Watchdog called on to publish report after “shocking” revelations about RBS October 10, 2016 The City watchdog is being urged to release a long-awaited report into RBS' Global Restructuring Group (GRG), following "shocking" leaked stories about its treatment of small businesses. RBS has long been accused of purposely pushing small businesses into financial hardship so they could be put into the GRG. This, in turn, benefited the bank through additional fees, increased [...]
Deutsche Bank drops after CEO fails to settle $14bn lawsuit October 10, 2016 Shares in Deutsche Bank have slid this morning after the troubled German lender failed to strike a deal with the US Department of Justice to settle a $14bn (£11.3bn) fine. The bank dropped as much as three per cent in early morning trading, before recovering to stand down 0.9 per cent at €11.98 a share. The rest of [...]
Getting the wrong Brexit deal on financial services will hurt more than just London October 10, 2016 Research released last week said the Brexit impact on financial services will “vary dramatically with how much access to the EU is retained”. This excellent report, produced by consultants Oliver Wyman and commissioned by TheCityUK, with input from senior industry practitioners and the major trade associations, comes at a good time. What they have done is [...]
Deutsche Bank’s chief risk officer hits back and explains the real derivatives exposure October 9, 2016 Fears over Deutsche Bank's mammoth derivative exposure have been completely overblown according to its chief risk officer. Stuart Lewis got on the front foot when asked about the beleaguered German lender's derivative exposure this weekend. "The risks in our derivatives book are massively overestimated. The €46 trillion (£41 trillion) figure sounds gigantic, but it is completely misleading. The real risk is far [...]
Goldman Sachs to shift 2,000 jobs out of London if goverment pursues “hard Brexit” October 9, 2016 A so-called "hard" separation of the UK from the European Union would prompt Goldman Sachs to shift 2,000 highly paid staff out of London. The loss of Britain's prized preferential access to the single market would lead the Wall Street stalwart to move one in three of its employees to rival financial hubs across Europe, The [...]
Government announces final details of Lloyds share sale October 7, 2016 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have dropped two per cent after the government announced it will press ahead with plans to offload its remaining stake in the part-nationalised lender. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the plans during a trip to Washington this morning as part of his bid to reassure American financial companies that the UK [...]
Deutsche Bank mulls IPO of asset management unit October 7, 2016 Deutsche Bank is looking to float its asset management unit to replenish its cash buffers following a predicted multi-billion-dollar settlement with the US government over alleged miss-selling of mortgage-backed securities. According to the Financial Times, the German bank is yet to make a final decision on the IPO. It would be a minority stake in the [...]
Alternative mortgage lender LendInvest posts a 133 per cent rise in revenue as profit flattens out October 7, 2016 Alternative mortgage company LendInvest has posted a 133 per cent increase in gross revenues for the year to 31 March 2016. Revenue leapt to £32m, up from £14m in the year before. Profits for the lender – which is targeting the funding gap left by the retreat of high street banks from the sector – remained flat however, coming in at £3.4m, up [...]
London hedge fund bets big against Commerzbank October 6, 2016 Marshall Wace – a London-based hedge fund – has revealed a multi-million euro bet that shares in Germany’s second largest lender Commerzbank will fall. German filings showed the fund’s short position increased to 0.72 per cent of the bank’s outstanding shares, up from 0.63 per cent earlier in the week. The price at which the [...]
Government may make RBS update as early as Autumn Statement, as it considers what Brexit vote means for offloading stake October 6, 2016 The government entity that controls the taxpayers' stake in RBS is still weighing whether to sell down its holding. It could make an announcement as early as the Autumn Statement. Last year UKFI sold down its stake in RBS from 78 per cent to 73 per cent for £2.1bn, which represented a £1bn loss for taxpayers who bailed out [...]