Mishcon de Reya launches new £150m litigation financing unit September 8, 2021 Law firm Mishcon de Reya has today announced plans to launch a new litigation funding unit with Harbour, one of the biggest litigation and arbitration funders in the world. The new venture, known as MDR Solutions I, will be used to assess and finance prospective litigation and arbitration cases originated by Mishcon de Reya clients [...]
Credit Suisse names new compliance chief after Greensill and Archegos scandals September 8, 2021 Credit Suisse has named Rafael Lopez Lorenzo as its new chief compliance officer less than six months after several senior executives left the bank, which is still recovering from the twin scandals of Archegos Capital Management and Greensill Capital. From 1 October Lorenzo, who is currently the head of group internal audit, will take over from [...]
French drugmaker Sanofi to spend $1.9bn to buy US biopharma firm Kadmon September 8, 2021 French healthcare company Sanofi has announced its plans to acquire Kadmon, a US biopharmaceutical firm, for $1.9bn, according to reports. The news comes just one month after Sanofi announced its intention to buy another US biotech, Translate Bio, in a $3.2bn deal. The French drugmaker said it offered $9.50 per share in cash for Kadmon [...]
PayPal pays $2.7bn for Japanese buy now, pay later firm September 8, 2021 PayPal, the online payments giant, has announced plans to acquire Paidy, a Japanese ‘buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) firm, for $2.7bn, according to reports. BNPL businesses work by charging merchants fees in return for offering small point-of-sale loans which customers repay in instalments that are interest-free, thereby avoiding credit checks. The BNPL market, of which [...]
KPMG boss intervenes in dispute with FRC over poor auditing standards September 7, 2021 The global head of KPMG has written to the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) over the its threats to publish further criticism of the auditor’s repeated failings, the Financial Times first reported. Bill Thomas, KPMG’s global chair and chief executive, entered the increasingly public dispute between the big four auditor and the FRC, after executives [...]
EY hit with $1bn claim for one of the largest bankruptcies in Swiss history September 7, 2021 EY’s Swiss practice is facing investor claims for giving clean audits to opaque conglomerate Zeromax for years before it collapsed, according to the Financial Times who first reported the news. Zeromax, whose crash in 2010 made it the second-largest bankruptcy in Swiss history, made multimillion-dollar jewellery purchases and made irregular offshore payments – which the [...]
Allianz under investigation by German regulator September 7, 2021 An investigation into insurance giant Allianz has been launched by regulators in Germany, after the loss of some of its US investment funds last year, according to Reuters who first reported the news. The German insurance company is one of the largest money managers globally and has €2.4 trillion ($2.9 trillion) in assets under management [...]
British businessman arrested on Wirecard-linked fraud charges September 2, 2021 A British businessman has been arrested and charged in Singapore with fraud for allegedly instructing a company, with ties to the collapsed Germans payments company Wirecard, to forge a letter according to widespread reports. James Henry O’Sullivan has been accused of ordering accounting firm Citadelle Corporate Services to fabricate a document, according to the Financial [...]
Deutsche Bank regains ability to sponsor Hong Kong IPOs with new hires September 2, 2021 Deutsche Bank AG has won back its ability to sponsor IPOs in Hong Kong after it temporarily lost the right in June when two employees left without replacements lined up, according to Bloomberg who first reported the news. The German bank hired three new senior staff and added Derek Chung, Ian Long and Albert Chang [...]
KPMG UK audit chair to join board of BHP September 2, 2021 KPMG’s UK chair of audit, Michelle Hinchliffe, will join the board of BHP as a non-executive director next year, the mining company has announced today. Hinchliffe will retire from KPMG UK in February after 30 years in the accounting giant’s financial services division. She will also become a member of BHP’s risk and audit committee [...]
