Bank of England stress test: British lenders assessed against global economic crunch March 30, 2015 Britain's biggest banks have to prove they could withstand a global economic crunch, under a stress test unveiled by the Bank of England yesterday. The fictional scenario is based on real fears that a slowdown in China and renewed recession in Europe could hit the UK economy and its banks. The six biggest banks [...]
Analysts: Bank levy could drive Standard Chartered abroad March 23, 2015 George Osborne’s major new hike in the bank levy could prompt Standard Chartered to leave the UK, analysts at JP Morgan said yesterday, as the tax puts it at a disadvantage against global rivals. Such a move – to a location such as Singapore or Hong Kong – could take two or more years and cost [...]
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 [...]
Standard Chartered bonus bungle shows investors need to speak up March 4, 2015 Falling profits, boardroom turmoil and a declining return on equity: by any measure, Standard Chartered’s 2014 was a year to forget. So the decision of Peter Sands (whose resignation last week was met with a surge in the bank’s share price) to forgo a variable pay award for the year was necessary to avoid a [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises as boss Peter Sands gives up bonus March 4, 2015 Shares in troubled bank Standard Chartered were up six per cent this morning, despite reporting a sharp drop in pre-tax profits. Investor optimism was clearly high, as outgoing boss Peter Sands, who, it was revealed last week, will be replaced by Bill Winters, announced he and the rest of the board will forego their bonuses. [...]
Bank reshuffle raises issues at Burberry – Editor’s Letter March 1, 2015 Sir John Peace is widely admired in the City and until recently held positions as chair of both the emerging markets bank Standard Chartered and the fashion group Burberry. Until last week, those who expected him to give up one of those posts so he could give more time to the one he kept, had [...]
From Greece and Natalie Bennett to the banks and London’s skyline: Here’s what got us talking this week February 27, 2015 There was a lot of talk about a dress. And quite a bit about the llama drama. But here at City A.M. Towers, we were obsessing about plenty of other things. Greece finally managed to break the stalemate over its debt, negotiating a four month extension with Germany, and ending weeks of debate about a [...]
Bill Winters takes top Standard Chartered job: The City’s favourite adopted son takes on a risky challenge February 27, 2015 Not many investment bankers’ names are greeted with utterly unmitigated praise, particularly ones with major roles in the financial crisis. But once you ask former colleagues of Bill Winters about his qualities, it is hard to stop the flood of superlatives. “He is the best leader I have ever met. He saved the bank in [...]
New Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters to sell Renshaw Bay stake February 26, 2015 Bill Winters is understood to be looking to sell his stake in giant asset manager Renshaw Bay as he prepares to take over as chief executive of Standard Chartered. Winters, alongside Reinet Investments, owns more than half of the company. The ex-JP Morgan star set up Renshaw in 2011, attracting the backing of big names including [...]
Standard Chartered’s boardroom bloodbath: Chief exec Peter Sands and chairman Sir John Peace are out February 26, 2015 Standard Chartered delighted investors with a boardroom revolution yesterday, announcing the exit of chief executive Peter Sands, chairman Sir John Peace and four other senior directors. The troubled emerging markets specialist had come under increasing pressure to change tack, after the share price fell by half over the last two years. Sands had previously [...]