City banker nabbed for M&A role at $320bn Qatari state fund October 2, 2018 Qatar’s largest sovereign wealth fund has grabbed a top City of London banker to run its deal-related activities worldwide, as it moves to expand a $320bn (£246.6bn) portfolio that includes the single-largest stake in supermarket Sainsbury’s, Sky News reported. Sky said Ken McLaren, currently a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), will [...]
Senior Barclays adviser elected as 691st Lord Mayor of the City October 1, 2018 Senior adviser to Barclays, Peter Estlin, has been elected as the 691st Lord of Mayor of the City of London. Estlin, who will take a sabbatical from his role with the bank, will succeed Charles Bowman on 9 November for a one-year term. The elected head of the City of London Corporation will act as [...]
Firms risk being left behind in Libor benchmark transition warn bankers October 1, 2018 A lack of awareness of the urgent need to transition away from scandal-hit Libor interest rates means some firms risk not being ready before the benchmarks become defunct, according to a top banker working on the issue. There remains a significant amount of work to educate firms about the far-reaching implications of the shift from [...]
UK banks’ share of global equity capital and loans markets slip to record lows September 30, 2018 UK banking’s global market share in equity capital market (ECM) trading and loan fees have hit their lowest and second-lowest values on record respectively, amid continued Brexit fallout and global uncertainty. The UK’s lenders fell to a 4.8 per cent share of ECM fees, and 8.7 per cent of loan fees – the latter nearly [...]
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels boss steps down after just three months in role September 28, 2018 The chief exec of hotels group Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) has stepped down from the role just three months after taking over. A statement from the company said Jennifer Fox and M&C had "mutually agreed" she would leave with immediate effect. The firm's chief of staff Tan Kian Seng will step in as interim boss while [...]
World Bank sells record-breaking £1.25bn bond using ‘Libor-killer’ benchmark September 27, 2018 The World Bank has sold a £1.25bn bond using Sonia, the Bank of England-backed interest rate benchmark designed to replace the scandal-battered Libor. The record-size sale, which arrived shortly after the alternative benchmark’s first use by a lender, marks its continued emergence as an alternative to Libor, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate, its tarnished forerunner. [...]
Rothesay Life buys £860m of UK ‘bad bank’ mortgage loans September 27, 2018 Insurance giant Rothesay Life has bought an £860m equity release portfolio from the UK government's "bad bank", which was set up following the financial crisis. The portfolio was sold by UK Asset Resolution (Ukar), a holding company for the closed mortgage books of failed lenders Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and Mortgage Express. Read more: [...]
No-deal Brexit could lead to tariffs of £9.3bn on EU food, report warns September 27, 2018 Food and drink costs could increase by £9.3billion a year if the UK does not slash tariffs in a 'no deal' Brexit, a new report has warned. Research by Barclays claims leaving the EU without a trade agreement would create an average tariff of 27 per cent on food and drinks coming from the [...]
City Moves for 27 September 2018 – who’s switching jobs at CBRE, Invesco and Redridge? September 27, 2018 Today's City Moves cover property, fixed income and due diligence. Take a look at these movers and shakers: CBRE The world’s leading real estate adviser, CBRE, has appointed Chiara Zuccon as a senior director to spearhead debt origination within its market leading development and residential investment team. Chiara is joining from the Royal Bank of [...]
Barclays apologises for giving customers wrong PPI information September 26, 2018 Barclays has apologised for giving customers seeking compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) false information. The bank told a number of customers using claims management firms that they did not hold PPI policies when they did. Read more: PPI scandal turning Brits into 'fraudsters', Barclays boss claims A "very small percentage of customers" were [...]