Mastercard’s £700m Vocalink deal raises competition concerns with watchdog January 4, 2017 Mastercard's £700m deal for Vocalink has raised concerns over competition in the payments infrastructure business with the market watchdog. Owned by a collective of 18 banks, including Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC, Vocalink provides the infrastructure for many payments in Britain such as Bacs and the Faster Payments Service as well as the Link ATM network. Concerns have [...]
No country for rugby men? How tiki-taka philosophy put Spain on the cusp of Rugby World Cup glory March 15, 2018 Former flanker turned Hollywood star Javier Bardem once described playing rugby in Spain as “like being a bullfighter in Japan”. Despite its proximity to the relative European rugby powerhouses of France and Italy, the sight of a cauliflower-eared back rower in the land of Real Madrid and Barcelona would be as incongruous as a traditionally-clothed [...]
House prices in UK cities are now less affordable than any time in the last 10 years February 2, 2018 Buying a house in UK cities has reached its least affordable in a decade, new research has shown, after the gap between house prices and average earnings widened further. The average worker in must now spend seven times their earnings to buy a house in a city, figures by Lloyds Bank showed, up from 6.9 [...]
Citi and JP Morgan top regulators’ list of systemically important banks, as HSBC and Barclays move to lower tier November 21, 2016 Citigroup has joined JP Morgan Chase as one of the world's top two "systemically important banks", according to an updated list published today by the Financial Stability Board (FSB). Banks in the top tier will have to hold 2.5 per cent of their assets as buffer capital in case of another crisis. This means that US [...]
What will your bank be called after RBS restructures? September 30, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) customers could see the name of their bank change, when the lender restructures to comply with UK ring-fencing regulations. RBS today set out its plans for the reshuffle – here's what the group is moving, and what the new entities will be called. RBS becomes Adam & Company… but not [...]
The City’s pay schizophrenia will fuel discord March 17, 2017 There won’t be much sympathy on the streets of the City today for the eight dozen-or-so people who chair FTSE-100 remuneration committees. Call it Thumbscrews Day, if you like – because by the close of play, Whitehall will have been deluged with all sorts of funky ideas about how boards should be addressing the Prime Minister’s desired clampdown on [...]
The results are out: Here’s how your bank would do if 2008 repeated itself November 30, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland has failed all of the Bank of England's stress test measures, the worst performer among the UK's major lenders. RBS will now have to draw up a new capital plan, and the Bank's prudential regulation authority (PRA) will monitor its progress. RBS finance chief Ewen Stevenson said: "We are committed to creating a stronger, [...]
City Moves for 23 January 2017 – who’s switching jobs? January 23, 2017 Today's City Moves are dominated by lawyers and bankers. While Andrew Oldland has joined Michelmores LLP, Lloyds Bank has appointed Stephen Quinn to head its global financial sponsors team. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Michelmores LLP Barrister, Queen’s Counsel and part-time judge Andrew Oldland has been appointed as senior partner at Michelmores LLP. He will be [...]
City Moves for 11 January 2017 | Who’s switching jobs January 11, 2017 Wilton & Bain Erin Callaghan has joined Wilton & Bain as a Partner in the firm’s technology practice. Erin has over 10 years’ experience in executive recruitment and has built a track record of delivering senior assignments in the international technology sector, including FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies as well as VC or private equity [...]
Major banks’ shares fall as investors prepare for Bank of England stress tests November 28, 2016 Banks' shares were among the biggest fallers in the FTSE 100 this morning as investors brace themselves for the Bank of England's stress test results later this week. At time of writing: Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland are down 2.1 per cent at 197.3p, Barclays is down 1 per cent at 213.3p, Lloyds Banking Group is [...]