Standard Chartered opposes animal testing as it tightens environmental policies October 25, 2018 Standard Chartered will no longer finance clients who test cosmetic products on animals, it said today as it announced a raft of tightened environmental and social policies. The emerging markets-focused bank will also avoid financing plantation or livestock ranches that degrade High Carbon Stock forests, peatlands or legally protected areas, or operations that grow, process [...]
Jes Staley seeks to brush off Bramson challenge but Barclays still faces the headwinds October 24, 2018 Barclays CEO Jes Staley struck a bullish tone yesterday, insisting his investment banking division was on the up. Third quarter profits jumped to £1.5bn, up from £1.1bn a year ago. If this puts a spring in Staley's step, there are plenty of items in his in-tray to pull him back down to earth – not [...]
Barclays prepares for hard Brexit as Irish expansion gathers pace October 24, 2018 The chief executive of Barclays said the bank is fully prepared for a hard Brexit as its Irish expansion plans gather pace. Jes Staley said it would be business as usual for customers after Britain leaves the EU on March 29. The bank will use its Irish subsidiary as a central European hub to guard [...]
Serious Fraud Office presses for criminal charges to be reinstated against Barclays October 22, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is pressing to get criminal charges reinstated against Barclays related to its capital raising arrangements at the height of the financial crisis. The high street bank and four former executives were charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance in 2017, connected to a deal [...]
Industry heavyweights from Barclays, RBS and Coutts back new personal investment robo-adviser Pia October 22, 2018 Big-name former executives from institutions such as Barclays, HSBC and Coutts are behind a new startup aiming to help consumers navigate the world of investing. Pia, an online "personal investment assistant" scheduled to begin its launch in summer, counts advisory board members such as T Rowe Price Global Investment Services' former chief executive Todd Ruppert, [...]
London Stock Exchange dividends jump amid banking and mining growth October 22, 2018 Shareholders were graced with a bumper third quarter of dividends this year, as a weakened pound and a strong showing from financial and mining firms bolstered payouts. UK dividends climbed 4.1 per cent in the last three months, hitting an all-time third-quarter high of £32.3bn. Underlying payouts, which exclude special dividends, reached £31.6bn, a rise [...]
RBS set to reveal third quarter dividend policy after making first payment following financial crisis October 21, 2018 Investors in the Royal Bank of Scotland will be eager find out whether the bank will announce another dividend this week, as UK lenders reveal their third quarter results. The bank, which last year returned to profit for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, recently paid its first dividend in 10 years. Read [...]
City Moves for 18 October – who’s switching jobs at TSB, Yapster and Barclays? October 18, 2018 Today’s City Moves cover TSB, Yapster and Barclays. TSB TSB has appointed Niv Subramanian as customer solutions director for its small and medium enterprise (SME) banking leadership team. Niv brings a combination of experience across strategic, commercial and operational roles in retail, commercial and corporate banking, with a keen focus on transforming the SME banking [...]
Ex-Barclays wealth management boss says all banks will use artificial intelligence in next five years October 18, 2018 All banks will use artificial intelligence (AI) in the next five years, according to former Barclays wealth management boss Akshaya Bhargava, as institutions prepare for the $30 trillion (£28 trillion) "great wealth transfer" from baby boomers to millennials. Bhargava, who set up AI fintech platform Bridgeweave after leaving the British bank two years ago, said financial [...]
Investor demand for environment-friendly firms is becoming ‘phenomenon’ says top Barclays banker October 11, 2018 Demand for investments in businesses pursuing environmentally and socially responsible aims is building up unstoppable momentum, according to a top banker at Barclays. Joe McGrath, global head of banking at the British bank, says the growth of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns in business has become a “phenomenon” in the last five years. ESG [...]