Ex-Lloyds Libor traders hauled in by fraud squad as part of its ongoing probe into manipulation of the benchmark rate March 1, 2017 A number of former Lloyds Banking Group traders have been quizzed by the fraud squad as part of its ongoing investigation into Libor manipulation. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has been probing the rigging of the benchmark rate since 2012. Now, Bloomberg has reported the prosecutor has called in a number of ex-Lloyds traders in [...]
Deputy governor of the Bank of England Ben Broadbent appointed by Mark Carney as member of Prudential Regulation Committee board February 28, 2017 Ben Broadbent, the Bank of England deputy governor responsible for monetary policy, including monetary analysis and notes, has been appointed by governor Mark Carney, to take a seat on the influential Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) board. The appointment is in conjunction with structural reform of the Bank’s governance, following the breakup of the former Financial [...]
Who exactly is Charlotte Hogg? February 28, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond last month announced Charlotte Hogg’s appointment as deputy governor for markets and banking at the Bank of England, effective as of today. She will also become a member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Financial Policy Committee (FPC) and Prudential Regulation Committee (PRC) Hogg started her career at the Bank of England [...]
Quids out: The Treasury wants you to spend your pound coins before it’s too late February 28, 2017 With mere weeks to go before the launch of the new, 12-sided £1 coin, the Treasury has warned the nation it must either use its pound coins – or lose them. The new £1 launches on 28 March – but all old coins need to be spent by 15 October, the Treasury said today. The Royal Mint is [...]
Virgin Money chief exec Jayne-Anne Gadhia: Brexit made us shelf plans for small business banking, but it might have worked out in our favour February 28, 2017 A series of unforeseen events means Virgin Money might be better off after having to drop a deal to go into small business banking because of Brexit. The challenger bank had been due to acquire an asset finance business, which would have allowed it to expand its offering into small business banking, but changed its [...]
Fraud squad lawyer tells court two ex-Barclays traders accused of Libor rigging treated honesty as if it were expendable February 28, 2017 A lawyer acting for the fraud squad told a court today that two ex-Barclays traders accused of Libor rigging treated honesty as if it were expendable. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is prosecuting the case, has claimed Stylianos Contogoulas, 45, and Ryan Reich, 35, played roles in a conspiracy to fix the benchmark rate between 1 June [...]
Transitional arrangements after Brexit could take 18 months or more, says Charlotte Hogg, the new Bank of England deputy governor February 28, 2017 The Bank of England (BoE)'s new deputy governor Charlotte Hogg today said UK banks will need 12 to 18 months at least to make transitional arrangements after certainty on Brexit negotiations is reached. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee, Hogg said banks will need additional time after the two-year negotiations are reached to change their business models in terms [...]
Virgin Money increases profits, as Brexit yet to wobble the business February 28, 2017 Virgin Money said profits grew during 2016, as any Brexit fallout was yet to hit the challenger's bottom line. The figures The bank, whose business ambition is to make "everyone better off", reported statutory profits before tax of £194.4m, up 41 per cent compared with £138m in 2015. The increase in underlying profits before tax was [...]
Human Rights Issues and Your Portfolio February 28, 2017 | City Talk We would rather not think about human rights issues when it comes to asset allocation. In the developed world, we often treat human rights violations — modern-day slavery, child labour, etc. — as anachronisms, at least as far they concern us. Or we dismiss them as problems for someone else to deal with, whether activists, [...]
Blockchain for banks is a “long way off” says influential central banker February 27, 2017 Blockchain fintech has a “long way to go” to satisfy financial regulators, according to an influential board member of the European Central Bank (ECB). Benoit Coeure said the underlying distributed ledger technology could pose new risks to the financial system, including legal and operational obstacles. Coeure said: “Distributed technology could become a game-changer for payment, [...]