Santander UK makes bid for RBS’ Williams & Glyn unit August 2, 2016 Santander UK has put forward a bid to buy what would be RBS' Williams & Glyn unit. RBS was instructed to sell the Williams & Glyn unit, which is more than 300 branches strong, by the end of 2017, as part of its £45bn state bailout deal. However, the bank warned in April that it might [...]
Matteo Renzi: Italian banks not the bane of Europe August 2, 2016 Italy's Prime Minister has today hit back at critics' claims his country's banks are some of the most burdensome in Europe's banking sector. The country's banks are thought to be saddled with approximately €360bn (£304.7bn) of non-performing loans and it has been widely speculated that Renzi has recently been trying to arrange a capital injection for the sector with [...]
Direct Line zooms to top of FTSE 100 after generous special dividend announced and profits beat expectations August 2, 2016 Direct Line Insurance Group raced to the top of the FTSE 100 today, after the insurer announced a generous special dividend and profits zoomed past analyst expectations. The figures Profit before tax for the insurer fell to £298.5m for the first half of 2016, down 5.2 per cent from £315m the year before, after investment returns failed to [...]
UBS rogue trader Kweku Adoboli says his actions were like a self-sacrifice to chase his employer’s goals August 1, 2016 Rogue trader Kweku Adoboli has hit back at suggestions he acted out of greed, correcting his critics by saying his actions were motivated by wanting to benefit his employer. Adoboli was convicted on two counts of fraud in 2012 after his unauthorised trading lost Swiss banking giant UBS £1.4bn. He was released from prison last summer [...]
Tom Hayes’ crowdfunding campaign breaks £30,000 mark August 1, 2016 The crowdfunding campaign to raise money for Tom Hayes' legal fees has broken the £30,000 barrier. The Fundrazr campaign, which has been set up to support the former UBS and Citigroup traders' appeal to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), has now raised £30,705, or 20 per cent, of its £150,000 target. The campaign had been stalled [...]
This bank feels fine about the Brexit vote so far August 1, 2016 While June's Brexit vote gave most of the banking sector a beating, one industry giant has revealed its business is doing fine, for the time being at least. Citigroup has revealed it is yet to feel its business be seriously shaken by June's Brexit decision. A regulatory filing published today noted Citigroup had "not experienced any significant negative impact [...]
London still open for business but firms need reassurance from government, warns CBI August 1, 2016 London firms are standing strong despite Brexit vote uncertainty, but reassurance from government is needed urgently, a study out today has found. In a survey of 186 firms which was carried out after the referendum, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and CBRE found two-fifths (41 per cent) intended to stick with their investment plans and [...]
Crunching the numbers: Mazars completes on deal with Corality Financial Group August 1, 2016 Get ready for a whole bunch of number crunching: Accountants Mazars has completed its acquisition of financial modelling and training firm Corality Financial Group. As part of the deal, Corality's training academy and financial modelling services will be rebranded as Corality by Mazars. The new brand will be led by Rickard Warnelid, previously Corality Group's chief executive who will now [...]
