City boss Gerry Grimstone: The buck has to stop with board directors March 23, 2015 Who is to blame when a banker many tiers from the top of the firm misbehaves? The banker alone? Their manager? The boss of their division? The chief executive? It can be chaotic working out who should be punished in a vast organisation across dozens of countries and hundreds of thousands of workers. But there [...]
Standard Life annutiues slip but profits are up February 20, 2015 The figures Shares in Standard Life rose 3.4 per cent in early trading, after it posted figures showing pre-tax operating profit grew 19 per cent to £604m in 2014, as assets under management jumped 38 per cent to £296.6bn. The purchase of Ignis Asset Management helped fee-based revenue rise 14 per cent to £1.4bn, while the company [...]
Standard Life lures Countdown star Rachel Riley to pull the pub quiz crowds January 14, 2015 Moving on to pensions now, but oddly not away from pubs, it seems Standard Life is continuing its theme of using celebrities and drinking holes to get us to think about our pensions. Last month the pensions provider published a video featuring Gogglebox’s Steph and Dom, talking about their long-term savings with some people in [...]
Standard Life share price dips as annuities drop but revenues rise October 29, 2014 Insurer Standard Life stated yesterday that it was well placed to deal with changes to UK pension laws, despite reporting a 55 per cent reduction in annuity sales for the year to date (YTD). Annuity sales were down 67 per cent for the third quarter of 2014 when compared with the same period of last [...]
RBS, Lloyds and Standard Life share prices rise as investors get giddy over Scottish No vote September 19, 2014 What a difference a week makes. Just a few days ago, the likes of RBS, Lloyds and Standard Life were all threatening to move south of the border in the event of a no vote, on the grounds that an independent Scotland would be too shaky to operate properly in. But today, investors showed their [...]
Independence referendum: Lloyds, Standard Life and Clydesdale Bank say they’ll quit Scotland if it votes yes September 10, 2014 Lloyds, Standard Life and the Clydesdale Bank are planning to quit Scotland and move their headquarters to London if voters back independence in next week’s referendum, the firms said yesterday. RBS is also planning to move to the City, Treasury sources said. The contingency plans are aimed at reassuring investors they will be able to continue normal [...]
Standard Life share price rockets on £2.2bn deal with Manulife September 4, 2014 Standard Life received a bullish response yesterday from markets and analysts to the sale of its Canadian business for C$4bn (£2.2bn), as shares sky-rocketed and analysts upgraded forecasts after the mega deal. Shares in the huge FTSE 100 listed insurance and investment firm surged by nearly 11 per cent in early trading, before finishing [...]
A subtle shift to a not-so Standard Life – Bottom Line September 4, 2014 FOR ALL the landmarks Standard Life’s sale of its Canadian arm breached yesterday – ending 180 years of doing business in Canada, pushing its market cap past £10bn – the most significant was also its most enigmatic. David Nish’s bumper £1.75bn windfall for investors may have grabbed the attention but a subtle strategic shift was [...]
Standard Life signs £2.2bn deal to sell Canadian arm September 3, 2014 Edinburgh-based insurer Standard Life last night announced it has clinched a C$4bn (£2.2bn) deal to sell its Canadian operations to Toronto-based insurer Manulife Financial. The sale will see Standard Life shareholders receive a £1.75bn windfall, or 73p per share, as part of the deal that also sees the two firms agree a collaboration agreement that [...]
Standard Life sells Canadian business to Manulife Financial for £2.2bn September 3, 2014 Insurance company Standard Life has sold its Canadian business to a subsidiary of Manulife Financial for 4bn Canadian dollars (£2.2bn). The sale, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, spans all areas of business from savings and retirement to investment management. According to Manulife Financial, the deal is expected [...]