Aldermore plans £1bn growth per year to challenge big lenders July 31, 2013 FOUR year old bank Aldermore hopes to grow its balance sheet by up to £1bn each year as it takes advantage of the larger lenders’ consolidation to seize market share, the lender’s chief told City A.M. yesterday. The bank recorded an operating profit of £9.2m in the first half of the year, up from £1m [...]
Four arrests for insider trading July 31, 2013 THREE men and a woman were arrested yesterday as part of an investigation by the City’s watchdog into insider trading. “The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the assistance of the Metropolitan Police has this morning executed search warrants in west London,” the FCA said. The four individuals are aged 25, 29, 51, and 56. They [...]
Brewin offsets shift in rules July 31, 2013 WEALTH manager Brewin Dolphin yesterday said higher fee income helped cushion the negative impact of retail distribution review (RDR) rule changes last quarter. Trail commission – which RDR banned in January – and other income fell 33 per cent at the firm for the quarter ending June. But a 27 increase in core income from [...]
Kazakhstani businessman arrested in fraud case July 31, 2013 MUKHTAR Ablyazov, a Kazakhstani businessman accused of a $6bn (£3.95bn) fraud involving his former bank BTA, was yesterday arrested in the south of France. Sources with knowledge of the arrest told City A.M. that the arrest was “entirely due to the fraud charges” and was not related to his role as an opponent of the [...]
F&C cost trimming bears fruit as it bounces back into the black July 31, 2013 F&C ASSET Management’s lengthy turnaround gathered pace yesterday after it said aggressive cost-cutting at the company had helped increase half-year profits. The FTSE-250 business, which wants to slash about £50m from its budget by 2015, said it made a statutory pre-tax profit of about £9m for the six months to June after cutting operating costs [...]
St James’s Place chief was not told of controversial Lloyds sale July 31, 2013 THE BOSS of wealth manager St James’s Place was not given advance warning of Lloyds Banking Group’s controversial share sale, he revealed yesterday. In March Lloyds offloaded a 20 per cent stake in the FTSE 250 firm and pledged not to make any more disposals for a year. But just two months later the bank infuriated investors [...]
BBVA profits double on LatAm sales July 31, 2013 Spanish bank BBVA saw second quarter profits increase 90.8 per cent on the year to €2.88bn, largely on asset sales in emerging markets. Profits increased in some areas – Mexican profits increased 6.5 per cent in the first half – but profits in South America as a whole fell 11 per cent and those in [...]
Banks hold talks on remittances July 31, 2013 The British Bankers’ Association and the government yesterday held talks on the problems faced by remittance services. The payments firms allow individuals to send money abroad, but 250 face having their accounts closed by Barclays because the bank is worried about the risks of the services being abused by money launderers and other criminals. The case [...]
Soros takes stake in Herbalife July 31, 2013 Billionaire investor George Soros has taken a large long position in the stock of nutritional supplement company and hedge fund target Herbalife, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. Shares of Herbalife spiked eight per cent following the first report of Soros’ stake. William Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, has been [...]
British Gas urged to freeze prices after cold winter fires up profits July 31, 2013 BRITISH Gas owner Centrica yesterday unveiled a surge in half-year profits, prompting consumer groups to urge the firm to freeze energy bills this winter. Operating profit across the entire business rose nine per cent to £1.58bn, while profits in British Gas’ residential energy supply unit rose three per cent, due to an unusually cold winter [...]
