Lord Davies to turn down Lloyds top job June 28, 2009 THE RACE for the chairmanship of Lloyds Banking Group is set to narrow, with trade minister Lord Davies likely to pull out of the running in favour of staying in the parliamentary role he was given by Gordon Brown earlier this year. Davies, who stepped down as chairman of Standard Chartered to join the government, [...]
Lloyds in talks to sell part of fund business June 9, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group is thought to be in negotiations to sell part of the fund management arm it acquired when it merged with HBOS last year for up to £300m in a private equity-backed management buyout. Abdallah Nauphal, the former chief executive of Insight Investment Management and managing director of asset management at Lloyds, is [...]
UK stocks keep on rallying buoyed by energy climbers July 27, 2009 BUOYANT energy stocks and miners helped Britain’s top share index rise for a record-equalling 11th straight session, though gains were limited by falls on Wall Street after corporate earnings disappointed. The FTSE 100 was up 9.52 points, or 0.2 per cent at 4,586.13, hitting its highest closing level since 5 January. The index has risen [...]
StanChart plumps for John Peace July 2, 2009 EMERGING markets bank Standard Chartered, which has enjoyed healthy revenues and profits, confirmed yesterday it had appointed John Peace as the group’s new chairman with immediate effect. Peace, 60, is set to receive £650,000 a year and a further £500,000 in shares, which will vest over the next three years. He is also chairman of [...]
Myths and reality of the bank shake-up November 3, 2009 AS predictably as day follows night, the myth-making machine spiralled out of control again yesterday. Perhaps the biggest is that the UK banking system is uniquely concentrated. As Citigroup research reveals, this simply is not so: overall UK banking system concentration (using the World Bank’s measure of assets of the biggest three banks as a [...]
FTSE 100 hits a yearly high on cheery earnings season July 23, 2009 THE FTSE 100 broke through the 4,500 level yesterday as it rose for the ninth straight day on the back of positive economic data and a rally in banks and miners. The index rose by 66.07 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 4,559.80, the highest closing level since early January, having touched a high of [...]
JJB Sports set to raise extra funds July 5, 2009 Struggling sportswear retailer JJB Sports has confirmed it is considering selling shares to raise extra funds. The group, which has been undergoing a rescue turn-around led by retail veteran Sir David Jones, confirmed it was “reviewing a range of possible options to provide additional capital.” It is understood that JJB Sports is looking to raise [...]
Bank brands to disappear November 3, 2009 A CARVE-UP of British high street banks will leave the future of a catalogue of household names in the balance. RBS must sell Direct Line and Churchill as well as 318 other branches as new EU orders kick-in. Meanwhile at Lloyds the TSB and Cheltenham and Gloucester are also in line for the cull, changing [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 8, 2009 Collins StewartThe investment banking group has appointed Simon Whittley as an intermediary sales manager to its wealth management division. Whittley will be responsible for increasing referral business from law firms, accountants, independent financial advisers and trust companies. He previously worked at Credit Suisse Private Bank, Arbuthnot Latham Investment Management and Close Wealth Management. HSBCAndrew Keen has [...]
SANTANDER CHIEF BREAKING CITY HEARTS WITH HIS EXOTIC CHARM August 3, 2009 WHILE all the big British bank bosses are pitted against each other this week in terms of first-half profits, Spanish bank Santander’s UK boss António Horta-Osório has been enjoying the glory of a rather more frivolous accolade. Horta-Osório became chief executive of Abbey in August 2006, after long stints at the helm of the bank’s [...]