Five things you need to know about HSBC’s radical overhaul strategy February 18, 2020 Banking giant HSBC today launched one of the most radical strategic overhauls by a blue-chip lender in the past decade in a bid to revitalise its stuttering operations. HSBC is seeking to slash annual costs by $4.5bn and shed $100bn of assets by 2022 in a bid to keep pace with leaner and more focused [...]
HSBC: Profit plunges as bank plans 35,000 job cuts February 18, 2020 HSBC has outlined plans to offload $100bn (£77bn) of assets and dramatically downsize its investment banking arm in a restructure that will cost 35,000 jobs over the next three years. Profit before tax tumbled by a third to $13.6bn in 2019, HSBC said as it revealed its most radical overhaul since the financial crisis in [...]
Intercontinental Hotels sales in Hong Kong drop on protests February 18, 2020 Intercontinental Hotels has reported a slight dip in revenue per room in 2019, with the Holiday Inn-owner hit by a fall in bookings in Hong Kong due to the unrest in the territory. The hotel group, which operates 443 hotels in Greater China under various brands, said comparable revenue per available room (revpar) dipped 0.3 [...]
UK and EU need to rebuild trust to reach agreement on equivalence, report warns February 18, 2020 The UK and EU must rebuild trust “at a political level” before they can reach an agreement on the City’s future regulatory relationship with the bloc, according to a new report. Britain is seeking “comprehensive” or “permanent” equivalence with the bloc to ensure the City maintains permanent access to EU markets, but the EU has [...]
NMC Health founder BR Shetty resigns as crisis deepens February 17, 2020 The founder of NMC Health has resigned as its non-executive chairman after stepping back from board discussions when questions were raised over his holdings in the embattled healthcare provider. Indian billionaire BR Shetty, a joint controlling shareholder in NMC Health, resigned from its board with immediate effect yesterday, the company announced this morning. Chief investment [...]
Former US financial regulator ‘to step down’ from HSBC’s board February 17, 2020 A former senior US financial regulator is set to step down as a director of HSBC, as the chairman of Europe’s biggest lender continues a board shakeup. Kathleen Casey, a former commissioner of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, will leave HSBC’s board at its annual general meeting in the spring, Sky News reported. Casey’s [...]
City regulator fines Provident Financial subsidiary Moneybarn £2.8m February 17, 2020 The financial watchdog has fined car finance provider Moneybarn £2.77m for treating customers unfairly when they fell behind on loan repayments. Moneybarn, which is part of Provident Financial, has voluntarily repaid over £30m to almost 6,000 customers potentially effected by the failings, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. The FCA also found that Moneybarn was [...]
Hong Kong: Armed robbers steal hundreds of toilet rolls amid coronavirus panic buying February 17, 2020 Police in Hong Kong have caught two of three armed robbers who stole hundreds of rolls of toilet paper from a supermarket delivery man, as the city struggles with shortages of essential goods caused by coronavirus panic buying. Police said they recovered all of the 50 packs of toilet paper stolen by the knife-wielding robbers, [...]
Interactive Investor to acquire The Share Centre for £62m February 17, 2020 Interactive Investor is to buy The Share Centre in a cash and shares deal worth around £61.9m, the companies announced this morning. The owner of The Share Centre’s stock surged as much as 17.24 per cent this morning following news of the offer. Announcing the deal, ii said retail investment platforms need scale to sustain [...]
NMC Health shares tumble on double downgrade from Societe Generale February 13, 2020 Shares in NMC Health fell as much as 11 per cent on Thursday after the embattled hospital operator was hit with a double rating downgrade from Societe Generale. Analysts at the French bank slashed NMC’s price target by 85 per cent, saying that confidence in the company, the biggest healthcare operator in the United Arab [...]
