Rabobank fined £662m over Libor scandal as boss quits October 29, 2013 Dutch Rabobank said today that it has agreed to pay around €774m (£662.77m) in fines, including £105m to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), for Libor-related misconduct. The announcement comes with the news that Piet Moerland, the bank's chair, has resigned with immediate effect. The fines, imposed by various Dutch, UK and US authorities, follow the [...]
Banks too scared to be honest with regulators October 28, 2013 BANKS are wary of being honest with the authorities for fear of immediate reprisals, Barclays’ chairman said yesterday, warning that relationships between lenders and supervisors have broken down dangerously. Sir David Walker said “trust and respect” is needed in the relationships, and that bankers “need to be able to trust what [they] say to regulators [...]
City Moves for 28 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 27, 2013 Barclays The bank has announced the hire of Geoff Parry as UK head of global corporates in its trade finance team. He joins from National Australia Bank, where he was head of trade finance for south east Asia. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Standard Chartered and NatWest. PwC The professional services firm [...]
London Report: RBS and Lloyds news leads raft of bank updates October 27, 2013 BANKING and financial results will be in the spotlight this week as the Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, Standard Life and Barclays all publish figures. RBS third quarter numbers, to be published on Friday, are the first since Ross McEwan took over from Stephen Hester as chief executive. They are expected to show [...]
Aberdeen back on the M&A trail with Swip talks October 24, 2013 ABERDEEN Asset Management boss Martin Gilbert returned to the M&A fray yesterday after revealing his intention to takeover Lloyds Banking’s fund management arm. Gilbert, who had previously said he had no interest in buying the firm, revealed he was in talks with Lloyds over its Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) unit, which was put up [...]
Inside Track: US banks tighten grip on Euro investment banking October 24, 2013 A cursory look at the latest investment banking league table leads one to an inevitable conclusion; that investment banking in Europe is becoming more and more the preserve of the American bulge bracket banks. There’s an exception to this trend, of course. Deutsche Bank, with a 10.5 per cent market share of all equity linked [...]
Permira vows to protect heritage in £300m Dr Martens brand deal October 24, 2013 PRIVATE equity firm Permira yesterday pledged to “respect the heritage” of iconic British footwear brand Dr Martens after it paid £300m to snap up the family-run firm which makes the boots. The deal will see Northampton-based R Griggs Group join Permira’s other fashion brands, which include Hugo Boss and New Look. David Suddens, chief executive [...]
Barclays set to fight bonus cap October 23, 2013 TOP BANKERS could receive a different pay packet every month under a new scheme that Barclays is considering to side-step Europe’s bonus cap, it emerged yesterday. Sources at Barclays think they have found a way around the rule, topping up salaries with a monthly cash payment based on performance. They hope it may avoid the [...]
Sunny outlook for lending as UK businesses borrow £2.5bn more October 23, 2013 BUSINESSES borrowed £2.5bn more from high street banks in September compared to the prior month, figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. The increase in lending is the biggest monthly rise since 2009 and builds on a growing picture of consumer confidence in the economy, BBA statistics director, David Dooks said. He added [...]
Top banks vow to repay swaps mis-selling victims more quickly October 23, 2013 BRITAIN’S biggest four banks have all now committed to a new structure to repay interest rate swap mis-selling customers, they said yesterday. Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and HSBC are now offering customers redress for the mis-selling, either in the form of cash or a new, more appropriate product. This will be paid first, then an evaluation [...]