Green bonds issuances hit record high in first quarter 2018 April 23, 2018 Global green bond issuances hit a record of just under $30bn (£21.42bn) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018. Analysis by law firm Linklaters has shown that Q1 of 2018 saw $29.64bn worth of green bonds issued globally, outstripping the previous high of $29.5bn in Q3 2017. The value of issuances has increased by 9.4 [...]
Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis to sue Facebook over scam adverts | City A.M. April 23, 2018 Consumer finance expert Martin Lewis is to sue social media site Facebook over alleged scam adverts. Lewis, founder of consumer site Money Saving Expert, is bringing a defamation claim for exemplary damages against Facebook and said that any money he wins will be donated to anti-scam charities. He claims that Facebook has published over 50 [...]
TSB belatedly starts new era after finally leaving Lloyds computer systems behind April 23, 2018 High street challenger bank TSB will belatedly start a new era today as it finally completes a computer migration from its former owner, Lloyds Banking Group. Services for customers were limited over the weekend as the changeover happened. Some functionality is not due to work properly until the end of April, according to TSB’s website [...]
Dealmaking involving British firms hits highest since the millennium April 23, 2018 A spate of large deals drove the strongest start to the year for British merger and acquisition (M&A) volumes since the millennium, according to new data. M&A activity with UK involvement rose to $274.9bn ((£196.4bn) in the first quarter, its highest since the year 2000, figures from Thomson Reuters shown to City A.M. reveal. Deal [...]
The path to a post-Libor City: Bank of England takes control of substitute benchmark April 23, 2018 The City will today take its next step on the path to a post-Libor future as the Bank of England unveils reforms to the Sonia “risk-free” reference rate, although experts have warned of potential headaches ahead. The Bank of England will take over the running of Sonia, the Sterling Overnight Index Average, from tomorrow, with [...]
International trade secretary Liam Fox promises City audience: We will push for global free trade in financial services post-Brexit April 23, 2018 Trade secretary Liam Fox will tell a City audience today that Britain can lead a global push for greater free trade in services. Speaking at City Week in Guildhall, Fox will paint an optimistic picture of the UK’s post-Brexit financial services sector. “Increasingly, the world not only wants what Britain makes, but also to tap [...]
Metro Bank chair facing shareholder revolt over payments to wife’s company April 22, 2018 Metro Bank’s chair Vernon Hill is coming under increasing pressure as a shareholder and investment adviser urge investors to oppose his re-appointment amid questions over £21m payments to his wife’s company. The bank’s US-based chair Hill is facing questions over both the payments to his wife’s architecture firm and his use of a £120,000 travel [...]
Cabinet ministers Sajid Javid and Michael Gove blast May’s plans to U-turn on leaving the customs union April 22, 2018 Cabinet ministers including Sajid Javid and Michael Gove have threatened a revolt if Theresa May U-turns on her promise to leave the customs union post-Brexit. Following reports over the weekend that Prime Minister Theresa May could bow to parliamentary pressure and maintain a customs union with the EU, after the House of Lords voted to [...]
Pay at Persimmon could cause shareholder revolt as investors baulk at boss’s £100m bonus April 22, 2018 Housebuilder Persimmon could take a battering at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, as disgruntled investors prepare to turn down a pay report which handed its chief executive a £100m bonus. Though Jeff Fairburn will only receive £75m of the reward, having pledged in February to give up £25m to a charitable trust, several [...]
Government: Brexit is a “golden opportunity” for UK food and drink sector April 22, 2018 The government has hit back at a select committee report on food and drink after Brexit, insisting that leaving the EU is a “golden opportunity” for the sector. A spokesperson from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the UK could secure free trade deals while supporting farmers. “We are clear that [...]