ANALYSIS l HSBC Holdings PLC September 12, 2011 HSBC will suffer less of a hit than RBS or Barclays because its UK investment bank makes up a lower proportion of its total income. It will have to make some structural changes, however. And the bank does not welcome the imposition of a ring-fence because its executives believe it unnecessarily complicates the global regulation agenda. It [...]
ANALYSIS l Barclays PLC September 12, 2011 Barclays could suffer a severe hit from the ring-fence proposed by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB). In particular, the policy will prove costly for the bank because it prevents lucrative cross-selling between its retail and investment banking arms and requires the two sides of the business to interact as third parties to one another. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 12, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES UNICREDIT CHIEF SIGNALS RIGHTS ISSUE TO INCREASE CAPITAL LEVELS UniCredit has given its clearest signal yet that it will seek to raise its capital buffers as market turmoil continues to hit European bank shares. In his first big interview since becoming chief a year ago Federico Ghizzoni told the Financial Times that details [...]
Lloyds will not be forced to sell more branches September 12, 2011 LLOYDS Banking Group will not be required to get rid of more branches than the current tranche of 632 it is currently selling, the Vickers report said yesterday. The concession to Lloyds marks a departure from the Independent Commission on Banking’s previous position that the taxpayer-backed company should “substantially” raise the number of branches put on [...]
ANALYSIS | WHERE THE RING-FENCE WILL FALL September 12, 2011 Mandated in a ring-fenced bank Taking deposits from and providing overdrafts to individuals and SMEs. Permitted in a ring-fenced bank Taking deposits from and providing overdrafts to ANY customer within the EEA, including providing current accounts, savings accounts and investment products that do not give rise to the ring-fenced bank being required to hold regulatory [...]
Vickers could defuse bank policy row September 12, 2011 TENSIONS between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats over implementing the Vickers Commission’s ring-fence proposals could be defused by leaving much of the detail to regulators. Chancellor George Osborne vowed yesterday to give clarity on exactly how he will implement the Vickers Commission’s proposal for a ring-fence around retail banks by the end of the year. But [...]
At a glance: everything you need to know from the Vickers report September 12, 2011 ICB: THE BENEFITS OF RING-FENCING Sir John Vickers, chair of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB), stuck to his guns in insisting that his ring-fence proposal is the best way to ensure Britain’s banks are more stable and do not require costly bailouts if they fail. His main argument is that a ring-fence will make it easier to [...]
Reaction | Focus on Vickers September 12, 2011 THE BUSINESS LEADER CONFEDERATION OF BRITISH INDUSTRY DR NEIL BENTLEY “The UK is going it alone on ring-fencing, so the government must rigorously examine how and when to implement these proposals, otherwise it risks damaging businesses and threatening growth. The Commission is right to recommend a flexible approach to ring-fencing and suggest a reasonable time frame for [...]
Report claims it could have saved banks September 12, 2011 SIR John Vickers yesterday claimed that reforms proposed in the final report from the Independent Commission on Banking might have helped avoid collapse of banks such as Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers, which have since been deemed “too big to fail”. “While intended as systemic reforms for the future,” said the report, “it is still [...]
Vickers reforms will worsen the effect of financial jobs slump on the UK economy September 12, 2011 UNCERTAINTY over how structural changes proposed in the ICB report should be implemented will leave banks reluctant to hire, adding to the drag that the financial sector is having on UK job creation. After a upturn in banks hiring six months ago, optimism is the sector is now way down, according to the latest employment [...]
