Take a punt on how much further British banking stocks can rise November 25, 2009 THE Bank of England’s secret deal which saw it lend ailing Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS an astonishing £61.6bn last October was a timely reminder of just how bad the situation was this time last year. The global financial system was struggling to rebalance itself and many banks had either collapsed entirely or been [...]
Q & A : THEBONUS CLAMPDOWN November 15, 2009 Q.HOWWILLTHENEWRULESAFFECTBANKERS’ PAYA.A code of conduct on bonuses published by the Financial Services Authority (FSA)in February this year said firms needed to ensure that remuneration policies did not expose them to excessive risk. It set out the proportion of bonuses that needed to be deferred and how long deferrals should be, how much should be awarded [...]
London rises to highest close in 3 weeks on Dubai bailout December 14, 2009 BRITAIN’S top share index closed at its highest level in a week yesterday, led by banks, after Abu Dhabi bailed out Dubai with $10bn in surprise aid, with commodities stocks also notching up solid gains. The FTSE 100 closed up 53.77 points at 5,315.34, its highest close since 4 December, adding to a rise the [...]
Lloyds denies bonus plans October 4, 2009 Lloyds Banking Group has refuted allegations that it plans to pay multi-million pound bonuses to its top managers. The rebuttal comes after it was alleged that the bank planned to match the pay of Royal Bank of Scotland’s executives. Lloyds claims that its remuneration committee is in the very early stages of a review and [...]
Lloyds denies bonus plans October 4, 2009 Lloyds Banking Group has refuted allegations that it plans to pay multi-million pound bonuses to its top managers. The rebuttal comes after it was alleged that the bank planned to match the pay of Royal Bank of Scotland’s executives. Lloyds claims that its remuneration committee is in the very early stages of a review and [...]
HESTER TOLD TO OFFLOAD HOARE GOVETT November 5, 2009 ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) boss Stephen Hester is facing calls to sell off one of the crown jewels in its empire, corporate broking house Hoare Govett, amid concerns new rules on bonuses at the group will irreparably damage the bank’s competitiveness. Rival City bankers last night claimed the future of RBS’s investment banking business [...]
Resolution’s hunt for deals gathers pace November 12, 2009 RESOLUTION, the insurance-focused takeover vehicle owned by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, says it is still hungry for acquisitions, boosting shares in possible target Legal & General. Resolution reiterated its aim to buy two more major insurers within 15 months following its takeover of Friends Provident, saying upcoming regulatory changes made consolidation “both desirable and inevitable” in [...]
Investors in scramble for Lloyds bonds November 23, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group yesterday said investors had heavily oversubscribed to its ground-breaking contingent convertible bond exchange plan, sending the stock 3.8 per cent higher and paving the way for a strong take-up for its upcoming rights issue. Lloyds, which said the result marked “an important milestone” in its capital-raising exercise, raised £8.5bn in its non-US [...]
Retreating miners offset a strong day for banking sector December 3, 2009 A retreat in mining stocks offset gains in financials from Bank of America’s decision to repay bailout funds, leaving Britain’s top share index down 0.3 per cent at yesterday’s close. The FTSE 100 shed 14.39 points to end at 5,313.00, after gaining 0.3 percent on Wednesday. Banks were the top risers with sentiment helped by [...]
Rising stars ofCity fight off the downturn December 6, 2009 ONE hundred of the City’s most precocious young stars have been honoured in a round-up of the hottest names to watch in the world of finance over the coming year. The list of 100 Rising Stars, compiled by Financial News, includes Goldman Sachs emerging markets trader Jan Sramek, who at the tender age of 22 [...]