National Audit Office launches investigation into Greensill’s involvement in Covid loan schemes April 16, 2021 The National Audit Office (NAO) has launched a probe into supply chain finance firm Greensill Capital following its collapse. Last month the supply chain finance firm appointed Grant Thornton as its administrators, warning it is in “severe financial distress” as its practices came under severe scrutiny. Now the NAO will investigate Greensill’s involvement in the [...]
Grab considers Singapore listing after US SPAC merger April 16, 2021 Ride hailing and food delivery firm Grab is reportedly mulling a secondary listing in Singapore after merging with a US-listed SPAC. The company recently finalised a merger with Altimeter Growth to go public in the US at a valuation of just under $40bn (£29bn). Grab, which was founded in 2012 and became south-east Asia’s first decacorn [...]
Banks flee the City post-Brexit taking more than £900bn in assets with them April 16, 2021 If you thought the Brexit saga was over, think again. New research reveals UK firms are looking to the continent for business and relocations are set to continue. Figures compiled by think tank New Financial make for sobering reading and reveal the extent of just how much Brexit will face the change of the City. [...]
Beleaguered Cineworld tops the list of 10 most shorted UK stocks April 15, 2021 Cineworld tops the list of 10 most shorted stocks in the UK as hedge funds take aim at the cinema which has been forced to shut for over a year. A “short” is a method of betting against a stock, so that the investor can make a profit if the share price falls. Investors borrow [...]
Citigroup to exit 13 consumer markets despite tripling quarterly profit April 15, 2021 Citigroup has started the year with a bang, tripling its profit in the first quarter after releasing $3.85bn in reserves but announced plans to exit a handful of its consumer markets. The investment bank reported quarterly net income of $7.9bn, up from income of £2.5bn in the first quarter of 2020. Revenues slipped seven per [...]
Blackrock quarterly profit climbs on stimulus and vaccine optimism April 15, 2021 Blackrock has reported a 16 per cent jump in profit in the first quarter driven by record net inflows. The asset manager saw net income rise to $1.2bn in the three months to 31 March, equivalent to $7.77 per share, up from $6.60 a year earlier. It also reported revenue of $4.4bn, beating analysts’ [...]
Exclusive: Bank of Ireland UK launches four working hubs in pivot to flexible working April 15, 2021 The Bank of Ireland is the latest company to pivot to a flexible working model with plans to launch four working hubs across the UK. Some 91 per cent of employees surveyed by the bank have indicated they would like to work flexibly in a sign of just how much working patterns have changed amid [...]
UniCredit shareholders approve Andrea Orcel’s bumper pay packet April 15, 2021 UniCredit shareholders have approved the appointment of Andrea Orcel and a proposed bumper pay packet making him Italy’s highest-paid banker. Orcel is set to take over from French banker Jean Pierre Mustier who left in February after falling out with the board over its strategy. Today shareholders, accounting for around 60 per cent of the [...]
Market gains in fourth quarter push Charles Stanley’s assets higher April 15, 2021 Charles Stanley has said it is “cautiously optimistic” for the year ahead after a strong performance in the fourth quarter. Total funds under management and administration (FuMA) for the three months ended 31 March rose two per cent to £25.6bn, helped by positive market performance. The London listed firm’s average FuMA over the financial year [...]
Pandemic pushes corporates’ legal spend higher April 15, 2021 Law firms are one of the few winners in the pandemic with corporates planning to increase legal spend this year, new research shows. Some 38 per cent of UK companies polled by Thomson Reuters are planning to increase their legal spend, almost twice as many planning to make cuts. It is partly driven by demand [...]
