City supremo Rich Ricci is racing into fintech joining FreemarketFX as chairman February 10, 2016 City supremo Rich Ricci, the former long-standing boss of Barclays' investment banking, is jumping on board the fintech revolution. The horse racing fan and former right-hand man of Bob Diamond will join the p2p currency exchange platform FreemarketFX, founded by former senior executive at Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Alex Hunn, as non-executive chairman He has also invested an undisclosed sum in [...]
The future of the SFO is in David Green’s hands – he must encourage firms to self-report if it’s to survive February 10, 2016 The reappointment of David Green as director of the SFO has been a long time coming, and the ending of the uncertainty around the SFO’s leadership is going to be welcomed both inside and outside the organisation. The SFO has certainly restored its reputation as a proper prosecutor after four years under Green’s leadership. But perhaps it is [...]
Breaking the banks: Why are shareholders bailing out? February 10, 2016 The share prices of Europe’s biggest banks are now being discussed in historical terms. Deutsche Bank’s share price has dipped beneath its financial crisis nadir and its convertible bonds have plummeted. Standard Chartered’s stock is at its cheapest in nearly 20 years, joined in the carnage by the other major UK banks – HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays [...]
No pressure, Janet: Spotlight falls on the Fed as US central bank chief Yellen faces questions from Congress February 10, 2016 The financial world’s attention will fall on Janet Yellen today as the Federal Reserve chief faces a grilling by Congress, in the middle of a week of chaos on global trading floors. Shares throughout the world tumbled for a third straight session yesterday, while European banks lost another four per cent of their value. Financial [...]
Barclays poaches new chief operating officer Paul Compton from JP Morgan Chase February 9, 2016 Barclays has poached Paul Compton from JP Morgan Chase to act as its new group chief operating officer. The banking giant said Compton, currently chief administrative officer at JP Morgan, will start the newly-configured role in May. In a statement today it added Compton will be responsible for operations and technology, structural reform, cost transformation, major [...]
FTSE 100 index closes lower as miners and banks slide February 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 index extended its losses on Tuesday after having traded with some volatility over the course of the day. The UK's blue chip index fell 0.88 per cent to 5,632.19 points as banks and miners continued to tumble. “It’s becoming a ‘get yer hard hat on’ situation with bank stocks coming down left and right [...]
To fuel the pensions revolution, we need to put passion into pensions – and that means opening them up to social investing February 9, 2016 The humble nudge has worked. With around six million people now automatically enrolled into their first pension, we have reason to be hopeful that the UK is now saving for its future. However, it’s much too early to declare mission accomplished. We’re still waiting for the large number of smaller companies to enrol their employees into schemes, and they [...]
Bank shares were smashed again today as investors lost confidence in the face of long term low interest rates February 9, 2016 It’s been another day of carnage for European banks, as share prices continue to slide beyond lows recorded even at the height of the global financial crisis. The biggest loser in the UK was emerging market focused bank Standard Chartered, with shares finishing down by 5.5 per cent. Close behind was Barclays with shares ending down by [...]
Lehman Brothers returns as whisky brand launched by British entrepreneur James Evans February 9, 2016 Lehman Brothers is back – but not as you remember it. A British entrepreneur has launched a whisky brand playfully themed around the pre-crash banking culture as depicted in films like Wolf of Wall Street. “With cleverness, bullishness, excess, power and glory in every drop, these are whiskies for the new masters of the universe – [...]
Banking data to become open by the end of the year as industry and regulators work on ambitious banking standards and open API plans February 9, 2016 Banking could be made simpler for customers – from comparing mortgages to switching accounts – with ambitious plans for banks and regulators to streamline the sharing of data as soon as the end of the year that would establish the UK as a world leader in financial technology and banking innovation. A group of leading experts appointed by the Treasury [...]