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 [...]
UK banks benefit from housing upturn as corporate lending remains weak October 23, 2013 Citi Research has released a report concluding that there is an increasing upside to UK banks. Analysts cite several positive indicators leading to a positive assessment of the sector. There was a significant increase in mortgage volumes in July and August, with gross mortgage lending for the eight months to August 2013 amounting to £99bn, [...]
Osborne warns the deficit remains a major threat October 22, 2013 THE UK’S budget deficit shrank again in September, official figures showed yesterday, but the chancellor warned it will take a sustained policy drive to remove the underlying problems in the government’s finances. In September the deficit came in at £11.1bn, or £1bn smaller than the same month a year earlier. Tax receipts increased seven per [...]
US jobs data pushes easing taper away October 22, 2013 THE LONG-awaited tapering of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) programme is likely to be pushed back further, after the US jobs figures released yesterday failed to meet expectations. The non-farm payrolls data for September, which was delayed by more than a fortnight by the shutdown of the federal government, shows that 148,000 jobs [...]