Suspicion remains that Rathi is annoying all the right people at the FCA May 3, 2022 An industrial dispute at the City regulator is always going to make good copy for financial journalists, and this week’s planned strike at the Financial Conduct Authority is no different. Scratch a little deeper, though, and it appears Unite the Union’s industrial action is more student politics than the first signs of revolution in Stratford. [...]
Green energy boom could be windfall for London insurers May 3, 2022 THE MASSIVE boom in energy projects required by a global shift twoards ‘net zero’ could double the London insurance market, according to a brokers’ body. The estimate of the amount of investment required in green energy to hit the zero emissions target by 2050 is around $5trn. Research by the London and International Insurance Brokers’ [...]
UK should follow in Chile’s footsteps with sustainability-linked bonds, says top think tank May 2, 2022 The UK should follow in Chile’s footsteps in issuing so-called ‘sustainability-linked’ bonds, which pay out more to investors should the government fail to meet its net zero targets, according to one of the country’s top think tanks. In a paper published today, the Social Market Foundation (SMF) has urged chancellor Rishi Sunak to haul in [...]
HSBC under pressure to split operations: reports May 1, 2022 An Asian shareholder is lobbying HSBC to split ifs operations into two, according to multiple reports this weekend. Chinese insurance giant Ping An, which owns just shy of ten per cent of the bank, is believed to want HSBC’s Asian business listed in Hong Kong and the rest to stay in London. Ping An is [...]
HSBC’s biggest shareholder tells bank to spin off Asian business April 30, 2022 China’s largest insurer has told HSBC it should break itself up and separate out its Asian operations. Shenzhen headquartered insurer Ping An has told HSBC’s board it believes the London and Hong Kong listed bank should split itself up, in order to free up the its Asian business. The Chinese insurance giant, which owns a [...]
Russia dodges default after paying debts in US dollars April 30, 2022 Russia has paid $649m worth of interest payments using its US currency reserves, in a bid to avoid a default. The payments come after Russia said it would only repay its debts in its own currency, as it claimed sanctions were blocking it from paying in dollars. The Russian Federation has now sent $649m in [...]
Leaked ASA report: Regulator to order HSBC to end greenwashing and stop misleading UK customers April 29, 2022 City A.M. understands that a preliminary, unpublished decision by the advertising regulator rules that a number of HSBC’s climate-focused ads are misleading, and that the watchdog demands that future marketing must not omit significant information about its contribution to rising emissions. The ASA’s draft recommendations, seen by this paper, focus on two of HSBC’s ads, [...]
ECB gets more nervous by the day as Eurozone inflation hits highest level ever: Sixth record in a row April 29, 2022 Inflation hit a new record for the 19 countries that use the euro as skyrocketing fuel prices boosted by the war in Ukraine add new burdens to household finances and weigh on a slowing economic recovery from the latest outbreaks of Covid-19. Annual inflation hit 7.5 per cent for April, the highest since statistics started [...]
Natwest’s profits soar as high interest rates boost bank’s mortgage business April 29, 2022 Natwest today said its profits had almost doubled since the previous quarter, despite inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, and the war in Ukraine. The bank said it had generated £841m in profits in the first quarter of 2022, up 93.8 per cent compared to the £434m in profits Natwest posted in Q4 2021. The first quarter [...]
Glass Lewis drums up rebellion against NatWest chief’s £5m payout April 28, 2022 One of the world’s biggest shareholder representation groups is urging investors in NatWest to rebel against an over £5m payout to the bank’s boss. Alison Rose, the bank’s chief, is set to net the first significant executive pay upgrade since NatWest fell back into private hands last month for the first time since it was [...]