Bank levy set to be reduced November 14, 2010 GEORGE Osborne is likely to make significant concessions over his plans for a banking levy, after major institutions like HSBC and Standard Chartered warned it could force them to relocate. The partial climb-down follows weeks of intense lobbying from the industry during a consultation period that will end on Friday. Although the chancellor still intends [...]
Metro Bank eyes expansion after raising £50m December 13, 2010 Metro Bank, launched in July as Britain’s first new high street retail bank in more than 100 years, said it had raised £50m of new capital from investors to further develop its business. The latest round of capital raising builds on an initial £75m raised earlier this year, and the company said the new cash [...]
FTSE 100 bounce back led by banks January 11, 2011 The FTSE 100 lifted in early trading today as banking stocks led the way. The recovery came after a poor session yesterday with the euro zone debt crisis casting a shadow over European markets. Citigroup upgraded HSBC to “buy” from “hold”, fuelling more confidence in the banking sector. Barclays also climbed as the London Stock [...]
FTSE 100 bounce back led by banks January 11, 2011 The FTSE 100 lifted in early trading today as banking stocks led the way. The recovery came after a poor session yesterday with the euro zone debt crisis casting a shadow over European markets. Citigroup upgraded HSBC to “buy” from “hold”, fuelling more confidence in the banking sector. Barclays also climbed as the London Stock [...]
Everyone wants piece of Asia December 9, 2010 In many ways, Standard Chartered is the perfect bank. It has unique exposure to emerging markets, is well-capitalised with high levels of liquidity, and is reassuringly disciplined when it comes to costs. But yesterday’s update suggests its prudence is less steadfast than previously thought. Peter Sands can make a good case for growing costs more [...]
Ping An to expand into banking November 22, 2010 Ping An Insurance Co of China, the world’s second-biggest insurer, said it aims to draw half of its profit from non-insurance operations within three to five years, up from about 30 per cent currently. The firm said it aims to become a financial conglomerate modelled after the likes of HSBC and Citigroup, with banking and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 5, 2011 Prudential The insurance giant has announced the appointment of Peter Goerke as group human resources director, with effect from the start of March. He will be a member of the executive committee and succeeds Priscilla Vacassin in the job. Goerke comes to the company from Zurich Financial Services Group, where he has worked since 2005 [...]
L’Occitane majority shareholder cashes in £86m worth of its shares December 12, 2010 L’OCCITANE International said its controlling shareholder has sold $136m (£86m) worth of its shares at HK$21.14 (£1.72) each, or a 1.9 per cent discount to Friday’s closing price, in a share placement. The French skincare products retailer said the share sale allowed its controlling shareholder, the L’Occitane Groupe (LOG), to monetise a small portion of [...]
Pru loses trio of top execs November 23, 2010 A TRIO of senior executives at Prudential have resigned, it emerged yesterday, potentially unsettling the company as it tries to rebuild investor confidence. Thibaut Le Maire, chief risk officer at the financial services group, is thought to have resigned to take a senior role at HSBC after less than two years at the firm. HSBC [...]
Investment banking salaries up 20 per cent December 3, 2010 THE average basic salary for investment banking staff in the City has risen by 20 per cent over the last year, a survey by financial services recruitment company Astbury Marsden said on Friday. As political pressure mounts on City firms to curb their end-of-year bonus packages, many companies have sought to offset this by increasing [...]