Financial services complaints fall by 500,000 in six months as Barclays receives over 370,000 October 16, 2013 Consumer complaints to the financial conduct authority (FCA) have dropped by 500,000 between the second half of 2012 and the first half of 2013. Ian McConnell, financial services partner at PwC, says that the fall is "encouraging" and shows "that the issues faced by the financial services industry are being dealt with." McConnell says the [...]
Sants signed off from Barclays with stress October 15, 2013 FORMER top regulator Sir Hector Sants is on leave from Barclays suffering from exhaustion and stress. Sants was hired at the start of this year to run the bank’s compliance operations, after spending five years at the Financial Services Authority and re-moulding much of the regulatory system. Sir Hector is expected to take three months off, [...]
Hector Sants to take leave from Barclays until end of year October 15, 2013 Sir Hector Sants is to take a leave of absence from his role at Barclays as a result of a diagnosis of exhaustion and stress, according to Barclays spokesman. The former regulator is not expected to return to work until 2014. Sants started work at Barclays in January of this year, reporting directly to chief [...]
JP Morgan currency trading boss in manipulation investigation October 14, 2013 FORMER RBS currency trader Richard Usher is believed to be one of the financiers under investigation for alleged market manipulation. Usher, who has worked at JP Morgan since 2010 and now heads the spot trading desk for a range of currencies, wrote a series of emails and messages to traders that are at the centre of the [...]
Centrica issues £840m notes to finance recent acquisition costs October 14, 2013 FTSE 100-listed energy firm Centrica yesterday said it is issuing two bonds totalling $1.35bn (£840m), to pay for previously announced acquisitions and refinance existing debt. The new facility is made up of $750m in four per cent senior notes due 2023 and $600m-worth of 5.375 per cent senior notes due 2043. Centrica – which owns [...]
YouGov lifted by fresh contract wins and Middle Eastern growth October 14, 2013 ONLINE market research agency YouGov reported a 13 per cent rise in profits to £6.8m for the year to July, on the back of a number of new contracts from Barclays, Blackrock and ITV. Revenues from the pollster jumped eight per cent to £62.6m boosted by growth emerging from the company’s Middle East operations, which [...]
US joins UK in probing foreign exchange trades October 13, 2013 THE US is set to join Britain’s regulators in investigating possible market manipulation in foreign exchange, it emerged yesterday. The inquiry is the latest in a series of markets to be investigated, in a round of probes that kicked off with the Libor investigations. Those probes, which are still ongoing, have found three banks so [...]
Shanghai victory keeps Djokovic’s No1 hopes alive October 13, 2013 WORLD No2 Novak Djokovic has kept a glimmer of hope of ending 2013 at the top of the rankings, after beating Juan Martin Del Potro yesterday to retain his Shanghai Masters title. The 26-year-old Serb, a six-time grand slam winner, won a compelling match 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3). Djokovic has now won 20 straight matches [...]
JP Morgan reports loss following scandal costs October 11, 2013 Banking giant JP Morgan has announced a surprise loss in the third quarter, following legal expenses of $7.2bn (£4.5bn). Net loss was at $0.4bn (17 cents a share) whilst revenue was $23.1bn (£14.5bn) versus $26bn last year. The bank is still in $11bn settlement talks with US regulators over mis-selling of mortgage-backed securities pre-the financial [...]
Barclays to face energy fix claims as watchdog brings court case October 10, 2013 BARCLAYS yesterday rejected claims its traders manipulated US energy markets, as an American regulator filed court documents in the latest stage of its bid to fine the bank. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) wants the bank to pay $435m (£272.5m) in civil penalties for allegedly manipulating the market from November 2006 to December 2008 to increase [...]