CYBG agrees deal with Virgin Money June 18, 2018 This morning CYBG confirmed that it had reached a £1.7bn deal with Virgin Money to create a new challenger bank to the big four of HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and RBS. While some have suggested that the terms of the deal aren’t exactly generous I think the deal is less about the terms than whether it's [...]
HSBC’s chief exec Stuart Gulliver fails to close probe into his taxes, as taxman requests a string of information March 16, 2017 The boss of HSBC may have hand to over more information to the taxman, after a bid by the businessman to close a probe into his affairs failed. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) opened an investigation into Stuart Gulliver's personal tax return for 2013-14 in December 2015. The tribunal decision notice stressed the enquiry was limited to factual [...]
Take a tour of HSBC’s Centre of Excellence January 12, 2017 Have a couple of minutes to spare? Take a look behind the scenes at HSBC's UK Centre of Excellence for its global risk and compliance. But where is it in the UK? Discover why the centre is so important to the firm's global banking operations. After all, the banking giant has offices in 71 countries with 47 million customers. HSBC's Paul Kelly [...]
Card clash: Mastercard UK’s Mark Barnett on the battle for payments market share October 15, 2018 The likelihood is that, reading this, you have a Visa debit card somewhere on your person. Only two per cent of Britons currently have a Mastercard debit card, but that will change shortly after a string of wins for the US giant which will see its market share increase by 10 times. TSB and Santander [...]
HMRC accused of breaching data protection laws for taking ‘voice IDs’ of 5m taxpayers June 25, 2018 HMRC has been accused of breaching data protection laws by taking the "voice IDs" of over 5m people without their consent. When users call HMRC, they are asked to repeat the phrase "my voice is my password" on an automated line as a security precaution before they can access services. But data watchdog Big Brother [...]
Challenger stock exchange Aquis prepares for £73m London float May 23, 2018 Aquis, a challenger trading venue which aims to rival players like the London Stock Exchange with its subscription-based model, is planning to list in London in the next month. The business, founded and headed by former ITG and Chi-X boss Alasdair Haynes, hopes to raise £12m of new money to build its presence in the [...]
These are the UK’s most sought after companies to work for, as revealed by LinkedIn March 21, 2018 There has been a significant rise in the number of banks and finance firms in the top 20 most sought after companies to work for in the UK, according to a new ranking out today from LinkedIn. The list is compiled through looking at the actions taken by LinkedIn’s 25m UK members, considering data such [...]
JP Morgan teams with Blackrock to create new bond market indices focused on the environment and governance April 18, 2018 JP Morgan has teamed with asset management giant Blackrock to create a new suite of indices based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. The JP Morgan ESG (JESG) index will integrate these concerns into a benchmark, and will help bond investors find issuers with strong ESG practices. It will initially be available for three [...]
Poundland owner Steinhoff tells angry shareholders it is renegotiating debt April 20, 2018 Steinhoff, the South African retailer, said today that it is renegotiating its debt as it faced shareholders for the first time since its shares plunged on the emergence of an accounting scandal. An investigation into the scandal is making “good progress”, the acting chairman told investors, and is expected to be completed by the end [...]
HSBC boss Stuart Gulliver is facing pressure from shareholder groups over “excessive” pay April 26, 2017 HSBC is set to receive a frosty response from shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday, with some investor groups advocating a vote against top exec pay. Investor body Pirc has recommended a vote against HSBC’s remuneration report, calling benefits allocated to chief executive Stuart Gulliver “excessive”. Pirc added the ratio of executive [...]