From Standard Chartered to Prudential: Changing the guard at banks – Bottom Line March 10, 2015 When floods of bosses quit, you should normally be worried. Think of the financial crisis, or the heads that rolled in the wake of the Libor scandal. But this time it is different, and that is surely a good sign. The Pru’s boss has unexpectedly quit, to replace Brady Dougan as the head of Credit [...]
Analyst predicts Barclays will cut investment arm March 10, 2015 Barclays will struggle to reform its investment banking operations, and could have to announce a series of major cuts to the unit, Macquarie analyst Ed Firth predicted yesterday. Chief executive Antony Jenkins and finance boss Tushar Morzaria last week committed to the arm’s future in the bank, but did note that more changes would be [...]
Institute of Directors presses for chair of Barclays’ pay board Sir John Sunderland to go March 9, 2015 Investors and business groups attacked Barclays’ long-serving director Sir John Sunderland yesterday, accusing the bank of failing to honour a pledge to replace him as chairman of the remuneration committee. Last April, Barclays said that Sunderland would leave the bank “at a date to be agreed”, and would be replaced by Crawford Gillies. But 11 [...]
Barclays accused of misleading shareholders over John Sunderland resignation March 9, 2015 Barclays has been criticised by a pensions advisory body for “misleading shareholders”. In a statement, the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has called for John Sunderland, chairman of the bank's pay review committee, to step down immediately. It claims that ahead of its 2014 annual general meeting 11 months ago, Barclays said Sunderland would [...]
Traders at Barclays and Deutsche Bank questioned over Euribor rigging March 8, 2015 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is questioning former traders from Barclays and Deutsche Bank over possible Euribor rigging. According to the FT, which spoke to sources close to the matter, they are being interviewed “under caution”. This means the UK fraud investigators must have at least a reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, and this type of [...]
Barclays’ investment bank under strain after profits fall to £1.3bn March 3, 2015 Barclays’ investment bank was the worst-performing unit in the business last year, and could face further cuts if it does not improve quickly. The unit’s profits dived 31 per cent to £1.3bn, the bank’s financial results showed yesterday. And its return on equity fell to 2.7 per cent – far below the 11.9 per cent [...]
Forex probe costs hurt Barclays results as bank reports loss of £174 March 3, 2015 Mounting forex probe costs and an extra PPI compensation bill helped to push Barclays into the red in 2014, as the bank yesterday said its restructuring programme is ahead of schedule. Barclays reported an attributable loss of £174m for the year, compared with a £530m profit in 2013. Much of the damage came from [...]
Barclays: When one-off costs keep coming – Bottom Line March 3, 2015 Investors want to know the exact profit of the firms they own, but they also want the long-term outlook. That is why banks publish their statutory earnings, and their underlying numbers. The difference can be huge – hundreds of millions or even billions of pounds per year. But how far can investors rely on those [...]
Barclays sets aside another £750m for forex probes as profits jump and costs fall March 3, 2015 The figures Barclays' full-year adjusted pre-tax profits soared 12 per cent to £5.5bn, well ahead of the £5.3bn analysts expected for 2014. An additional £750m has been set aside for forex settlements, bringing the total to £1.25bn. Chief executive Anthony Jenkins said the bank expected to "make significant progress in this area" in 2015. A further £200m provision has also been made for [...]
Barclays Investment Bank poaches Goldman Sachs man Phil Shelley February 26, 2015 Barclays has poached Phil Shelley from Goldman Sachs to work in its investment arm in a senior UK banking role. In his job as managing director at Goldman, Shelley worked on IPOs last year including Saga and Virgin Active. He was also previously a joint-head of corporate broking at UBS. However, it is thought his [...]