Standard Chartered profits surge as loan-loss provisions fall sharply August 3, 2021 Standard Chartered posted a better-than-expected 57 per cent jump in first-half pre-tax profits as it followed fellow banking giants in releasing a wave of capital set aside in anticipation of a surge in Covid-related customer defaults. Pre-tax profit for Standard Chartered, which has a strong presence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, rose to [...]
Societe Generale returns to profit as retail banking recovers August 3, 2021 French bank Societe Generale swung back to profit in the second quarter of this year driven by a rebound in its retail banking arm. The lender registered net income of €1.4bn in the second quarter of 2021, up sharply from a €1.2bn loss in the same period the year before. Read more: Standard Chartered profits [...]
A path to Britcoin: a UK digital currency isn’t just about the money, it’s a public service July 29, 2021 Innovations in central banking rarely attract attention. But, from the Bank Charter Act of 1848, which set in motion the Bank of England’s monopoly on printing money, through to its operational independence in 1997, the central bank has reinvented itself time and again to strengthen public trust in the pound. Now, a wave of technological [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? July 28, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Environmental Agency chair joins Green Finance Institute board The Green Finance Institute (GFI) has posted the chair of the UK’s Environmental Agency as its new interim chair, following the death of its founding chairman Sir Roger [...]
Exclusive: IWG founder and office veteran Mark Dixon on why hybrid working is the new normal July 28, 2021 Office space giant IWG swung to a £650m loss last year due to the impact of coronavirus on working habits, it announced earlier this year. However, founder and CEO Mark Dixon has full confidence in the future of London’s offices, as he sits down with City A.M. for an exclusive interview. Dixon said his company [...]
Watchdog slams KPMG for ‘unacceptable’ bank audits for third year running July 26, 2021 KPMG has been called out for failing to meet standards in its bank audits for the third year in a row, by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in a review published on Friday, that found that a third of large company audits by the biggest UK firms failed to meet standards. The industry watchdog called [...]
FTSE 100 in the red ahead of key week of corporate results July 26, 2021 The FTSE 100 started the week in the red this morning as energy and banking stocks dragged down the index. London’s premier market was down 0.4 per cent after two hours of trading, with the FTSE 250 faring little better at 0.2 per cent down. The slide comes ahead of a week stuffed with corporate [...]
Should the regulator have the power to establish a standardised Code of Ethics for all the chartered accountancy bodies July 21, 2021 Loree Gourley, Chair of the ICAS Ethics Board, considers the BEIS consultation proposal for the regulator to have the power to establish and enforce a standardised Code of Ethics for all the chartered accountancy bodies. The BEIS consultation ‘Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance’ was published on 18 March 2021, with responses being due [...]
British anti-fraud startup Quantexa nears unicorn status after $153m funding round July 13, 2021 Quantexa, a British tech startup specialising in anti-fraud software, is closing in on unicorn status after raising $153m (£110m) in fresh funding. The Series D funding round, led by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, values Quantexa at more than $900m. Existing investors including Dawn Capital, Albion VC, HSBC, and ABN AMRO Ventures also contributed to [...]
Chartered Accountants must lead and champion the ICAS ethical values – the foundations for trust July 8, 2021 Every Chartered Accountant (CA) must demonstrate the highest ethical standards to fulfil their profession’s duty to the public interest. “On the subject of being uncomfortable with the ethical responsibility of leadership, the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer found that 86 percent of people surveyed worldwide now expect CEOs to speak out on controversial social issues, with almost two-thirds [...]