Spac revolution set to unlock Big Bang 2.0 for the City of London March 3, 2021 The UK is set to spark a second Big Bang for the City post-Brexit, with a landmark government report calling for regulators to allow Spacs to list in London and ease a range of share listing restrictions. Lord Jonathan Hill’s report into future financial services regulation, released today, calls for a range of deregulatory measures [...]
Banks raise the alarm over £100 contactless payment limit March 2, 2021 Major UK banks are said to have raised concerns over an increase in the contactless payment limit to £100 due to the growing risk of fraud. In his Budget tomorrow chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to hike the cap on contactless spending from its current limit of £45. But a string of high street lenders [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak to outline post-Brexit regulatory shakeup for the City of London March 2, 2021 Rishi Sunak will outline plans to improve the City of London’s post-Brexit competitiveness in tomorrow’s Budget as he releases a highly anticipated report from the UK’s former EU commissioner for financial services. Sunak is planning to create a new stock listings regime in London to compete with other global financial centres that have benefited from [...]
Barclays faces fresh shareholder showdown over fossil fuels ahead of COP26 March 2, 2021 Barclays faces a second consecutive year of shareholder pressure on its position as Europe’s largest fossil fuel financier, after a shareholder resolution has been filed for the bank’s upcoming AGM on 5 May. The resolution calls for financing and exposure to coal, oil and gas to fall in line with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. [...]
Credit Suisse halts redemptions on $10bn Greensill-linked funds March 1, 2021 Credit Suisse has suspended redemptions and subscriptions on a range of investments linked to the Softbank-backed finance firm Greensill Capital. Greensill Capital is the brainchild of former Citigroup and Morgan Stanley financier Lex Greensill and it employs former PM David Cameron as an adviser. Greensill specialises in supply-chain finance where businesses borrow money to pay [...]
Brexit: Labour calls for ‘more ambitious’ UK-EU financial services talks March 1, 2021 Shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has called for the UK to be “more ambitious” in its post-Brexit talks with the EU on future financial services regulation. Dodds said today that the government “seems to be trying to manage expectations down” about the Memorandum of Understanding talks and that getting equivalence from the EU should be the [...]
Bank of Ireland to shut 103 branches as digital shift reaches ‘tipping point’ March 1, 2021 Bank of Ireland has announced it will close 103 branches across the island as the bank shifts to a digitally driven service. The closures are part of a cost cutting initiative which will shut 15 of its 28 branches currently operating in Northern Ireland. In August, the bank said it was aiming to cut 1,400 [...]
Barclays faces renewed shareholder challenge on fossil fuels February 26, 2021 Barclays faces a second consecutive year of shareholder pressure on its position as Europe’s largest fossil fuel financier, after a shareholder resolution has been filed for the bank’s upcoming AGM on 5 May. The resolution calls for financing and exposure to coal, oil and gas to fall in line with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. [...]
HSBC to cut jobs in London-based equities team February 26, 2021 HSBC plans to cut jobs in its London-based equities division, in a further shake up to the UK office. In the last two days, the holdings company informed staff of its plans to make cuts to the London equities team, Financial News first reported. The job cuts are part of HSBC’s ongoing restructuring work, first [...]
Financier Amanda Staveley loses High Court battle with Barclays February 26, 2021 Financier Amanda Staveley who sued Barclays over the behaviour of bank bosses when negotiating investment deals during the financial crash has lost her court battle. The high-profile trial centred around the claim that Barclays gave Staveley’s private equity firm PCP Capital Partners less favourable treatment than other parties in the emergency £7.3bn fundraising that saved [...]