From the LSE Gaddafi scandal to RBS: Sir Howard Davies’ comeback is nearly complete February 23, 2015 With Westminster being rocked by new cash for access revelations, now is a pertinent moment to pose the following question: How long does it take to bounce back from a scandal? Time can be a great healer of reputations, yet some people in the public eye fail to recover from a hit to their standing. [...]
Airports commission chair Sir Howard Davies to be named as new chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland February 23, 2015 After a lengthy search, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is close to naming Airports Commission chair Sir Howard Davies as its new chairman, has been reported. The FT suggested this morning that the appointment of Davies, a former McKinsey consultant who resigned from his post as director of the London School of Economics in 2011 [...]
Bonuses down despite strong year for Britain’s biggest banks February 19, 2015 Payouts for top bankers have taken a tumble so far this year, according to industry data seen by City A.M., as the bonus cap combined with investor and political pressure takes its toll. Preliminary data from pay benchmarking site Emolument.com shows bonuses for front office staff falling precipitously this year compared with last year’s pay [...]
HSBC needs to re-learn its ABCs, or better still, its KYCs February 18, 2015 PLAC, CRD-4, the FCA and the PRA: but for HSBC, the most important acronym in the banking lexicon right now is KYC (Know Your Customer). Since inheriting the reins of Europe’s largest bank four years ago, Stuart Gulliver has rarely been out of his firefighter’s overalls. On many of those occasions it was the bank’s [...]
Lloyds chief Antonio Horta Osorio warns breaking up banks will hurt small businesses February 10, 2015 Splitting off new high street banks from Lloyds and RBS has not helped boost competition for small businesses, Lloyds’ chief claimed yesterday. In a carefully worded warning to Ed Miliband – who wants to break up the big banks – Antonio Horta Osorio said other solutions are needed to help SMEs shop around. “Many things [...]
Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds and RBS credit ratings slashed as states promise no more bailouts February 3, 2015 Britain’s biggest banks saw their credit ratings chopped back last night by Standard and Poor’s, as the agency believes the government is serious in its promise to let bad banks fail. While ratings are normally cut when a firm performs poorly, in this case the move reflects the shift in risk from the taxpayer and [...]
RBS to receive £1.1bn from US hedge fund Cerberus for Irish home loans portfolio December 16, 2014 Royal Bank of Scotland will raise £1.1bn from the sale of a portfolio of Irish real estate loans to hedge fund Cerberus Capital Management. The distressed assets generated losses equal to £800m for RBS in 2013, primarily due to impairment, and the lender now says it will use the sale proceeds for general corporate [...]
Co-op fails Bank of England stress test, RBS and Lloyds at risk December 16, 2014 The Co-operative Bank has failed the Bank of England’s (BoE) stringent new stress test, while Lloyds and RBS would be at risk in a new economic crisis. The prudential regulation authority (PRA) tested seven banks and building society Nationwide to see how they would handle a financial meltdown of epic proportions. While Lloyds, Standard Chartered, [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Shares in RBS, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays fall as chancellor outlines profit measures December 3, 2014 Shares in UK banks dropped in early afternoon trading as George Osborne outlined measures to limit the amount of profit lenders can offset by losses. In his Autumn Statement speech, Osborne said he would limit offests to 50 per cent, and delay relief on bad debts, which he added will raise £4bn for the Treasury [...]
RBS to put Aldgate office block up for sale with £90m price tag November 27, 2014 The Royal Bank of Scotland is close to putting one of its office buildings in Aldgate up for sale, as it looks to cut costs and tap into booming demand for property in London’s Tech City area. The bank has lined up agents at DTZ to sell Aldgate Union on Whitechapel High Street, with offers [...]