Accenture to cut 19,000 jobs over the next 18 months March 23, 2023 Accenture today said it is planning to cut 19,000 staff over the next 18 months, as it seeks to cut costs in the face of the global economic downturn. The IT consultancy today told investors it plans to cut around 2.5 per cent of its entire workforce as it pushes forwards with efforts to [...]
Stop being TWaTs! Lloyd’s of London chief says City must drop ‘Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday world’ March 23, 2023 Lloyd’s of London chief John Neal has called for a move away from the “Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday world” in arguing there will always be times that people “have to be in every day of the week”. Speaking to City A.M., Neal called for a shift away from the “two days a week or three days [...]
Hurricane Ian sees global insurance sector suffer more than $100bn loss for the fifth time since 1970 March 22, 2023 The global insurance sector suffered natural catastrophe losses of more than $100bn (£81bn) for just the fifth time in 2022, after taking a major hit from Hurricane Ian, new research shows. Natural catastrophes caused $275bn worth of damage in 2022, costing insurance companies $125bn, the research from reinsurance company Swiss Re shows. The hit [...]
Axa rejects claim FCA’s Consumer Duty could hurt City’s finance sector March 22, 2023 The head of Axa’s UK & Ireland division has pushed back against claims the Financial Conduct Authority’s new Consumer Duty could hinder the City’s competitiveness. Claudio Gienal, chief executive of AXA UK and Ireland, told City A.M. he “supports” the FCA’s new customer-focused mandate. Gienal also said he doesn’t “see an issue with competitiveness” around [...]
European insurance M&A deals hit record high as investors shrugged off recession and interest rate fears March 22, 2023 The market for M&A deals involving European insurance companies surged in 2022, as private equity funds continued to drive the market forwards, despite the headwinds facing the global economy. The boom saw investors shrug off rising interest rates to complete a record 435 M&A deals in 2022, up from 285 in 2020 and 379 in [...]
Ministers shelve plans to lift state pension age due to fear over backlash from middle-aged voters March 22, 2023 Ministers have reportedly shelved plans to raise the UK’s state pension age, over concerns of a backlash from middle-aged voters in the run-up to the next general election. The UK’s state pension age is currently set to rise from 66 to 68 after 2044. The UK government had, however, planned to bring this date [...]
Top City firms pledge to hike contributions to employees’ pensions pots amid concerns over looming savings crunch March 21, 2023 A coalition of top City firms today vowed to boost the contributions they make into their employees’ pensions in response to growing concerns about the potential for a looming savings crunch. Aviva, Phoenix and Herbert Smith Freehills all pledged to give pensions contributions equivalent to at least seven per cent of their workers’ salaries in [...]
Summertime sadness: 2022 heatwave leaves insurers with £219bn subsidence bill March 21, 2023 Insurers are set to pay out £219m to Brits whose houses sunk into the ground due to the heatwave last year, new figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show. The summer heatwave, which saw temperatures in the Lincolnshire town on Coningsby hit record highs of 40.3 degrees Celsius, led to a surge in [...]
Why AI tools, like GPT, are now at the frontline of the City’s talent war? March 19, 2023 Major advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology are rapidly transforming the ways that law firms and accounting firms work. The world’s top professional services firms are now increasingly starting to use increasingly sophisticated AI tech in their everyday work. However, increased use of AI technology is not just the inevitable result of technological innovation, but [...]
Deloitte fined £25m by China over audit of state-owned asset manager March 18, 2023 China has fined auditing firm Deloitte 211.9m yuan (£25.3m) for failing to perform its duty in assessing the asset quality of China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd, the finance ministry said on its website on Friday. Deloitte’s Beijing operations also will be suspended for three months, the ministry said in a statement. China Huarong and its [...]