Bank of England braced for historic Super Thursday – London Report August 2, 2015 THIS WEEK includes s-called Super Thursday when the Bank of England’s policy announcement, meeting minutes from the monetary policy committee and the latest Inflation Report will – for the first time – all be released simultaneously. HSBC gets the week off with a bang today with interim results, Standard Life tomorrow and Legal & General [...]
Vickers defends his ring-fencing bank reforms June 30, 2015 THE ARCHITECT of the UK’s post-financial crisis banking reforms staunchly defended his recommendation for retail banks to be ring-fenced yesterday, saying the case is stronger than ever. Sir John Vickers, who headed up the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) that recommended the reforms in 2011, told the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee: “In my [...]
FTSE slumps as miners plumb China depths – London Report September 29, 2015 BRITAIN’S leading share index fell yesterday as fears grew over mining group Glencore’s ability to withstand a metals price slump and as Vodafone’s European tie-up talks with Liberty Global ended. The FTSE 100 index was down 2.5 per cent, at 5,958.86 points at its close, a touch lower than European indexes. The UK market is [...]
City Moves for 29 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 28, 2015 DEARMAN The technology company has hired Joanne Spick as its new chief financial officer (CFO). She was previously CFO and acting chief executive of the Dylan Group, the specialist steel products firm. She has worked for blue chip companies across the UK and Europe, including ICI, Menzies Aviation and GdF Suez. ARBUTHNOT LATHAM The private [...]
Tom Hayes Libor trial timeline key dates: Former trader accused on attempting to manipulate Libor rate August 3, 2015 Well, that's it: former UBS and Citibank trader Tom Hayes has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, after being found guilty on eight counts of conspiring to rig the Libor rate. During a nine-week trial, the prosecution painted Hayes as someone who acted in a "thoroughly dishonest and manipulative manner" to mastermind a web [...]
Scramble to remortgage as interest rates look set to rise from record lows July 29, 2015 The mortgage market is heating up, according to new figures, as rock-bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging. Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said yesterday. The number of [...]
Round 2: Trial of six brokers accused of Libor rate-rigging begins in London today October 6, 2015 Six brokers accused of Libor rigging will see their trial begin in London today and could face decades in jail as the second instalment of the Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) war on financial misconduct gets underway. The six brokers – who have worked at ICAP, RP Martin and Tullett Prebon – are charged with [...]
John Vickers says ringfencing rules are still necessary June 30, 2015 Despite some bankers calling for an end to ringfencing, John Vickers says the case for separating the retail banking and investment banking arms of banks is still necessary. The architect behind ringfencing plans has said British banks still need to protect domestic retail customers from riskier parts of their operations, and the case for this [...]
City Moves for 6 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 5, 2015 ETF SECURITIES The provider of exchange traded products has appointed James Butterfill as head of research & investment strategy. Based in London, he will report direct to Mark Weeks, the firm’s chief executive officer. Prior to joining ETF Securities, Butterfill worked at HSBC, and most recently at Coutts, as a multi-asset fund manager and global [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Shares in RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays fall as chancellor outlines profit measures December 3, 2014 Shares in UK banks dropped in early afternoon trading as George Osborne outlined measures to limit the amount of profit lenders can offset by losses. In his Autumn Statement speech, Osborne said he would limit offests to 50 per cent, and delay relief on bad debts, which he added will raise £4bn for the Treasury [...]