Dodd-Frank reform could force UK to loosen financial services regulations February 5, 2017 The UK and the rest of Europe could come under pressure to loosen financial services regulations, analysts have said, after the President of the United States last week set in motion his plans to scale back rules across the pond. Donald Trump signed an executive order for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulations to be reviewed on [...]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is looking for new space in the City despite Brexit uncertainty February 5, 2017 Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) has started its search for new office space despite the uncertainty of the City of London's future following the Brexit vote. The US banking giant is currently located near St Paul's Cathedral, but as its lease expires in 2022, the bank has started looking at other buildings that could [...]
Why the banking sector needs to get serious about putting the fun into finance February 3, 2017 It’s no laughing matter: my generation – millennials – has fallen out of love with banks. It’s a familiar narrative: banks don’t understand us, the relationship’s not going anywhere, we’d rather be on social media. In fact, we’d rather bank via social media which is why smart banks are cosying up to platforms like Facebook. [...]
Bank shares rally as Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn signals the death of Dodd Frank February 3, 2017 Bank shares have risen on news Donald Trump will today roll back Dodd-Frank banking regulation, according to a senior member of the US President’s administration. Gary Cohn, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said dismantling the regulation, which is aimed at avoiding another Lehman-style crisis, means US consumers will have "better choices". "Americans are [...]
Which bankers earn the most per hour? New research reveals all – and tells us what the best-paid non-City jobs are too February 3, 2017 It will come as no surprise that bankers are the highest earning professionals in London – but which field of banking is the most lucrative? The highest earners are M&A analysts, with an average annual total compensation of £70,000, according to salary benchmarking site Emolument.com. However, while traders earn less annually than their colleagues in [...]
It’s official: The City has the most high earners in European finance – with one asset manager raking in £29m in one year February 2, 2017 The likes of Frankfurt and Dublin might be bent on enticing London's bankers after Brexit, but if you're bent on earning the big bucks, the City is the only place to be. New figures have found the UK plays host to 80 per cent of the top earners in the region's finance sector. The paper, [...]
Six people, including two HBOS bankers, jailed for more than 47 years between them February 2, 2017 Two former HBOS bankers are among six people who have today been jailed for almost 50 years between them for a scheme which ran businesses into the ground for their own personal gain, generating losses of around £250m for the now collapsed bank. Lynden Scourfield, 54, once head of the HBOS department responsible for businesses in financial [...]
Coutts & Co told to pay £5m by Swiss watchdog for anti-money laundering failures in dealings with 1MDB February 2, 2017 Coutts & Co has today been ordered to pay CHF 6.5m (£5.2m) by Swiss watchdog Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) over anti-money laundering failings in its dealings with scandal-hit Malaysian 1MDB. The watchdog, which launched enforcement proceedings last year, claims the private bank "failed to adequately clarify the circumstances surrounding a number of business relationships and unusually large, high-risk transactions". [...]
Government makes savings on latest board appointment for Premium Bond operator February 2, 2017 The government has appointed the new chief executive of National Savings & Investments (NS&I), the firm that looks after over £135bn of Treasury-backed savings. Ian Ackerley takes over from interim boss Steve Owen, who babysat the position after Jane Platt left last August following 10 years in the role. Platt moved on to concentrate on her position as a non-exec [...]
ING grows its full-year profits, as bank gets going with restructuring plan February 2, 2017 ING announced this morning its full-year profits for 2016 have climbed, shortly after the bank revealed it was undergoing a massive restructuring which would shed thousands of jobs. The figures The Dutch bank boosted its net profits for the year to €4.7bn (£4.1bn), up 16 per cent compared with €4bn the year before. Meanwhile, underlying [...]