been managing just fine since the pound became its currency in 1834. A publication compiled by the European [...]
Virgin Money’s profits jump on mortgage loans March 4, 2014 BOOMING mortgage lending drove up profits in 2013 at challenger bank Virgin Money, the lender said yesterday. The bank, which was built out of the remains of Northern Rock, made a pre-tax profit of £179.4m in 2013, up 23.5 per cent on the year. Mortgage balances jumped 17 per cent on the year to £19.6bn, [...]
Letters to the Editor – 20/02 – Scots currency, Best of Twitter February 19, 2014 Scots currency [Re: Could fears over their future currency sway the Scottish people against independence?, Tuesday] The three main Westminster parties have ruled out a currency union with an independent Scotland. But the stability of sterling and access to the UK and EU markets are vital to support continued confidence in the Scottish business community. [...]