UBS warns staff away from China travel after banker is detained October 21, 2018 Swiss wealth manager UBS has asked some of its bankers not to travel to China after an employee was contacted by authorities there, reports said. A small team of private banking advisers were sent a cautionary note, which recommended they reconsider any travel plans in the region while the bank attempted to gather more information [...]
RBS set to reveal third quarter dividend policy after making first payment following financial crisis October 21, 2018 Investors in the Royal Bank of Scotland will be eager find out whether the bank will announce another dividend this week, as UK lenders reveal their third quarter results. The bank, which last year returned to profit for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, recently paid its first dividend in 10 years. Read [...]
Lloyds planning £2bn share buyback next year – report October 21, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group is working on a plan to double the scale of its share buyback scheme next year to £2bn, the Financial Times reported. Citing sources familiar with the plan, the paper said the UK-based lender hoped to return £4.5bn of capital to shareholders through the buyback and by paying a higher dividend. Read [...]
SFO charges former Deutsche Bank trader over Euribor manipulation October 21, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office has charged Andreas Hauschild, a former trader at Deutsche Bank, with conspiracy to defraud as part of an investigation into the manipulation of the Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor). Hauschild was extradited to the UK after being arrested in Italy in August, and appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the SFO [...]
UK not heading for derivatives cliff edge after Brexit, say EU officials October 18, 2018 European officials have said there will be no cliff-edge drop for derivatives markets if Britain leaves the EU without a deal. Olivier Guersent, an aide to the bloc’s head of financial services, told a Politico event: “There is no cliff edge." He made the remarks after his boss, Valdis Dombrovskis, had said that derivatives clearing [...]
Saudi-backed fund plans investment in British digital bank Oaknorth October 18, 2018 The world’s largest technology fund could pump hundreds of millions of dollars into British unicorn Oaknorth. The deal would make Saudi Arabia’s sovereign investment fund an indirect shareholder in the digital bank. Read more: Acorn OakNorth rises to $2.3bn valuation as it closes fresh $100m fundraise Softbank’s Vision Fund, in which the Saudis are the [...]
Morgan Stanley banker moonlights as an Uber driver to win top role in upcoming IPO October 18, 2018 A top banker at Morgan Stanley has reportedly been moonlighting as an Uber driver outside of working hours, in a bid to win the deal to take the ride-hailing firm public in 2019. Michael Grimes, a technology banker in the US for Morgan Stanley, has been running the job on the side for several years despite [...]
Information watchdog will investigate outgoing Grant Thornton CEO’s leaked performance review October 18, 2018 The Information Commissioner has said it will look into a leaked performance review of Grant Thornton’s outgoing chief executive. The review of Sacha Romanovitch, the first female leader of a big City accountancy firm, was sent to newspapers by a group claiming to represent several Grant Thornton partners. Read more: Grant Thornton chief executive set [...]
HSBC confirms it is exploring a Chinese listing via new London-Shanghai link October 18, 2018 HSBC confirmed today it is exploring a plan to sell its shares in China via a new London-Shanghai trading link. A spokesperson for the bank said: “We are studying the proposed framework for the listing of Chinese depositary receipts under the Shanghai-London Stock Connect but cannot comment further at this time.” Read more: HSBC, Credit [...]
Blame the bank: How finance caused today’s housing crisis October 18, 2018 Home ownership is increasingly out of the reach of younger adults in the UK. The share of those aged 25-34 who own their home fell from 55 per cent in 1997 to 35 per cent in 2017, according the Institute of Fiscal Studies. A decade of stagnant wage growth means that the gradual house price [...]