Time at the Bar: New heads of Bar Council elected May 23, 2018 New leaders have been elected to head the Bar Council, the body that represents barristers in England and Wales. Richard Atkins QC, whose practice focuses on serious crime and regulatory cases, has been elected to chair the Bar Council in 2019. He specialises in murder trials; including gangland, sado-masochistic and domestic killings; terrorism, serious fraud [...]
Barclays Qatari loan fraud charges thrown out by Crown Court May 22, 2018 Barclays celebrated a significant victory over the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday when the Crown Court dismissed charges surrounding the bank’s huge capital raising during the financial crisis a decade ago. The SFO alleged that a $3bn (£2.2bn) loan Barclays gave Qatari investors led to the Qatari acquisition of shares in a Barclays fundraising, an [...]
M&S Marks and Spencer (MKS) likely to accelerate store closure plans this week May 20, 2018 Marks & Spencer is expected to accelerate its transformation plans this week, as it reports another decline in profits. The pace of change at the retailer could be “dialled-up”, according to analysts, who are forecasting a 6.6 per cent decline in profit before tax and adjusted items to £573m. The company said in November that [...]
Lloyds Bank share price rises after striking £4bn deal with Barclays to offload its loss-making Irish mortgage book May 18, 2018 Lloyds Bank today struck a deal to sell its multi-billion euro Irish property book to rival Barclays – a move that crystallises a £110m loss for the lender. Barclays, which is fronting the deal on behalf of a number of parties such as M&G Prudential, will pay £4bn for a mountain Lloyds’ residential mortgages from [...]
UK bank HSBC holds on to the title of Europe’s largest – but Barclays and RBS slip down the ranks May 16, 2018 HSBC has held on to the title of Europe’s largest bank once again, according to new data, as the top four remained unchanged. Ranked by total assets, HSBC tops the chart with €2.1 trillion (£1.8 trillion), research from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed. Unchanged from last year, the UK institution was followed by France’s BNP [...]
Outgoing Serious Fraud Office boss David Green QC in talks with magic circle firm Slaughter and May May 15, 2018 Former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) boss David Green QC is in talks to join magic circle firm Slaughter and May. Website Legal Week has reported that the former SFO director has made an application to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments which decides on the suitability of new jobs for former senior civil servants and [...]
Barclays: Activist Bramson met with Old Mutual Global Investors last month as he plots to shake up the bank May 10, 2018 Activist investor Edward Bramson met with Old Mutual Global Investors last month in a bid to gain support for his plans to shake up Barclays. According to Financial News, Bramson met the investment manager’s chief executive Richard Buxton to try and gain support for his plans. Bramson has amassed a 5.41 per cent stake in [...]
Morrisons earnings preview: Grocery chain faces uphill battle amid Asda-Sainsbury’s merger May 7, 2018 Grocery chain Morrisons is set to announce its first quarter trading results on Thursday, and the company may have a lot to prove. Analysts at Barclays forecast sales growth of 1.7 per cent, below the company’s figures for the fourth quarter of 2017. If so, it would be the lowest sales growth since the end [...]
Global M&A deal values are expected to hit a record high in the first half of 2018, says Deloitte, as the total has already bombed through $1.7bn May 4, 2018 A new record could be made in the first half of 2018, according to accountancy firm Deloitte, as the value of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is set to soar to new heights. The value of deals announced in the first four months of 2018 has already surpassed $1.7bn (£1.3bn), the highest since total for [...]
Barclays Africa sacks KPMG amid allegations of links to South African corruption scandal May 3, 2018 Barclays Africa today withdrew its recommendation to reappoint KPMG as one of two joint auditors. The move is the latest chapter in a saga which has seen the Big Four accountant’s South African arm become embroiled in a conduct scandal. In mid-April South Africa’s auditor general stripped KPMG of all its central contracts amid allegations [...]