FSA fines Santander £1.5m February 20, 2012 The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Spanish bank Santander £1.5m for failing to clarify a compensation procedure on some of its products. The FSA said that the Santander fine related to “failing to confirm under which circumstances its structured products would be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).” The FSA said Santander [...]
FTSE up as Greek D-Day arrives February 20, 2012 Miners led the FTSE 100 upwards this morning as China moved to stimulate more growth in its economy and Eurozone chiefs were poised to finally sign a bailout agreement to save Greece. China’s central bank cut the amount of cash banks must hold in reserves, boosting lending capacity for the second time in nearly three [...]
Lloyds to strip bankers of bonuses February 20, 2012 Lloyds is to strip five current and former senior bankers of more than £1m in bonuses over their role in the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The bank is taking back the bonuses over the scandal that cost the part state-owned bank £3.2bn last year. PPI was often sold alongside loans to cover repayments [...]
Bank of Ireland reports plunge in profits February 20, 2012 Bank of Ireland said it was attracting deposits, cutting costs and expected home loan arrears to peak this year, raising hopes Ireland’s biggest lender had turned a corner after a 60 percent drop in underlying profit in 2011. The only Irish bank to avoid nationalisation after an unprecedented property crash, Bank of Ireland said on [...]
MINISTER SLAMS JOB SNOB CRITICS February 20, 2012 CHRIS Grayling, the employment minister, yesterday rounded on critics of the government’s work experience programme, describing them as “job snobs”. He was speaking in response to opponents of the scheme who branded it “21st century slavery” and “forced labour” after it emerged Tesco had offered an unpaid placement stacking shelves in its supermarkets. The scheme [...]
The truth over board room pay February 20, 2012 REAL pay to non-executive directors of FTSE 100 companies has fallen, according to figures released this morning. Pay in the year to June 2011 rose by a median of four per cent, Incomes Data Services has found – lower than both the main measures of inflation over the period. In the 12 months to June [...]
Euro finance ministers finally set to agree second Greek bailout February 20, 2012 THE GREEK government hopes Eurozone finance ministers will approve its €130bn (£108.1bn) bailout package this afternoon, bringing to a close months of tense negotiations in which Greece has struggled to find a way to avoid defaulting on its debts. There are also hopes of finalising a deal with private creditors to swap a total of [...]
Sunday launch for 7-day Sun February 20, 2012 NEWS International is launching the Sun on Sunday this weekend – seven months after it closed the News of the World in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. An internal memo sent to staff yesterday said News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch, who flew into the UK last week, would “be staying in London to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 20, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES PFIZER WEIGHS PLANS FOR $3BN PART-IPO Pfizer is weighing plans to raise about $3bn this year through a part-flotation of its animal health division, as the drugs giant examines the best way to spin off a business valued at as much as $18bn. The pharmaceuticals group, the world’s second largest by market capitalisation, [...]
Meaningless numbers hinder meaningful debate over pay February 20, 2012 SOME media organisations are likely to carry a headline along the lines of this today: “City Fat Cats Award Themselves 10pc Pay Rise”. A press release sent out by Incomes Data Services (IDS) does indeed claim that pay increases for FTSE 100 non-executive directors averaged 10 per cent last year. Closer inspection proves the claim [...]