ABI warns on bonus payouts February 6, 2011 THE Association of British Insurers (ABI) has warned the UK’s top 350 public firms against offering executive pay deals with unlimited bonuses. An ABI letter sent to all FTSE 350 firms warns that its institutional voting information service (IVIS) would issue a “red top” alert on uncapped pay deals where there was no proof of [...]
City revolts over bill for bust firms February 2, 2011 LEADING City investment management and stockbroking groups were yesterday in open revolt about plans for them to pay £233m to a controversial compensation fund after the collapse of the financial products seller Keydata. There was a growing feeling last night that prudent firms – from tiny blue-blooded Mayfair fund managers to giants such as BlackRock [...]
Submissions to Vickers January 26, 2011 BARCLAYS Said a forced split would harm the stability of the system. “There is little empirical evidence to suggest that material structural change would enhance financial stability,” it said, warning that the UK economy would also suffer if the financial sector is curtailed. RBS RBS sought to quantify the benefits of the universal model, estimating [...]
Banks challenge new FSA rules January 24, 2011 Major banks will today begin a High Court challenge over new rules on the way complaints about controversial payment protection insurance must be handled. The British Bankers’ Association is launching a judicial review against the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service over regulations that came into force in December.
The pensions chief who says that investors are no longer a soft touch January 23, 2011 It is easy to see why the chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) looks more relaxed these days – this coalition government is less keen on beating shareholders over the head. Lindsay Tomlinson is lounging on a sofa in a bright modern office in the NAPF’s headquarters on Cheapside, opposite the recently-opened [...]
Europe imposes its men on City January 13, 2011 Three virtually unknown men took the most important jobs in European financial regulation yesterday, causing consternation in the City. In the latest snub to Britain’s sovereignty, the European Union appointed career policymakers from Portugal, Italy and the Netherlands as chairmen of its three “super-regulators” covering the EU’s markets, banks and insurers. Disappointed City sources warned [...]
ABI warns on bail-in capital January 11, 2011 FORCING bank bondholders to absorb losses from a bank crisis is risky and will impose heavy losses on Europe’s pensioners, the Association of British Insurers warned yesterday. Turning bank debt into contingent capital would prevent investors matching it against long-term products such as annuities, while failing to respect existing debt contracts may destabilise secondary markets, [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
£53,000,000,000: how much the City paid in tax last year December 15, 2010 THE City paid a staggering £53.4bn in tax last year – more than a tenth of total government tax receipts. The report carried out by PwC for the Corporation of London shows tax paid by the UK’s financial services industry is ahead of any other sector. Business leaders and industry figures lauded the City for [...]
City warns over rights issue rip off December 13, 2010 INVESTMENT banks have been slammed by the City’s top institutional investors for charging unfairly high fees to companies raising capital through rights issues. An inquiry commissioned by the Institutional Investor Council, backed by the Association of British Insurers and the National Association of Pension Funds, lashes out at investment banks today for charging underwriting fees [...]