US investment firm Fidelity cuts Metro Bank stake by almost a third May 10, 2019 One of Metro Bank's biggest investors has cut its shares in the lender by just under a third ahead of a £350m rights issue. Read more: Metro Bank shares plunge to all-time lows as hedge funds circle Fidelity Management and Research (FMR) held a 7.55 per cent stake in the challenger bank, but has cut that [...]
Brewin Dolphin signs deal for Investec’s Irish business as assets dip May 10, 2019 Asset manager Brewin Dolphin today said it has signed a deal to buy Investec’s wealth management business in Ireland as it posted a dip in total funds for the half-year. Brewin Dolphin said it will pay roughly €44m (£38m) for the Irish business, adding the deal would make it one of the top three wealth [...]
Danske Bank appoints ex-ABN Amro executive as new CEO in wake of money laundering scandal May 10, 2019 Danske Bank has appointed the former boss of ABN Amro's retail and private banking operations, Chris Vogelzang, as its new chief executive. The 56-year-old has not held an executive role for almost two years, but will take on his new role at Denmark's biggest lender from the start of June. Read more: Profits plunge at scandal-hit [...]
Sparks fly as Provident accused of ‘scaremongering’ over hostile Non-Standard Finance bid May 10, 2019 Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has hit out at the management of Provident Financial, accusing it of “scaremongering” in a bid to fend off a hostile takeover. NSF, which launched the £1.3bn bid in February, today accused Provident of going “to great lengths to deflect attention from its flawed strategy, regulatory breaches, broken promises and underwhelming financial [...]
Atom Bank to raise £50m after major shareholder BBVA decides against full takeover May 9, 2019 Atom Bank, an online-only lender, is preparing to launch a £50m fundraising bid after its main shareholder abandoned a full takeover of the company. The bank has started speaking to investors over the fundraise in recent weeks, Sky News reported today. Read more: How Monzo plans to save you money on your energy bills It [...]
Metro Bank shares plunge to all-time lows as hedge funds circle ahead of £350m rights issue May 9, 2019 Metro Bank shares plunged to all-time lows today as hedge funds ramped up bets against the challenger bank ahead of a £350m rights issue. Hedge funds have now shorted 12.5 per cent of the bank’s shares, making it the most shorted UK stock. Read more: Metro Bank's shares in meltdown after profits halved The dog-loving [...]
The City powers the UK economy – it must not fall into Labour’s hands May 8, 2019 Despite the best efforts of a few valiant voices, the City (and its interests) received a shameful lack of attention during the Brexit debate and has been largely left to fend for itself ever since. Read more: What the next Bank of England governor’s CV looks like However, the race to succeed Mark Carney at [...]
Provident Financial says hostile bidder Non-Standard Finance is overvalued May 8, 2019 Provident Financial today said it had concerns about the valuation of Non-Standard Finance (NSF) which is trying to take it over. Provident said it had concerns NSF was undercapitalised, it said NSF’s business was facing “significant headwinds”, it said there was an overly positive perspective on NSF’s headline financial performance and said NSF was overvalued [...]
Standard Chartered given bloody nose as investors revolt over chief executive pension pay May 8, 2019 Standard Chartered shareholders have given the bank a bloody nose over a ‘stealth increase’ to chief executive Bill Winters’ pension. Investors holding more than 36 per cent of the UK-headquartered multinational bank’s shares voted against its directors’ pay report at its AGM today. Read more: Standard Chartered unveils $1bn share buy back plan Shareholder advisory [...]
Challenger bank Monzo teams up with challenger energy suppliers in bid to steal customers from Big Six May 8, 2019 Monzo customers will be able to use their apps to get a better deal on their electricity and gas, the company announced today. The challenger bank has teamed up with challenger energy suppliers Ovo and Octopus in a bid to lure more customers away from standard tariffs and the Big Six suppliers. Read more: Supercharged: Moneysupermarket booms [...]