FSA slaps ex-HBOS banker with £500,000 fine and lifetime ban September 12, 2012 A FORMER senior HBOS banker has been hit with a record fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the regulator revealed yesterday. It also banned him from the industry for life. Peter Cummings, former head of corporate lending at HBOS, will pay £500,000 for failure to exercise due diligence and reasonable care. “Despite being aware [...]
Credit Suisse faces £23bn of withdrawals September 12, 2012 CREDIT Suisse could see clients in western Europe withdraw up to a net $37bn (£23bn) in the next few years as Switzerland bows to pressure to stop foreigners using secret offshore accounts to evade taxes. Swiss bank secrecy has come under heavy pressure in recent years as cash-strapped governments have sought to fight tax evasion. [...]
UK fears impact of Eurozone’s banking union September 12, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Central Bank could have the power to shut down failing banks or grant licences to new entrants as soon as January, if new plans announced yesterday by the European Commission stay on track. The UK is not taking part in the plan, but banks and officials are concerned that the new setup could [...]
How will this work? September 12, 2012 Q What will the ECB actually be doing? A If the plan comes through, by January the ECB will take responsibility for financial stability for all Eurozone banks. That covers closing of failing banks, approving of new banks, and monitoring areas like capital ratios and liquidity levels. Q Will it actually happen on time? A [...]
Barroso calls for a tighter political bond September 12, 2012 THE SOLUTION to the Eurozone crisis lies in creating closer economic ties in the Eurozone, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso argued in his state of the union address yesterday. However his plans for a banking union were immediately hit by concerns from German politicians who fear the setup would overstretch the European Central Bank, [...]
Brussels’ latest plans present real dangers for the City September 12, 2012 IN THEORY, banking union tackles the difficult question of cross-border bank failure and the collapse of the interbank lending market. In this, the Eurozone’s proposed “common resolution funds” are a welcome development – but unlikely to be large enough given the different pressures being placed on banks’ finances. Banking union is also vital for the [...]
Spanish bailout gets closer on German ruling September 12, 2012 GERMANY’S most powerful court yesterday rejected complaints against the Eurozone’s permanent bailout fund, clearing the way for the country to ratify the €700bn (£560.5bn) mechanism. The only catch is that the German parliament will have to approve any future increase in the country’s €190bn liability to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), rather than leaders or [...]
Pro-European parties sweep Dutch election September 12, 2012 DUTCH voters handed pro-European parties a sweeping election victory last night, shunning the radical fringes and dispelling concerns that eurosceptics could gain sway in a core Eurozone country. Exit polls broadcast as soon as voting ended gave caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right Liberals 41 seats in the 150-member lower house, a slender one-seat lead [...]
Walker’s fury at bad incentives ruining banks September 12, 2012 QUARTERLY reporting, the growth of sales-based commission and the increasing use of new technologies all contributed to a damaging culture of short-termism which led in part to the financial crisis and the mis-selling scandals, incoming Barclays chairman Sir David Walker said yesterday. The City grandee told the new Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards (PCBS) that [...]
Stress tests show lenders built resilience fast in financial crisis September 12, 2012 BRITISH banks responded rapidly to the financial crisis, raising capital levels successfully to put themselves in a strong position to resist any further downturn, according to a new paper out today from the Bank of England. The analysis of last year’s bank stress tests shows that a deep double dip would not see any bank [...]
