Tidjane Thiam points Credit Suisse to private banking as profits jump July 23, 2015 Credit Suisse’s new chief executive Tidjane Thiam said yesterday that the bank would place greater emphasis on private banking and wealth management after it comfortably beat market expectations in the second quarter. “We want to rebalance towards private banking and wealth management… as opposed to the investment bank,” Thiam told CNBC. Switzerland’s second biggest bank [...]
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna calls for federal UK with an English parliament during speech in Washington D.C. July 23, 2015 A federal Britain with a separate English parliament is the best way to hold the union together, says Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary. In a speech in Washington DC, he argued the best way to hold the union together is to give parts of it more autonomy, especially in light of the surge for support [...]
Bosses who put on a brave face: Martin Wheatley grimaces through FCA annual meeting July 22, 2015 “The AGM is my favourite time of year” – said no one ever, least of all outgoing Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief Martin Wheatley yesterday, who had to sit through the FCA’s annual meeting with a face like a smacked bottom. Wheatley, who has been booted out of the job by George Osborne, now joins [...]
Barack Obama and White House in final stages of drafting plan to close Guantanamo prison July 22, 2015 A White House spokesperson has confirmed that US president Barack Obama is in the "final stages" of drafting a plan to close the prison at Guantanamo, Reuters has reported. The military prison has been a source of controversy since it opened in 2002, with Amnesty International calling it the “Gulag of our times” after reports [...]
FCA boss Martin Wheatley: Disappointed to be leaving with “unfinished business” July 22, 2015 Martin Wheatley, the FCA's chief executive who has been unceremoniously ousted by chancellor George Osborne has spoken of his upset at leaving while there is still “unfinished business”. Wheatley made his first public statement at the Financial Conduct Authority's annual public meeting this morning, just days after his shock departure was revealed on Friday. [...]
Tony Blair warns the Labour Party of moving left after Jeremy Corbyn leads in poll July 22, 2015 Tony Blair’s opinions still count in the Labour Party, and he’s turned his gaze towards the future prospects of the party under the leadership Jeremy Corbyn, after he said Labour has “rediscovered losing.” His comments came after a YouGov poll for The Times found in the final round of voting, Corbyn would garner 53 per [...]
Government spending review: How George Osborne’s 40 per cent cuts would shrink each department July 22, 2015 George Osborne’s spending review will have struck fear into many a government department. The chancellor has committed to cutting £20bn from the public purse and, as well as kicking off a major land-grab of from public property in an attempt to address Britain's housing supply crisis, he's tasked each department to come up with projections for [...]
George Osborne’s train named Northern Powerhouse breaks down three times in four months July 21, 2015 Is the Northern Powerhouse running out of steam already? Back in March chancellor George Osborne renamed a refurbished Class 319 electric train operated by Northern Rail, the 'Northern Powerhouse' – supposedly as a symbol of the transformation he is pushing for northern England with his multi-billion Northern Powerhouse project. But the train has broken down [...]
Chancellor George Osborne defends bank surcharge at Treasury Select Committee grilling July 21, 2015 MPs of the Treasury Select Committee have grilled chancellor George Osborne, questioning him on a variety of issues, including the new bank tax. Led by Mark Garnier, the chancellor was asked to explain his justification for replacing the bank levy with a new surcharge. At the committee hearing, Garnier said: I welcome the change of [...]
Red tape officers must allow banks to take risks: There’s no business without it July 21, 2015 It's clear there is still a major gap in understanding how growth can be maintained and stimulated by effective risk management, rather than restricted by focusing purely on compliance control as this recent report on soaring pay for so-called red tape officers shows. Some still blame excessive regulation for a stalling in financial firms’ [...]