THE RISE AND FALL OF BOB DIAMOND July 4, 2012 1996 Bob Diamond is appointed chief executive of Barclays Global Markets. 1997 Barclays founds BarCap investment bank from its Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW) unit. Diamond is involved from the start. 2005 Barclays traders start to manipulate the London Interbank Offer Rate (Libor) while Diamond heads the British bank’s investment banking operations. 2008 Barclays refuses [...]
Diamond gives MPs a lesson in evasiveness July 4, 2012 PROTESTERS in Robin Hood costumes chanted their disapproval, armed police patrolled the corridors and members of the Treasury select committee limbered up for battle. The circus was waiting for its star attraction – one Robert Diamond Jr. – to kick off the greatest show in financial regulation history. And then the questioning began. Hamstrung by [...]
Tucker keen to give his side of Libor phone call July 4, 2012 BANK of England deputy governor Paul Tucker made a pre-emptive strike to distance himself from the Libor fixing scandal yesterday, asking to give his own evidence to MPs on the topic “as soon as possible”. Before ex-Barclays boss Bob Diamond had even appeared at the Treasury select committee (TSC) yesterday, Tucker raced to clear his [...]
It isn’t just Diamond that missed Libor’s warning signs July 4, 2012 MICHAEL Fallon of the Treasury select committee voiced a question yesterday that must be on many people’s lips. After passing on Paul Tucker’s message from the Bank of England in October 2008, how did Bob Diamond manage to know so little for so long about the Libor manipulation at Barclays that followed? Diamond dodged, “I [...]
Analysts argue lawsuits from Libor are unlikely to succeed July 4, 2012 LAWSUITS against Barclays linked to Libor-fixing are unlikely to succeed based on yesterday’s evidence to the Treasury select committee, analysts have said. Barclays’ finance boss has told analysts that the bank has “not suffered any deposit flight as a result of recent events” during a conference call. And number crunchers at Espirito Santo Investment Bank [...]
Cameron: No diamond pay-off July 4, 2012 DAVID Cameron yesterday weighed into the debate over Bob Diamond’s bonuses, arguing that the former Barclays chief executive should not be paid a golden goodbye. Speaking before the Commons, Cameron said it would be “inexplicable to the public” and “completely wrong” for Diamond to receive a pay-off after resigning from the bank, which was fined [...]
Former Bankia board focus of criminal probe July 4, 2012 THE FOCUS on why nationalised Spanish lender Bankia went ahead with a stock market listing intensified yesterday as the country’s national court opened a criminal investigation into the float naming 33 former board members as suspects. The probe, launched following a complaint by small Spanish political party Union Progreso y Democracia, accuses Bankia, its parent [...]
The rise and fall of Spain’s Bankia July 4, 2012 Q How did Bankia come about? A Formed in January 2011 from the merger of seven small regional savings banks (cajas) which had lent aggressively into Spain’s property bubble it became the country’s fourth largest lender overnight, with over 4,000 branches, 25,000 employees and massive exposure to the property bubble. Q What went wrong? A [...]
EUROPE’S TALLEST TOWER CELEBRATES OPENING July 4, 2012 THE SHARD, the latest tower to dominate London’s skyline, will be inaugurated today as it celebrates its external completion at a record height of 309.6m. Lasers will beam from the 95-storey London Bridge skyscraper to buildings including the London Eye and Tower Bridge. It was designed by Renzo Piano and developed by Sellar Property with [...]
Murray’s on Tsong ahead of semi-final showdown July 4, 2012 BRITISH No1 Andy Murray has admitted he will have to be at his best if he is to advance beyond France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach the final at Wimbledon for the first time in his career. World no5 David Ferrer had already yesterday forced Murray to perform to the peak of his powers during his [...]
