HSBC slashes its bonus pool for the year, but chief exec Stuart Gulliver’s annual handout rises February 21, 2017 HSBC has cut its bonus pool by 12.3 per cent following a worse-than-expected 2016, although chief executive Stuart Gulliver saw his annual bonus grow. The banking giant revealed its total group variable pay pool for the year was slightly over $3bn (£2.4bn), down from $3.5bn in 2015. Meanwhile, bonuses to go around investment bankers fell to [...]
HSBC reveals it’s being probed by the watchdog over money laundering compliance issues February 21, 2017 HSBC revealed this morning it is being investigated by the City watchdog over potential shortcomings in its anti-money laundering controls. The bank's 2016 results statement, in which it also revealed its reported profits before tax had slumped 62 per cent to $7.1bn (£5.7bn), said it was "the subject of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority [...]
CYBG officially confirms it’s not trying to buy Williams & Glyn, after the Treasury says RBS no longer has to sell the challenger February 21, 2017 Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banking Group (CYBG) officially announced late last night it was no longer looking to buy Williams & Glyn from Royal Bank of Scotland. A statement from the challenger bank said it had "withdrawn its preliminary non-binding proposal for, and ceased discussions relating to, the Williams & Glyn operations". Shares in CYBG are trading up 1.8 [...]
Telefonica sells stake in Telxius to KKR in a deal that values the firm at €3.2bn February 21, 2017 Telefonica has sold a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) stake in its Spanish infrastructure division, a move that paves the way for it to refocus on plans for the London listing of O2. The Spanish telecoms giant sold a 40 per cent share of Telxius Telecom to private equity firm KKR, in a deal that values its infrastructure subsidiary at €3.2bn. KKR saw off competition [...]
City Moves for 21 February 2017 – who’s switching jobs? February 21, 2017 Today's City Moves cover financial restructuring, investment management and the tech sector. Take a look at these movers and shakers: Eversheds Sutherland Eversheds Sutherland (International) has appointed Carl Allen to its finance and restructuring team in London. Carl joins the firm from Pinsent Masons and will be based in Eversheds Sutherland’s London office. He specialises [...]
Kraft Heinz’s withdrawn Unilever bid ranks as the world’s third largest collapsed M&A deal February 20, 2017 Kraft Heinz’s scrapped $140bn (£113bn) bid for Unilever marks the third biggest M&A collapse in history, according to Thomson Reuters figures. US food giant Kraft shocked the financial world on Sunday night, withdrawing the bid just two days after details of the deal leaked. Read more: Unilever share price plunges after deal talks with Kraft [...]
Banks expect costs for non-financial risks to skyrocket over the next few years February 20, 2017 The majority of banks are fretting that the amount of cash they are expected to stockpile against risks like cybercrime, compliance failings and IT meltdowns is going to mushroom over the next few years. Sixty per cent of European banks believe the amount of capital they will be expected to hold to cover such non-financial risks [...]
Analysts banking on Lloyds and Barclays to have steamed ahead during 2016, as other UK lenders struggle February 19, 2017 Analysts are predicting Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays will race ahead of the pack when the UK's big banks report their earnings this week. Lloyds, which will report its 2016 full-year figures on Wednesday, is forecast a statutory pre-tax profit of £4.4bn, more than double the £1.6bn it reported in 2015, when its earning potential [...]
The Treasury says RBS may not have to sell Williams & Glyn after all under £750m deal February 18, 2017 The government has announced RBS may not have to sell its 307 Williams & Glyn branches, with the bailed-out bank instead being forced to spend £750m on a competition-boosting fund for challenger banks. Europe’s commissioner for competition policy will start the process of finding an alternative to a sale, which could see a removal of [...]
These are the UK’s best and worst banks – look away now Barclays users February 17, 2017 Feeling disappointed by your service at Barclays? Well, research shows you're not alone. Barclays has been voted the worst British bank yet again, falling to the bottom of MoneySavingExpert's twice yearly poll. But Barclays isn't the only high street lender that had a poor showing. HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) came towards the bottom of the table, as 21 per cent of [...]