Strictly star (and former shadow chancellor) Ed Balls wants Bank of England independence reformed November 17, 2016 The star of Strictly Come Dancing 2016 has spoken out on the Bank of England's independence. Yes, that's right: former shadow chancellor Ed Balls has called for the BoE's independence to be curbed in response to growing "popular discontent". He has co-authored an academic paper on central bank independence saying: "We need a more nuanced approach [...]
JP Morgan share price down as Jamie Dimon tipped for US Treasury spot again November 16, 2016 JP Morgan shares closed down 2.5 per cent tonight after reports resurfaced that Donald Trump was about to offer chief exec Jamie Dimon the treasury secretary role. Fox anchor Maria Bartiromo tonight tweeted she had heard Dimon was about to be offered the role, with a “big meeting” expected tomorrow. Hearing @jpmorgan ceo jamie Dimon [...]
Low interest rate challenges could be tackled by more than just central banks, says MPC committee member November 16, 2016 The solutions to problems often pinned on lower for longer interest rates may lie somewhere other than central banks, a key member of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said today. Speaking at the University of Manchester, Bank of England deputy governor for financial stability, Sir Jon Cunliffe, explained that issues could be addressed through, for example, putting policies [...]
Stop dithering over RBS share sale, MPs tell UKFI November 16, 2016 UK Financial Investments (UKFI) has today faced criticism that it is stalling on ditching the government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland. In a hearing with the Treasury Committee, James Leigh-Pemberton, chairman for UKFI, and Oliver Holbourn, chief executive for UKFI, were grilled on why they were yet to make a call on what to do [...]
ABN Amro is cutting 1,500 jobs in new cost-saving plans – despite reporting a rise in profits November 16, 2016 Dutch lender ABN Amro has announced plans to cut 1,500 jobs as part of new cost-saving plans, despite reporting a hike in profit during the third quarter of 2016. The bank, which has offices in London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Haywards Heath, Leeds and Manchester, posted a 19 per cent year-on-year increase in underlying net profit for [...]
Is the turnaround complete? Bank of Cyprus announces London listing and paydown of EU emergency lending November 15, 2016 The Bank of Cyprus made a huge step on its road to redemption today by announcing its intention to list on the London Stock Exchange. The lender said that while it would not be raising any equity directly from the float, it hoped that the move would pave the way for it to access international capital markets. [...]
Metro Bank, Deloitte and Setl are testing a blockchain-based contactless card November 15, 2016 Metro Bank, Deloitte and blockchain startup Setl have created a card for making simple contactless payments such as buying a morning coffee, using the distributed ledger technology (DLT) in a trial that's understood to be the first of its kind. The card has been tested by 100 people as part of the City watchdog's fintech sandbox [...]
People don’t trust their banks – but capital assurance could change this November 15, 2016 People still don’t trust banks. Post-crisis reforms aimed at improving their reporting, conduct and culture, while increasing resilience, are all now well into their implementation phases. But past scandals, whether to do with mis-selling or improper behaviour, are still affecting banks’ profits, with large fines and even bigger customer settlements. And public perceptions continue to [...]
London banks are falling for Frankfurt, according to this German official November 14, 2016 Financial firms are eyeing up their opportunities in Frankfurt following the summer's Brexit vote, an official from Germany's finance ministry has said today. There have been numerous reports of banks tidying up their contingency planning, as businesses consider whether they need to move some of their operations out of London to make sure they can continue [...]
US boutique banks Perella Weinberg and Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co announce merger November 14, 2016 Two high-profile US boutique investment banks, Perella Weinberg and Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co (TPH), have agreed a merger. Perella, the lead adviser to Deutsche Boerse for its £21bn merger with the London Stock Exchange, said the deal is expected to close this year. Read more: LSE and Deutsche Boerse: Behind the deal The combined [...]