Banks back plan to use mobile numbers to simplify payments March 10, 2014 BANK payments will no longer require sort codes and account numbers as part of a new scheme that uses mobile phone numbers to route payments. The Payments Council yesterday detailed the scheme, called Paym, that launches in May with nine banks onboard including Barclays, Halifax and Santander. By the end of 2014 seven additional banks [...]
City Moves for 11 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 10, 2014 Salamanca Group The merchant banking and operational risk management business has hired Catherine Grum as group head of family office services. She was most recently at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, where she was head of wealth advisory for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Keystone Law The law firm has made two appointments. Jason [...]
Bitcoin investor eyes Albemarle & Bond buyout March 10, 2014 ONE OF the world’s biggest investors in cryptocurrency Bitcoin is eyeing a deal to take control of stricken UK pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond. Fortress Investment Group, a Wall Street fund manager founded by ex-BlackRock executives, is understood to have made a move to buy more than £50m of debt Albemarle & Bond owes to its [...]
Best of the Brokers for 10 March 2014 March 10, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BWIN.PARTY Peel Hunt has a “buy” rating on the gambling firm and a target of 137p ahead of full-year results due on Thursday. While the broker expects the earnings figures to make for grim reading, with earnings down 36 per cent, it thinks [...]
EU forces Barclays to end its 118-year relationship with PwC March 6, 2014 BARCLAYS will have a new auditor from 2017 as new EU rules force the bank to end its historic relationship with PwC and rotate to a different firm, the lender’s annual report shows. The bank has worked with PwC and its predecessor companies since 1896 and last put the deal out to tender more than [...]
Fewer visits to bank branches with mobile cheque payments March 6, 2014 CHEQUES should be cashed via mobile apps, the Treasury said yesterday, saving time and effort in paying in the funds. The new technology is another step in reducing visits to branches, cutting costs for banks. It launched a consultation on the idea, hoping to develop industry standards in the payments method. Currently Barclays offers the [...]
Analyst Views: What is your outlook for Schroders? March 6, 2014 CHRIS TURNER | GOLDMAN SACHSManagement strike a cautious tone in their outlook statement, suggesting that the strong asset performance of recent years may moderate in 2014. Nonetheless they remain confident in the group's long-term outlook. We rate Schroders a buy on the last close £25.90. HALEY TAM | CITIOur initial reaction is positive. Profits before [...]
Scottish nationalist failures have spooked business. EU outers beware March 6, 2014 SHELL, Lloyds and Barclays have joined Standard Life and Sainsbury’s in warning about the consequences for their businesses of Scottish independence. Uncertainty for business about the implications of a vote to leave the UK appears to be harming Scottish prospects already, even though opinion polls suggest the risk that Scotland votes to leave the UK [...]
British Banks defy Brussels over pay March 5, 2014 BRITAIN’S biggest banks defied Europe yesterday, handing out almost £1m more to their chief executives to avoid Brussels’ incoming bonus cap. Lloyds and Barclays unveiled plans to pay top staff new allowances, topping up their salaries in a bid to make sure they do not leave for higher bonuses in other parts of the world. [...]
Bank of England suspends staff over FX inquiry March 5, 2014 THE FOREIGN exchange manipulation probe hit the Bank of England yesterday as it suspended an official following an internal probe. The Bank ramped up its own investigations, with the Oversight Committee of its Court of Directors launching an inquiry. And MPs said they will grill top Bank staff on the inquiry next week. The Bank said it has [...]