Rathbone Brothers boosts profits but warns of Brexit impact on funds February 21, 2019 Wealth manager Rathbone Brothers said today it had boosted its-full year profit but warned Brexit could affect the value of its funds. Underlying operating income in investment management grew to £275.3m for the year to 31 December, up from £254.6m the previous year. That figure includes £8.7m in relation to Scottish wealth manager Speirs and [...]
Foreign affairs select committee calls for overseas territories to publish ownership registers February 20, 2019 The Foreign Affairs select committee has called today for British Overseas territories to publish registers of the ultimate owners of assets on national security grounds. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act which became law in May 2018 requires British overseas territories such as Anguilla and Bermuda to establish publicly-accessible registers of beneficial ownership by 31 [...]
Watchdog gives insurance brokers clean bill of health on competition worries February 20, 2019 Regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) today said it had not found evidence of significant levels of harm in its probe into insurance brokers, meaning that “intrusive remedies” will not be necessary. The FCA launched its analysis of the wholesale insurance brokers market in November 2017 to assess how competition was working in the sector. It said that [...]
Former Barclays chair Marcus Agius tells court he was unaware of £280m agreement with Qatar February 20, 2019 Former Barclays chair Marcus Agius told a court in London today that he was unaware of an agreement by the bank to pay Qatar £280m as it embarked on an emergency fundraising at the height of the financial crisis. The Serious Fraud Office has charged former Barclays chief executive John Varley and senior bankers Richard [...]
Ex-Barclays chairman Marcus Agius testifies in Qatar fundraising fraud trial February 19, 2019 Former Barclays chairman Marcus Agius appeared as a witness at Southwark Crown Court today in the historic trial of four senior bankers accused of fraud for their actions at the height of the financial crisis. Agius is the first heavyweight banker to appear as a witness in a trial connected to the 2008 crash, more [...]
Debt rulings against corporations jumped 30 per cent last year February 18, 2019 There was an almost 30 per cent jump in county court judgments (CCJs) against corporations in 2018, according to figures released yesterday. A CCJ is a court order that can be registered against companies and individuals if they fail to repay money they owe. Read more: Looking out for the next financial crisis? Keep an [...]
Swiss Re completes 1bn Swiss franc share buyback ahead of financial results this week February 18, 2019 Swiss Re said today it had completed a 1bn Swiss franc (£771m) share buyback programme, ahead of announcing its 2018 financials this week. The Zurich-based insurer said it had bought 11.2m shares, equivalent to 3.21 per cent of its outstanding shares, at an average price of 89.17 frances per share. Read more: German insurance giant [...]
HSBC sued for £150m in relation to Disney tax avoidance scheme February 18, 2019 HSBC Private Bank is being sued for £150m by over 400 investors in connection with a film financing scheme that purported to invest money in Disney blockbusters for tax benefits. Investors, including ex-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-England managers Sven-Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle, lost out after tax authorities ruled that the film [...]
Disgruntled ex-Linklaters exec agrees not to disclose information alleging Magic Circle firm’s ‘struggle’ with women February 18, 2019 An aggrieved former senior executive at Magic Circle law firm Linklaters has agreed to destroy a set of documents related to a case about the firm’s alleged “ongoing struggle" with women. Former chief marketing officer Frank Mellish had threatened to disclose information about the firm's culture and the way it dealt with three incidents internally after losing [...]
Global dividends jumped to $1.37 trillion in 2018 on strong banking and mining growth February 18, 2019 Global dividends jumped 9.3 per cent to $1.37 trillion (£1.06 trillion) in 2018, with underlying growth of 8.5 per cent, the best performance since 2015. Nine in ten companies globally increased dividends or held them steady, with underlying growth for the year outstripping the long-term trend of five to seven per cent. Banking and mining [...]