CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS October 4, 2009 ForestersThe friendly society has hired industry heavyweight Graham Berville to the board as a non-executive director. Berville was formerly director of the Association of Friendly Societies and chairman of the Association of Mutual Insurers, as well as a member and chairman of various Association of British Insurers (ABI) committees. Prior to joining Foresters, he spent [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 17, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES UK RAISES OPEL ‘SUBSIDY WAR’ FEARLord Mandelson called on Brussels last night to ensure that Germany’s offer of multibillion-euro subsidies to smooth the sale of General Motors’ European arm does not begin a “subsidy war”, with governments using state aid to protect jobs. The UK business secretary’s intervention in the political row over [...]
Trade credit claims are falling September 17, 2009 Insurance claims by suppliers over non-payment for their goods and services have fallen for the first time in a year, according to key data. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said the number of trade credit insurance claims in the second quarter of 2009 was 5,661, a fall of one per cent from the 5,702 [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 16, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES BURBERRY LOOKS TO WIN OVER FRIENDS ONLINEBurberry, the fashion brand that has gone from classic to cutting edge, is to launch its own social networking site next month. The clothing group hopes the move will deepen its relationship with customers and attract new devotees. Called artofthetrench.com, the site will initially feature users sending [...]
Lloyds tops list of complaints against high street banks September 15, 2009 LLOYDS Banking Group has emerged as the major UK bank with the highest level of successful complaints made about it by consumers in the first half of the year, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). FOS data reveals that 81 per cent of cases settled in the six months to 30 June involving Lloyds [...]
POLL: UK FACING INSURER EXODUS September 15, 2009 OVER 60 per cent of top executives at Britain’s insurance firms are feeling tempted to leave the UK because of high taxes, a poll reveals today. The survey of 75 chief executives and finance directors also showed growing pessimism about the competitiveness of the City, with 80 per cent predicting the number of insurers based [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs September 7, 2009 ActantLars Hjaltman has joined the exchange trading solutions firm as head of development, based in the UK but operating in the firm’s major markets across Europe and the US. Hjaltman has over 20 years of experience in technology and software development, having most recently been chief operating officer of Electronic Shipping Solutions. He has also [...]
Financial firms hit by 9m complaints in just three years September 3, 2009 MORE than 9m complaints were made against financial services firms between 2006 and 2008, according to data released by the City regulator for the first time yesterday. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said complaint levels rose by 5.7 per cent over the period, with dissatisfaction with banking and loan products accounting for half. This was [...]
…as its boss survives a crucial vote on controversial pay plan September 2, 2009 DSG yesterday succeeded in passing a resolution at its annual meeting, asking shareholders to pass a share option that would enable directors to sacrifice up to 25 per cent of their salaries in exchange for options worth £3 for every £1 they contribute. The scheme will allow chief executive John Browett to replace a quarter, [...]
Insurers facing huge fundraising September 1, 2009 INSURERS are worried that they will be forced to raise more than £50bn in fresh equity should new European rules on capital and reserve requirements come into force in 2012 as planned. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) wrote to chancellor Alistair Darling last month urging him to intervene over the proposals laid out in [...]