Autumn Statement sell-offs? Land Registry, Lloyds, Channel 4 and more could be on the privatisation agenda November 18, 2016 Last year was a record for sell-offs of publicly-owned assets, with David Cameron and George Osborne’s government making more than £26bn from stakes in Royal Mail, Eurostar, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and other companies. Next week’s Autumn Statement should provide an insight into how far Theresa May and Philip Hammond will seek to continue [...]
Nationwide pulls out of commercial real estate lending as it reports falling profits November 18, 2016 Nationwide announced plans to pull out of commercial property lending as it reported falling profits today. The figures Statutory profit for the six months to September came in at £696m, down from £802m. And underlying profit was reported at £615m, down from £801m. Nationwide said gross mortgage lending was up 17 per cent to £17.5bn [...]
London unlikely to lose out on euro clearing post-Brexit, finds report November 17, 2016 Euro-denominated clearing is unlikely to be shifted out of the UK following Brexit, a report from ratings agency S&P has said. Since the UK voted to leave the EU in June, there have been some fears that London institutions could be prohibited from carrying out lucrative euro clearing activities. While the report highlighted that the [...]
JP Morgan to pay $264m to settle Chinese hiring claims November 17, 2016 JP Morgan is to pay $264m (£212.2m) to settle claims it hired relatives of key Chinese decision makers to win work. The US authorities allege that JP Morgan's Asian subsidiary set up a client referral scheme, distinct from the lender's own hiring processes, to give unfair preference to would-be hires referred by client executives and influential government officials [...]
Co-operative Bank says low interest rates behind decision to cut 200 jobs November 17, 2016 The Co-operative Bank is cutting 200 roles across the business in a bid to cut costs. The roles will be made redundant by the end of March 2017. The bank said low interest rates were partly to blame for the job losses, as it is struggling to make money in the current economic environment. The roles affected [...]
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 [...]