Banking rules relaxed by FSA to boost loans October 9, 2012 BANKING regulations have been eased by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in a drive to encourage lending and stimulate growth, with Britain’s financial institutions now needing less capital in reserve when loaning money to businesses. The FSA said yesterday it had been relaxing requirements over the last few months to “provide them with resources so [...]
What the other papers say this Morning October 9, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Channel Islands unite over deficits Guernsey and Jersey are setting aside centuries of rivalry to defeat a common foe: the budget deficit. Senior politicians on the two islands, which have struggled to balance their books since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, are considering radical moves to combine public services, including [...]
Goldman Sachs is a no-show on Megafon float October 9, 2012 GOLDMAN Sachs was yesterday desperately trying to douse the flames of an argument that threatens to jeopardise its business in Russia after stepping back from the London flotation of Megafon. Bankers were yesterday caught on the hop by news that Goldman Sachs, which had been effectively in the driving seat in the run-up to the [...]
King says Bank of England can afford to miss inflation target October 9, 2012 THE BANK of England must sometimes veer away from its two per cent inflation target, governor Sir Mervyn King said last night. Consumer price inflation has stuck above two per cent for 67 of the last 76 months, reaching levels as high as 5.2 per cent. “It would be sensible to recognise that circumstances in [...]
Retail investors rush for shares in Direct Line October 9, 2012 STOCKBROKERS yesterday reported a rush for Direct Line shares as individual investors attempt to grab a stake in the insurer ahead of tomorrow’s flotation. Online broker Interactive Investor said that it had seen with substantial interest in the offering, the first London floatation open to individual investors since Standard Life in 2006. The firm said [...]
Merkel trip sees riot police and protesters clash October 9, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel faced angry protests yesterday during her first visit to crisis-struck Greece since the summer of 2007. Tens of thousands of irate Greeks took to the streets of Athens in protests against austerity measures that are imposed as conditions for the Eurozone state receiving ongoing tranches of its bailout. Merkel has maintained [...]
EU says financial transaction tax now has support of 11 members October 9, 2012 THE EUROPEAN Union has gained support from enough member states to get a proposed tax on financial transactions off the ground, it said yesterday. Eleven EU countries endorse the introduction of a so called Tobin Tax according to tax commissioner Algirdas Semeta, clearing the nine votes required to legally launch the initiative. “We see that [...]
Draghi says Eurozone debtors cannot avoid painful austerity October 9, 2012 THERE is no alternative to fiscal consolidation, European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi said yesterday in a speech to the European Parliament. “It is without doubt that the process of fiscal consolidation in the short term will depress,” Draghi said. “But what’s the alternative?” Draghi went on to describe deficit and debt levels and “unsustainable”, but said [...]
ING sells out to Barclays in UK retail bank exit October 9, 2012 ING Direct, the Dutch financial group, yesterday sold its £16.5bn mortgage and savings book to Barclays at a loss of £168m, as it bid farewell to the UK retail banking market. The deal, which is a major boost for Barclays’ retail base, will see Barclays take on 1.7m ING customer savings accounts with deposits of [...]
Don’t read too much into shift of focus – it started under Bob October 9, 2012 BARCLAYS’ purchase of ING Direct UK is being seen by many as yet another sign that the bank’s focus, under new chief executive Antony Jenkins, has shifted firmly to its retail arm. Jenkins’ early speeches have certainly been littered with regulator-pleasing pledges to shape up, putting him at the front of a queue of UK [...]
