Barclays’ Ashok Vaswani is hoping to turn around the UK’s most broken industry July 27, 2014 "My name is Ashok Vaswani. My role is to listen to customers, to make sure we give them what they want.” This understates his job title somewhat. Vaswani is Barclays’ CEO of personal and corporate banking, a powerful new job which has seen him take control of its global operations in retail, business and [...]
Ryanair passenger numbers reach new highs July 4, 2014 Passenger numbers for Europe's biggest low-cost carriers continued to soar in June as Ryanair announced record figures today. Ryanair reported that June traffic grew five per cent to 8.3m travellers, compared to 7.9m last year. With that rise, the budget airline has flown a record 82.7m customers in the year to June 2014, up three [...]
Tesco to splash £11m on Dave Lewis and Philip Clarke rescue operation July 21, 2014 Tesco will spend more than £1.8m on its new chief executive Dave Lewis but up to £9.6m on departing boss Philip Clarke as the supermarket puts its faith in the industry outsider to turn its sales around. Clarke’s shock departure and his replacement with Unilever’s president of personal care, who will start in October, comes [...]
Welcome to the banker-poets: Why creativity thrives in financial services July 10, 2014 Why should I let the toad work/ Squat on my life?” With the summer holiday season upon us, it’s easy, even in a hardworking and ambitious place like the City, for the mind to turn to the pleasures of life outside the office. But Philip Larkin’s bitter question shouldn’t get the better of us for [...]
Is email dying? Some firms are betting on social August 8, 2014 But the trusty inbox isn’t set to disappear in the near future. It's so ubiquitous that it sounds strange to ask whether email might be on its last legs. But if Ofcom’s latest report (released yesterday) is anything to go by, it’s a question worth considering. The regulator found that young people are turning [...]
Royal London boss calls on FCA chief to look at pension rules May 13, 2014 THE BOSS of mutual Royal London has called on the financial regulator to tighten up the rules on advice offered to people on their retirement, specifically around pensions. Announcing the group’s first quarter results, Phil Loney said the government’s guarantee of guidance, outlined in the Budget in March, does not go far enough. “There is [...]
Karren Brady among 22 new peers as David Cameron fields accusations of cronyism August 8, 2014 West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady is among 22 new peers announced by the government today. The former Apprentice TV show judge is one of 12 new Tory peers, along with former chief executive of Marks and Spencer Sir Stuart Rose. Three new Labour peers, six from the Liberal Democrats and a Democratic Unionist [...]
UK confidence grows despite pay pressures October 20, 2013 CONFIDENCE in the British economy is still on the rise despite the ongoing squeeze on pay, according to two surveys of thousands of UK consumers. Both Lloyds’ and Deloitte’s most recent analyses of consumer confidence found the strongest sentiment since their surveys began, in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Both reports demonstrate growing confidence in the [...]
The nominations roll in as we launch our awards June 29, 2014 It’s that time of year again – City A.M. is today launching its fifth annual awards, one of the most hotly anticipated occasions in the City calendar. The event, which celebrates those who have helped put the City of London at the centre of the world’s financial markets, will take place on 13 November at [...]
Banking brain drain: Four unintended consequences of post-crisis regulation August 10, 2014 Since the financial crisis, governments have made wide-ranging changes to the way financial institutions are regulated. In particular, regulators have focused on the amount and type of capital that banks and other financial institutions must hold, and set new standards as to how they must interact with consumers and markets. This has given rise to [...]