Barclays ‘big dog’ pushed for £25m special payment after Qatari cash mission January 30, 2019 A Barclays boss who helped secure a Qatari cash injection that saved the bank from the prospect of government bailout during the financial crisis was recommended for a £25m bonus to reward his efforts, a court heard yesterday. Roger Jenkins, nicknamed “Big Dog” by colleagues, told Barclays executive Rich Ricci he wanted a “special payment” [...]
JP Morgan reshuffles European banking team to target M&A push January 29, 2019 JP Morgan has shaken up its banking team in a bid to challenge leading UK banks when it comes to M&A. The investment bank has reshuffled its European banking division moving co-head of M&A in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, David Lomer, to lead the UK division alongside Ed Byers. It would [...]
Nomura plans to cut up to 50 staff from global trading division January 29, 2019 Japanese bank Nomura is expecting to cut up to 50 jobs across its trading division, with roles in London likely to be affected. The bank plans to slash staff numbers across Europe, Asia and the Americas, however Europe is expected to be hit hardest. Read more: Nomura to slash hundreds of investment banking jobs in London [...]
What are the UK’s most shorted stocks? January 29, 2019 Hedge funds made millions from short-selling Carillion shares after the construction firm collapsed a year ago. That’s hardly a surprise, but what’s telling is that many short-sellers were predicting its failure even before the company issued its first profit warning back in July 2017. Short-sellers borrow shares from other investors, typically large institutions like pension [...]
The Eurozone is at risk of renewed crisis in 2019 – and this time it’s all about Italy January 29, 2019 After a dismal 2018, December brought further bad news for the Eurozone in the form of the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator. Despite hopes that last year would see an escape from the ongoing repercussions of the 2011-2013 euro crisis, confidence across sectors has taken a hit, with only retail trade remaining a bright spot. [...]
Bailout fears kept Barclays banker ‘up at 2am’ January 29, 2019 One of Barclays’ top executives was awake and panicking at 2am during the height of the financial crisis over fears that a government bailout would compromise his bonus, a court heard yesterday. Roger Jenkins, Barclays’ investment head for the Middle East and north Africa, told senior bank staff “I was panicking that we were about [...]
Former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia hunts for investors in new tech startup January 28, 2019 The former head of challenger bank Virgin Money is to set up her own fintech startup, designed to save consumers money on their household bills. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has approached several investors regarding a new company called Snoop, which will take advantage of Open Banking rules to utilise data about customers' spending habits, according to reports [...]
Row over Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney January 28, 2019 The row over the Bank of England’s handling of Venezuelan gold escalated tonight after the former chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee revealed he had written to governor Mark Carney expressing his concerns over the arrangement. Senior Tory MP Crispin Blunt urged the governor to block President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to take back the gold, [...]
HSBC appoints internal candidate as head of global markets January 28, 2019 HSBC has appointed internal candidate Georges Elhedery as head of its global markets division. It comes after the bank’s former global markets chief Thibaut de Roux left the company in September last year. The bank’s head of European operations Thierry Roland has taken on the role on an interim basis since de Roux’s departure. Elhedery, [...]
Challenger bank Paragon in lending boost as professional landlord demand surges January 28, 2019 UK bank Paragon has reported strong new lending growth following a surge in demand from professional landlords. The bank said total new lending for the three months to 31 December hit £660m, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year. The majority of new business flows – £424.7m – came from buy-to-let lending as [...]