Flowers: Chancellor wanted a Co-op deal March 25, 2014 DISGRACED former chairman of the Co-operative Bank Paul Flowers has accused the chancellor of being the driving force behind a deal which ultimately exposed the bank’s dire financial situation. In an explosive interview on the BBC’s Newsnight programme, Flowers told Jeremy Paxman that he came under “considerable” pressure from the government to complete a successful [...]
Co-op could cut off ailing bank March 24, 2014 THE CO-OP Group could sever its 143-year ties with its bank, after the scandal-hit lender yesterday revealed another £400m gap in its finances. Losses have now ballooned to £1.3bn for 2013, after bad loans came in even higher than expected and as its PPI mis-selling compensation bill keeps mounting, the bank said. It is asking [...]
Bottom Line: Time to stop throwing good money after bad March 24, 2014 WHEN stressed out, at-odds parents are involved in a heated dispute of their own, the last thing they need is their naughtiest child barging in and asking for cash. But that’s what happened to the Co-op Group yesterday, when its flailing bank subsidiary came knocking for another £120m to prop up its losses – on [...]
Letters to the Editor – 25/03 – Russia and the City, Savings culture, Best of Twitter March 24, 2014 Russia and the City [Re: The UK is not as dependent on Russian money as you think, yesterday] Some interesting data, but there are also some unanswered questions. What about law firms’ revenue? And even if the money is not held in the UK, how much of it is managed from a UK-based family office? [...]
What you need to know before the open March 24, 2014 Fears over what’ll be Russia’s next move in Crimea are expected to prompt markets to open lower in Europe. Moreover, weaker Chinese data – the HSBC purchasing managers’ index has fallen to an unexpected eight-month low – is anticipated to affect sentiment. Russian troops have taken control of a Crimean naval base at Feodosia, Ukrainian [...]
Co-op Bank says it needs a further £400m March 24, 2014 The beleagured Co-op Bank has announced something of a combshell this morning: it needs to find another £400m of capital to cover unexpected costs and charges relating to misconduct and poor documentation. The lender's management has uncovered the costs, which come predominantly from compensation for PPI misselling, poor customer treatment relating to mortgages and breaching [...]
Co-op reshuffles management in group’s first wave of reforms March 19, 2014 THE MANAGEMENT team at the Co-op was reshuffled yesterday in the embattled group’s latest bid to show the leadership is serious about reforming its structure. It came as the mutual delayed its annual results and general meeting from next week to 17 April. The shake-up is the first stage of a series of reforms which [...]
Letters to the Editor – 18/03 – No clothes Cameron, Best of Twitter March 17, 2014 No clothes Cameron [Re: Cameron sets out his agenda for EU reform, yesterday] David Cameron’s EU plan will be a stillbirth, if it ever reaches the delivery room. Powers cannot flow away from a German-driven, Frenchbacked, ever closer union, which suits weaker member states. Qualified majority voting is increasingly the norm, and there is little [...]
City & Gild: Modernisation is the only way back to the future for the Co-op March 17, 2014 So what do we make of the recent goings-on at the Co-op Group, the once proud pioneer of social corporate responsibility? Taking their business issues to one side, it’s hard to knock their vision and values – to want to build a better society through ethical leadership (among other, altruistic aims) is not only a [...]
Morrisons cuts prices after new profit warning March 13, 2014 MORRISONS sent shockwaves through the food retail industry yesterday after warning that underlying profits would halve this year and announced plans to spend £1bn on cutting prices over the next three years. Chief executive Dalton Philips said it will invest £300m this year to narrow the price gap with discounters, following similar moves by Tesco, [...]