HSBC appoints Antonio Simoes as chief executive of Europe business August 4, 2015 HSBC has appointed Antonio Simoes as chief executive HSBC Bank plc, its UK business, and chief executive of its Europe business. He replaces Alan Keir, who has worked for the bank for the 34 years and intends to retire once the change comes into effect on 1 September. Before joining HSBC in 2007, [...]
Bank of England’s new stress test: Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, RBS, Santander UK and Standard Chartered to face risk tests twice a year October 21, 2015 The Bank of England has today announced that it will apply new stress tests to Britain's biggest banks and building societies over the next three years, taking into account both domestic and global risks. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, RBS, Santander UK and Standard Chartered will face at least two stress tests per year under the [...]
Betting odds indicate 62 per cent probability of Remain as banks plan to draft in senior traders ahead of referendum night volatility June 15, 2016 Betting odds indicate that there is now a 62 per cent probability of a Remain vote in next week's referendum, according to Betfair. The implied probability of an In vote fell on Tuesday to around 55 per cent but then recovered to around 62 per cent later in the day, the bookmaker said. The slight [...]
Gold loses shine as it falls back below $1,300 June 17, 2016 The softer dollar pulled gold back from a two-year high today, as investor anxiety about next week's EU referendum eased slightly. The precious metal is still on course for its third weekly gain, with spot gold rising 0.7 per cent to $1,286.82 an ounce in early afternoon trading. US gold, however, slumped 0.6 per cent [...]
SocGen is set to expand its St James’s Square office by 8,000 square feet June 16, 2016 French banking giant Société Générale is about to double the size of its St James’s Square office. The bank, which is headquartered in Paris but operates major offices across London, is also moving ahead with plans to move into a new larger Canary Wharf office in 2019. The St James's office houses SocGen's private-banking arm and currently covers 8,000 square feet. [...]
Bayer secures €60bn loan facility to fund Monsanto bid June 2, 2016 In a bid to fund its $62bn takeover of US seeds company Monsanto, German drugs giant Bayer has secured a loan facility of a whopping €60bn. German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that Bayer secured a bridge loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, HSBC , Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Talks for the takeover started in May after [...]
Mastercard snaps up Vocalink giving banks a £700m windfall July 21, 2016 Mastercard has snapped up a majority stake in Vocalink, the payments processor that probably handles your salary payment, in a £700m deal giving the biggest UK banks a windfall. The deal comes after the UK regulator urged banks to sell their stake in Vocalink, the system which governs trillions of payments in the UK, from bacs salaries to [...]
HSBC and NatWest online banking glitch: Bankers return unrested after bank holidays August 31, 2015 HSBC and NatWest faced the financial equivalent of leaving the oven on before going on holiday this weekend, as both banks suffered IT glitches over the bank holiday leaving over 275,000 customers without their wages. The fault meant that salaries were not transferred from HSBC business accounts to the accounts of employees, including those [...]
City Moves for 23 May 2016 | Who’s switching jobs May 23, 2016 Together Specialist lender Together has appointed Colin Kersley to its retail board. As an independent non-executive director, Colin will also chair the retail audit committee. Colin was previously chief executive officer of M&S Bank (a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC) where he worked closely with the independent board to convert the card company to a bank, [...]
Feeling under pressure? Monte dei Paschi shares plummet ahead of European banking stress tests July 25, 2016 Investors may well be feeling the strain ahead of the European bank stress test results, as shares in troubled Monte dei Paschi have plunged more than eight per cent today. Shares in the Italian bank are down 8.2 per cent at €0.29 at time of writing and have lost over 80 per cent of their [...]