Credit Suisse rejigs its top management June 24, 2010 CREDIT SUISSE has named Eric Varvel as its investment bank chief executive as part of an overhaul of the bank’s executive board. Varvel, who was serving as the unit’s acting chief executive, will officially step into the role next week. He assumed the role last September when it emerged that the investment unit’s chief Paul [...]
EU misses vote on hedgie rule June 24, 2010 LOBBYISTS are embarking on a desperate push to soften European proposals on hedge funds and private equity after a crucial vote in Brussels was pushed back until the autumn. The European Commission is struggling to agree a final draft of the controversial Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive, which contains measures cracking down heavily on [...]
Politicians should not rush into reform of the banking system, says HSBC boss June 24, 2010 BANKS in Britain and elsewhere have urged G20 leaders to coordinate implementation of regulatory changes and not rush into “an unrealistic artificial timetable” for reform, ahead of a key meeting this weekend. “The progress made by the G20 has been impressive but it has now reached a critical juncture,” Stephen Green, chairman of HSBC and [...]
Row breaks out over Brussels plan to set up über-watchdogs June 24, 2010 EUROPEAN officials made a last-ditch attempt yesterday to save deadlocked talks aimed at setting up bank watchdogs as a row between countries and parliament threatened efforts by Brussels to regulate finance. Setting up supervisors to keep tabs on banks, insurers and markets is central to the European Union’s attempts to prevent another crisis but it [...]
Athens readies €10bn aid package for Greek banks June 24, 2010 GREECE is readying legislation to set up a €10bn (£8.2bn) support mechanism for banks to turn to if their capital adequacy falls and they are unable to raise funds from markets to beef up their equity. Rising bad loans, downgrades to sovereign debt holdings and a deepening recession are seen taking a toll on Greek [...]
Goldman tops global M&A adviser table June 24, 2010 GOLDMAN Sachs has established itself as the most in-demand mergers and acquisitions adviser in the world over the first half of the year, brushing off concerns that the SEC’s high-profile fraud allegations would damage its reputation. Goldman, which trailed Morgan Stanley in the rankings at this point last year, leapfrogged its arch-rival comfortably during the [...]
State pension age set to rise June 24, 2010 THE state pension age could be 70 by the middle of the century, after the government announced a shake-up designed to defuse Britain’s ticking pensions time bomb. Currently, the state pension age is set to increase from 65 to 66 in 2026. It will then continue to rise to 67 in 2036 and 68 in [...]
Q&A: AUTO ENROLMENT June 24, 2010 Q.WHAT IS THE EXISTING ARRANGEMENT FOR AUT0 ENROLMENT? A.Currently, all employees will be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme from 2012. Those employees working for a firm that doesn’t provide a pension will be enrolled into the National Employee Savings Trust or Nest. Q.WHY DO EMPLOYERS WANT NESTS RE-EXAMINED? A.They are worried that the one-size-fits-all scheme could hurt some firms, especially smaller ones. Currently [...]
Cameron asks public workers how he should cut spending June 24, 2010 PRIME Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg wrote to six million public sector workers yesterday asking for ideas on how to save money and tackle a record peacetime deficit. Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget suggests 25 per cent spending cuts in all government departments except health and international development to balance a deficit of [...]
Cable to refresh Royal Mail privatisation plans June 24, 2010 VINCE Cable has asked the man behind plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail to see whether a full stock market flotation or sale to a trade buyer could unlock more value in current market conditions. In his first report, former deputy chairman of Ofcom Richard Hooper recommended a strategic partnership with a private player, essentially a part-privatisation. [...]