Bank of England expects to internal report on audio feed misuse in April March 3, 2020 The Bank of England expects an internal report into misuse of its audio feeds to go the bank’s directors in April, after it emerged that hedge funds were able to access a market-sensitive feed ahead of its official broadcast. Outgoing governor Mark Carney told the Treasury committee today that he expected the BoE’s court — [...]
Jupiter adds to pressure on Barclays over fossil fuel financing March 3, 2020 Jupiter Asset Management has backed a landmark shareholder resolution calling on Barclays to stop financing fossil fuel producers that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement climate goals. Jupiter, which is one of Barclays’ top-25 shareholders, has joined 11 other institutional investors and over 100 individual shareholders in backing the motion, which is thought to [...]
Goldman Sachs builds up 8.5 per cent voting rights in Metro Bank March 2, 2020 Goldman Sachs has built up 8.48 per cent voting rights in troubled British lender Metro Bank, according to regulatory filings. Metro Bank’s share price has collapsed almost 90 per cent since early 2019, when it disclosed an almost £1bn accounting error. The challenger bank plunged to a £131m loss last year following the scandal, which [...]
Goldman Sachs and Citigroup halt foreign business trips over coronavirus March 2, 2020 US banking giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have expanded their restrictions on business trips by staff in response to the coronavirus epidemic. Citigroup’s restrictions will now cover all international business trips “until further notice”, the bank said. Previously, it had only restricted travel to a select number of countries that had reported outbreaks of the [...]
Chancellor Rishi Sunak tells EU: Stick to June timeline for City equivalence decision March 2, 2020 UK chancellor Rishi Sunak has told the European Union to stick to a June deadline to work out which parts of Britain’s financial system will be deemed equivalent after Brexit. British banks, trading platforms and insurers are hoping to be granted access to EU markets under a so-called equivalence system, under which the bloc would [...]
Greenpeace targets Barclays branches over fossil fuel financing March 2, 2020 Greenpeace activists have targeted almost 100 Barclays bank branches this morning in protest over the bank’s financing of fossil fuel companies. Some 29 branches in London are affected, according to Greenpeace, with activists disabling many of the branches’ lock mechanisms so they are unable to open as usual. Campaigners are demanding the banking giant — [...]
UK-US trade deal set to devalue UK’s financial services sector March 2, 2020 The government has admitted a free trade deal with the US is likely to lead to a drop in the value of the UK’s financial services sector, as other parts of the UK economy begin to expand. Number 10 this morning published its negotiating mandate for talks with Washington. Those discussions, expected to be spearheaded [...]
Activist investor demands removal of Barclays boss Jes Staley over Epstein links March 2, 2020 Barclays should remove chief executive Jes Staley from its board over his ties to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to activist investor Sherborne. In a letter to shareholders, Sherbone, which is led by Edward Bramson, said the decision by Barclays’ board to nominate Staley for reelection amid an ongoing regulatory investigation was “ill advised”. Sherborne, [...]
Deutsche Bank under pressure from UK regulator over compliance failings March 2, 2020 The British financial regulator has criticised Deutsche Bank for failing to improve its compliance and anti-money laundering controls, and warned this could threaten the lender’s access to the UK post-Brexit. Bank of England regulators have told the German lender they now require monthly updates, as opposed to typical quarterly meetings, according to the Financial Times. [...]
Investec’s asset management arm Ninety One to push ahead with float despite market turbulence March 2, 2020 Investec’s asset management arm Ninety One said today it would push ahead with a planned float despite a recent sell off in global markets. It said today it had set a price range of 190p to 235p giving it a value of £1.75bn to £2.1bn. The company said it would persist with its initial public [...]