WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 3, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES INDIA SOLD ON GOLDGold surged to an all-time high after India bought 200 tonnes of the precious metal, swapping dollars for bullion as the finance minister warned the economies of the US and Europe had ‘collapsed’. India’s decision to exchange $6.7bn for gold equivalent to eight per cent of world annual mine production [...]
Revamp rocks Barclays bank November 3, 2009 BARCLAYS announced the surprise departure of the head of its global retail and commercial banking (GRCB) division yesterday in a management shake-up that will boost the empire overseen by the group’s president Bob Diamond. Barclays said it was splitting up GRCB and that its boss Frits Seegers had resigned as a director and would leave [...]
Myners calls on investors to enforce a bonus clampdown November 3, 2009 CITY minister Lord Myners yesterday called on institutional investors to clamp down on bumper bonuses across the whole banking sector as he outlined Treasury plans to replace cash bonuses with equity-based payouts for high-earning staff at part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. RBS and Lloyds have agreed to halt all discretionary cash [...]
Widows sales are a drag on Lloyds results November 3, 2009 SCOTTISH Widows, the insurance and pensions arm of Lloyds Banking Group, yesterday said sales slumped over the first three quarters of 2009 as customers shunned its products. In an interim statement timed to coincide with official confirmation of its exit from the government’s asset protection scheme and the launch of a £21bn capital raising programme, [...]
TIMELINE: HOW BRITAIN’S BANKING SECTOR WENT SOUR November 3, 2009 21 February, 2008Britain passes legislation allowing the government to nationalise Northern Rock after rejecting two private bids. Northern Rock is nationalised months after the Bank of England stepped in to provide support. 21 AprilThe BoE unveils the Special Liquidity Scheme to swap banks' risky mortgage assets for at least £50bn of government debt. 18 SeptemberLloyds [...]
UBS unveils another loss amid reshape November 3, 2009 SWISS bank UBS has reported a third quarter loss of SFr564.4m (£337m) after being hit by a hike in accounting charges. The result means the bank has now suffered four successive quarters of losses as it restructures in the face of the credit crunch. UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, has been particularly badly hit by the [...]
Bank stocks ruffle the FTSE 100 as investor sentiment is hit by shake-up November 3, 2009 THE FTSE 100 briefly dipped below 5,000 for the first time in over a month yesterday, as banking stocks were hit by the shake-up of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group. Royal Bank of Scotland was the worst hit of the five large-cap banks, dipping by 15 per cent in early trading. [...]
Bank brands to disappear November 3, 2009 A CARVE-UP of British high street banks will leave the future of a catalogue of household names in the balance. RBS must sell Direct Line and Churchill as well as 318 other branches as new EU orders kick-in. Meanwhile at Lloyds the TSB and Cheltenham and Gloucester are also in line for the cull, changing [...]
DO YOU WELCOME CONFIRMATION OF THE BREAK-UPS? November 3, 2009 PAUL MUMFORD CAVENDISH AM“The agreement to limit cash bonuses at both banks is evidently a political gesture rather than a move designed to tackle the structure of the financial system or remuneration itself.” JOHN CRIDLAND CBI“The priorities for the government must be financial stability and reduced risk for the taxpayer. It has done the right [...]
Bank changes affect millions November 3, 2009 MILLIONS of retail banking customers will be affected by the sale of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland assets, but it could be four years before the process is complete. Spokespeople for both RBS and Lloyds both stressed yesterday that it was “business as usual” until further notice, and that any disruption will [...]