HSBC appoints new UK leader September 13, 2012 EUROPEAN retail and wealth management boss Antonio Simoes has been appointed as HSBC’s UK head and deputy chief executive, the bank announced yesterday. Joe Garner is leaving the post after less than two years in the job, and will leave the bank early next year. Simoes takes on the retail and business banking role on [...]
Lloyds plans early intervention for struggling SME borrowers September 13, 2012 SMALL firms which are struggling to grow will be offered guidance on how to improve by Lloyds, the bank announced yesterday. Lloyds was forced to step up debt restructurings in the recession as firms failed to pay their bills. But now the bank hopes earlier intervention can help firms grow and avoid restructurings down the [...]
MPs pledge to get tough on HBOS review September 13, 2012 THE NEW review into the failure of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) will face an additional hurdle in the form of an independent adviser appointed by a committee of MPs, it was announced yesterday. The Financial Services Authority fined former HBOS executive Peter Cummings £500,000 on Wednesday, banning him for life from working in the [...]
Barclays pay will be based on good behaviour September 13, 2012 NEW CHIEF executive Antony Jenkins yesterday told staff that every individual in the bank would be assessed to ensure they are keeping up with the cultural reforms that he is pushing through. The move is part of a wide-ranging push to repair Barclays’ damaged image after the Libor-rigging scandal. The reforms will include the introduction [...]
Five years on from the run on northern rock, what are your memories of that day? September 13, 2012 HARRY EDWARDS | ACE GROUP It was a shock as it was the first bank to go under in the UK. At the time I didn’t think it was possible. CHRISTOPHER COUTINHO | BSE The scale of the crisis showed how little control the banks had over it. There were no measures in place and [...]
Darty chief executive forced out following shareholder rebellion September 13, 2012 THE SHAREHOLDER Spring yesterday reappeared after a long summer break as investors in Anglo-French retail firm Darty voted against the company’s pay deal. Chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin agreed to step down in advance of yesterday’s AGM following an argument over the lack of performance conditions attached to a €775,000 (£620,000) “golden hello” he received after [...]
Dunelm welcomes wet weather as its profits surge 15 per cent September 13, 2012 HOMEWARES retailer Dunelm impressed yesterday with a 15.1 per cent jump in annual pre-tax profit to £96.2m, which it credited to gains in market share coupled with a wet summer. Revenues were up 12.1 per cent at £603.7m in the year to 30 June, including an £8m “weather benefit” in the final quarter. Stripping out [...]
Jubilee holiday and Olympics help John Lewis September 13, 2012 JOHN Lewis Partnership yesterday revealed that it enjoyed a strong start to the year as first-half profits jumped by 59.8 per cent to £144.5m but said consumer demand remained “fragile”. Gross sales for the six months to July were up 8.7 per cent at £3.9bn, which the firm attributed to capitalising on major events such [...]
Virtual gains help support the expense of physical expansion September 13, 2012 JUDGING from these results, one unfortunate legacy of a golden summer for John Lewis is going to be how disappointing its figures seem next time around. The exceptional achievement of a near 60 per cent rise in pre-tax profit also rests on a number of one-off events: a low base for comparison, a Diamond Jubilee [...]
Greggs chair stands down from board September 13, 2012 HIGH street pasty seller Greggs was yesterday forced to launch a hunt for a new board member after long standing chairman Derek Netherton announced he would step down next year. Netherton, who has been Greggs chairman for the past ten years, will leave his role at the firm’s next company meeting, scheduled for May 2013. [...]
