EU financial transaction tax to be unveiled this year October 11, 2016 Plans for an EU financial transaction tax (FTT) could be published by Christmas after politicians in 10 Eurozone countries agreed to push ahead with plans. After a meeting in Luxembourg late last night, officials declared this morning they would start drafting the legislation which will allow them to place a levy on the trading of financial [...]
Brace yourself, Wall Street: These major banks have quarterly earnings out this week October 11, 2016 Wall Street investors are unlikely to have that Friday feeling this week, as several big banks are set to release results and the outlook is less upbeat than it could be. Wells Fargo, JP Morgan and Citigroup are all due to reveal earnings for their third quarter on Friday. Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris [...]
Pressure mounts on FCA to introduce overdraft cap October 11, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has come under renewed pressure to clamp down on excessive overdraft fees today after new research revealed thousands of people are being hit with triple-digit bills. Debt charity Step Change said between six and 10 thousand people a month contact them looking for help managing their finances after incurring overdraft [...]
Banks’ profitability to be hit by Brexit fears over risky assets October 11, 2016 Market volatility will sap the efforts of Europe's biggest banks to offload their riskiest assets, and continue to drag on their profitability, a new study has warned. Moody's said this morning that the five largest investment banks – Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, RBS and UBS – will have to accept discount prices for so-called [...]
Bob Diamond takes interim chairman role at Africa-focused banking firm Atlas Mara October 11, 2016 Former Barclays boss Bob Diamond has been appointed interim chairman of African banking firm Atlas Mara. He will step in to the role when current chairman Arnold Ekpe stands down on 1 December. "It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of Atlas Mara," Ekpe said. "What the team has achieved in establishing and [...]
FCA commits to having 50/50 gender split in its senior leadership team by 2025 October 11, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has unveiled a new set of diversity targets as part of an effort to show its commitment to inclusion. The City watchdog published targets for the Women in Finance Charter, which it signed in June 2016 and announced its Black, Asian, minority ethnic (BAME) targets for 2020 and 2025. Read [...]
Former UBS trader’s alleged Libor rigging actions were part and parcel of work culture, court hears October 10, 2016 A former UBS trader facing a ban from the City watchdog for playing a role in manipulating Libor likely did so in a work environment where his actions were seen as commonplace, a court was told today. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) moved to ban ex-trader Arif Hussein back in April. However, the ban is not [...]
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 [...]