PCP Capital Partners alleges Barclays loaned $3bn (£2.3bn) to Qatar to fund purchase of bank’s shares September 1, 2016 An investor is alleging Barclays handed Qatar a $3bn (£2.3bn) loan so it could purchase the bank's shares. PCP Capital Partners has filed documents containing the allegation at the High Court. According to documents seen by Sky News, which first reported the story today, the alleged loan was made in 2008, at a time when the [...]
Bankers need to hold themselves to account, says former Lord Mayor of London September 1, 2016 The financial services sector needs to hold itself accountable, rather than merely relying on regulators, to truly regain the public's trust, a former Lord Mayor of London has said today. Sir Alan Yarrow was speaking at the launch of the Certificates of Professionalism initiative from the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) and the Chartered Banker Institute, [...]
Standard Chartered appoints HSBC bigwig Paul Skelton as global head of banking September 1, 2016 Standard Chartered has appointed former HSBC bigwig Paul Skelton as global head of banking. Skelton will start his role in December, reporting to Simon Cooper, chief executive of corporate and institutional banking, and will be based in Singapore. In his newly created position, Skelton will be responsible for Standard Chartered’s large corporate and financial institution client relationships. Cooper [...]
The wrong colour shoes, “loud” ties and other ways you can be ruled out of top City jobs September 1, 2016 Investment banks are failing to hire working-class people – as well as those who wear brown shoes. A new study out today from the Social Mobility Commission reports that investment banks favour middle to higher-income candidates from the country’s top universities. The researchers, from Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Birmingham, also [...]
Deutsche Bank boss’ London assessment: It will stay a financial hub, but not as we know it August 31, 2016 Deutsche Bank's boss has today given his backing to London as a financial hub, even though he thinks it might end up looking different to what we know now. Many had feared London's future as a financial capital had been all but shattered by June's Brexit vote, and John Cryan himself said it was "not such a good [...]
Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank merger rumour shot down but German lenders’ share prices still up August 31, 2016 Shares in two big names in German banking are currently riding high on rumours of a merger, even though they have since been denied. Reports from local media that Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank could be heading towards a tie-up were shot down this morning, after the latter's chief executive John Cryan told a conference he didn't see his [...]
Banks lead the FTSE 100, with some lenders setting new monthly highs August 31, 2016 Banks are helping to bolster a reasonably flat FTSE 100 today. Banking mainstays Barclays and HSBC are both among the five greatest risers this morning, while shares in Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered are up as well. Barclays is currently up 2.4 per cent at 173.25p, HSBC is up 1.8 per cent at 567.7p, Lloyds is up 1.5 per [...]
Second warning raised this week on banking red tape deadlines August 31, 2016 G20 leaders have received their second warning in a week that some jurisdictions may miss deadlines for implementing new banking rules. Today's report by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which is chaired by Bank of England governor Mark Carney, notes issues which have been raised with rolling out rules, in particular, those still left to [...]
Financial firms plan to plough money into IT as fintech challengers encroach on turf August 31, 2016 Over half (54 per cent) of traditional financial services firms are planning to splash cash on their IT systems, as the rise of fintech is leaving them quaking in their boots, research out today has found. The study by Robert Half Financial Services also discovered that those who planned to plough more money into technology were [...]
Petition piles pressure on Barroso for Goldman Sachs job, as it reaches over 80,000 supporters August 30, 2016 Former European Commission president Jose Barroso has come under increased pressure for taking up a role at Goldman Sachs, after a petition calling for "strong exemplary measures to be taken against" him reached over 80,000 supporters. The petition, which is being hosted on change.org and was started by an anonymous group of employees of the European Institutions, [...]