Banks hoping for levy freeze June 8, 2015 BRITAIN’S banks hope George Osborne may begin to adopt a warmer tone to the sector at his Mansion House speech tomorrow. Lenders do not expect the chancellor to stop bank bashing, as he introduced the bank levy and hiked it nine times, but they do hope for a softening in his tone. HSBC boss Stuart [...]
Whistleblowers should be “rewarded and celebrated”, says HSBC boss September 23, 2014 Whistleblowers at financial services firms should be "rewarded and celebrated", HSBC Group chairman Douglas Flint said at the launch of a campaign encouraging people to speak out against wrongdoing today. Set up by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment, Speak Up is designed to encourage the financial services industry to help staff who [...]
The Banker’s top 1,000 world banks 2015: UK lenders slide down rankings as Chinese institutions move up June 29, 2015 UK banks continue to lose their global position as Chinese banks power ahead, according to The Banker’s latest ranking of the Top 1,000 banks. HSBC fell from fifth place to ninth, Barclays from 12th to 13th and Royal Bank of Scotland from 15th to 18th as they restructured and slimmed down in the wake [...]
City Moves for 15 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 14, 2015 Societe Generale Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking has announced two appointments in its global finance division. Alvaro Huete (pictured) becomes deputy head of global finance and head of global finance for the UK. He was previously global head of syndications and has also worked at Nomura, Banco Urquijo and Lloyds Bank. Terence Shanahan, previously [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne pledges lowest corporation tax in G20 but new bank tax hits UK small lenders July 8, 2015 Chancellor pledges lowest corporation tax in the G20 – but casts punitive net over the UK’s small lenders Chancellor George Osborne ushered in a new tax regime for British banks yesterday, dialling down the controversial bank levy while introducing a new corporation tax surcharge for the entire lending industry. In a summer Budget that the [...]
City Moves for 17 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 16, 2015 Matthews & Goodman The commercial property adviser has announced the appointment of Giles Thomas to its national business space team. He most recently worked for TRW Real Estate, and began his career at Strutt and Parker, where he headed up its industrial team. Wedlake Bell The law firm has announced two promotions within its business [...]
City Moves for 26 August 2015 | Who’s switching jobs August 25, 2015 Close Brothers Asset Management Nicholas Cliffe has been appointed investment director at the investment management firm. He joins from HSBC Global Asset Management, where he spent five years as a discretionary wealth manager. Ashurst The law firm has appointed Shaun Lascelles as a partner in its global private equity team. He joins from the London [...]
George Osborne set for a grilling over new bank tax July 20, 2015 George Osborne is expected to face a grilling from MPs today over the new bank surcharge – set to be introduced next year – when he appears before a Treasury select committee for the first time since the Budget. Mark Garnier, a Conservative minister on the Treasury select committee, told City A.M. that while [...]
George Osborne’s great government sell-off: Taxpayers risk getting burnt as sun may yet shine on RBS June 10, 2015 So after almost seven years, the moment has arrived. The symbolic importance of George Osborne’s announcement last night that the Treasury is to begin selling Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) shares at a loss is hard to overstate. “I’m not interested in what is easy – I’m interested in what is right,” he told [...]
Leasing activity in London office market heats up to 17-year high June 29, 2015 LEASING activity in the London office market hit 6.3m square feet in the first half of 2015 – the highest level in 17 years – fuelled by pent up demand on the back of the General Election and firms moving east. Property advisory firm Cushman & Wakefield said lettings in the second quarter reached 3.3m [...]