Activist investor Ed Bramson hits back at Barclays and ramps up pursuit for seat on the board April 8, 2019 Activist investor Ed Bramson has launched another attack on Barclays’ investment bank as he urged shareholders to give him a seat on the board. Bramson, whose investment vehicle Sherborne Investors holds a 5.5 per cent stake, issued a plea to shareholders ahead of a crunch vote on his bid to become a director next month. [...]
Jury discharged in trial of senior Barclays executives accused of financial crisis fraud April 8, 2019 The jury in the trial of four former senior Barclays executive accused of fraud for their part in a financial crisis-era emergency fundraising was discharged today. The high-profile case marks the first time senior bankers have faced court in a case related to the 2008-09 financial crash. In October the High Court quashed an attempt by [...]
Barclays plugs $6m into London financial tech startup Simudyne April 8, 2019 Financial simulation technology firm Simudyne will today announce the close of a $6m (£4.6m) series A funding round, led by Barclays. Early Snap and Lyft investor Graphene Ventures also joined the round, alongside Gauss Ventures which has previously backed digital banks Revolut and Tandem. The round raises Simudyne’s total amount of investment to date to [...]
FTSE 100 ends week strong with biggest gain in two months April 6, 2019 The FTSE 100 ended the week strongly as it gained 0.61 per cent during Friday's session and saw its biggest weekly increase for two months. The index continued its six-month high, outshining its European peers despite the on-going Brexit saga. Optimism grew early on as US President Donald Trump said a deal to end the US-China [...]
Gender pay gap data reveals the financial services with wider than average discrepancies April 5, 2019 Some of the large companies with the widest gender pay gaps come from the financial services sector. The deadline for providing gender pay gap data closed last night. For large companies – those employing more than 5,000 staff – the average pay gap was 10.34 per cent. The financial services entities below have gender pay [...]
Editors’ Notes: Philip Hammond outfoxes the Treasury committee in clash over end to austerity April 5, 2019 Three cheers for Philip Hammond! Yes, you heard that right – I may be alone, but I found myself applauding the chancellor last night when we got a sneak preview of his response to the Treasury Select Committee’s (TSC) fisking of the autumn Budget. Read more: Hammond says ending austerity will not mean spending splurge [...]
Swedbank chair steps down immediately amid money laundering probe April 5, 2019 The chair of under-fire Swedbank has decided to leave the role with immediate effect amid money laundering allegations directed against the bank. Read more: Swedbank chief executive fired amid money laundering claims Lars Idermark has stepped down as authorities probe allegations of money laundering in the Baltics. “Following recent strong debate about Swedbank and questions [...]
European investment banking fees plunge in bleak first quarter as M&A hits six-year low April 4, 2019 European investment banking fees have plunged 25 per cent to $4.9bn (£3.75bn) as the first quarter of the year looks set to be even bleaker than originally feared. The value of M&A deal involving any European companies also fell 64 per cent to $183m the lowest in six years, according to a review from Refinitiv. Read [...]
HSBC Global Asset Management hunts for new chief executive April 4, 2019 HSBC is searching for a new chief executive for the bank’s $444bn asset management arm as it attempts to turn the division into an industry leader. The bank has appointed headhunters to search for a replacement for current HSBC Global Asset Management chief executive Sridhar Chandrasekharan, Sky News reported. Read more: HSBC boss John Flint [...]
Dormant assets scheme could be expanded following government report April 4, 2019 A scheme to reallocate dormant assets to charitable causes could be extended to the investment and wealth management sector following the publication of a government report. An independent report commissioned by the government found that extending the scheme to other financial services, also including the insurance and pensions sector, could "significantly expand the money available to good [...]