More than a third of corporate debt is now with challenger banks, but London firms yet to be convinced September 5, 2016 Challenger banks are giving the incumbent players a run for their money, as figures out today show over a third (34 per cent) of UK business mortgages and charges are now issued by the smaller, newer lenders. In particular, 32 per cent of corporate debt is handled by what Avention, which carried out the research, classifies as smaller [...]
Italian prosecutors have dropped a probe into lender Monte dei Paschi September 1, 2016 Troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi received much needed positive news yesterday after Milan prosecutors filed a request to shelve an investigation into alleged market manipulation and false accounting by its chief exec and former chairman. It emerged last month that Fabrizio Viola and Alessandro Profumo were being investigated in relation to the way the [...]
Greek banking shares are on the up as lenders start to trickle back into the black September 1, 2016 Greek banks have had a good day on the stock exchange in Athens, with three major players all closing up. Eurobank Ergasias climbed an impressive 5.8 per cent to close at €0.57. Meanwhile, Piraeus Bank closed up 3.4 per cent at €0.15 and Alpha Bank closed up 3.5 per cent at €1.78. The upward swings follow on from strong sets of [...]
London tech startup and Visa partner on blockchain – and want banks’ help September 1, 2016 A London-based blockchain startup has partnered with pay giant Visa and will start testing the technology to make cross-border payments. It's the latest collaboration between an established financial services firm and a startup to experiment with the distributed ledger technology which experts believe could reduce costs and speed up transactions. Read more: These big banks are [...]
Read like an investment banker: 11 titles from Goldman Sachs’ back to school book list September 1, 2016 If you've ever wanted to get into the mindset of an investment banker, here's one thing that can help (besides avoiding brown shoes): Goldman Sachs has just published its annual back to school reading list. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Gates, the list is compiled by some of the bank's most senior people [...]
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 [...]