Head of UBS’s American arm quits to set up own business July 19, 2012 ROBERT Wolf, chairman of UBS in the Americas, is leaving the Swiss bank to start his own consultancy firm. He has been a prominent associate of President Barack Obama and is a major fundraiser for his re-election campaign. Wolf’s new firm is called 32 Advisors, after the squad number he wore while playing American Football for [...]
Libor chief quits British Bankers’ Association July 19, 2012 THE official responsible for controlling the Libor rate has left the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), it emerged yesterday. John Ewan has been at the trade body for seven years but ceased his involvement with the organisation this week. He has left to join data firm Thomson Reuters, which has a role in collating the data that [...]
Co-op to break dominance of top tier banks July 19, 2012 MILLIONS of Lloyds customers are set to become Co-op clients under the deal announced yesterday, making the smaller bank a new “challenger” to the UK’s dominant big five. Under the deal, set to be finalised by Christmas, the Co-op will issue £350m of subordinated debt in the coming months as an initial payment for the [...]
FSA in bid to create rivals to offer more banking choice July 19, 2012 AS PART of efforts to boost new entrants into the banking sector, the Financial Services Authority said yesterday that it will review applications for banking licences that were unsuccessful. Financial services minister Mark Hoban said the review would aim to ensure the current requirements are “proportionate” and “do not create excessive barriers to entry.” The [...]
What happens to Lloyds customers? July 19, 2012 Co-op’s current account market share will hit seven per cent Q How do I know if my account is being moved? A All of the branches in question are on the Lloyds website, and once the deal is finalised the bank will write to you. Q Will my services be affected? A The aim is [...]
Relax liquidity rules to boost lending – CBI July 19, 2012 RULES forcing banks to build up their liquidity buffers should be relaxed to allow lenders to boost lending, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said yesterday. The business group called on the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to urgently loosen the regulations as part of a growth strategy to help the UK escape its economic slump. “The Treasury [...]
SFO backs down on Kaupthing investigation as two released July 19, 2012 THE SERIOUS Fraud Office (SFO) has been forced to drop its investigation into two more people connected with the collapse of Icelandic bank Kaupthing, in an embarrassing climbdown on its most high-profile case. Former chief executive Armann Thorvaldsson and ex-treasurer Gudni Adalsteinsson have been released from police bail, just weeks after the SFO dropped a [...]
Miliband aims for Green over HSBC scandal July 19, 2012 LABOUR yesterday stepped up the pressure on trade minister Lord Green to answer questions about his time at the helm of HSBC, following revelations about the bank’s involvement in money laundering. “Green must come to the House of Lords to answer questions about his role and his involvement in the HSBC issue and must answer [...]
Deutsche Bank set to slash 1,000 jobs as Eurozone crisis bites July 19, 2012 DEUTSCHE Bank is set to cut jobs in its investment banking arm, it emerged yesterday, thanks to tougher conditions in capital markets. In April the bank announced there would be no job losses in the lucrative business. But since then conditions in the Eurozone have worsened dramatically, reducing client activity and driving banks across the [...]
Blackstone profits fall back as volatile markets hit assets July 19, 2012 BLACKSTONE Group, the largest publicly listed alternative asset manager, said yesterday its second-quarter earnings had dropped as challenging public markets eroded the value of its assets and crimped its lucrative performance fees. The firm’s earnings, however, still beat market expectations as its assets proved resilient in a market slump caused by the Eurozone debt crisis [...]
