Any Other Business – 04/09 September 3, 2013 There was some lively banter in City spinners Maitlands’ Upper St Martin’s Lane offices yesterday, where payday loan company Wonga was presenting its results. It appears that Wonga boss Errol Damelin (pictured) has grand ambitions for his firm, and The Capitalist hears that the chief executive repeatedly compared Wonga to tech giants like Amazon, Google [...]
Vodafone to pay investors £54bn September 2, 2013 Windfall for shareholders after Verizon Wireless stake sale sealed VODAFONE will pass a massive £54bn windfall to its shareholders after agreeing a record-breaking deal with American telecoms group Verizon. The £84bn deal – the second largest in corporate history, according to Dealogic – for Vodafone’s stake in the largest US mobile network Verizon Wireless, was [...]
Barclays close to rights issue September 2, 2013 BARCLAYS in planning to get its £5.8bn rights issue away within the fortnight, City A.M. understands. The lender is issuing the new shares to improve its capital position, as it is under pressure from the Bank of England to get to a three per cent leverage ratio. The bank is believed to be targetting the [...]
City Moves for 03 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 2, 2013 Quantum Advisory The actuarial and benefits consultancy has announced the appointment of Deon Dreyer as principal investment consultant. Dreyer joins from PwC, where he was an investment director in its pensions risk business. Prior to that, he was a regional head of investment consulting at Aon Hewitt. RBS Alan Ainsbury has been appointed head of [...]
London Report: Strong data and delay in moves on Syria lift FTSE September 2, 2013 BRITAIN’S top shares bounced back yesterday as a delay in potential US military action against Syria alongside robust economic data from China and the UK helped drive a broad-based equity market rally. The FTSE 100 ended up 93.26 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 6,506.19 points, its highest close since 14 August 14. The rally [...]
Why UK recovery could rescue the great British banking sector sell-off September 2, 2013 ROLL up, roll up. Britain’s banks are up for sale. This month and next, the Lloyds privatisation will compete for attention with Barclays’s £5.8bn rights issue. Then there’s the initial public offering triplets: Williams & Glyn, Virgin Money and TSB – all set to hit the market with aplomb. And that’s before RBS has turned [...]
Experts worry funding is not raising lending September 1, 2013 BANK lending to businesses and households edged up in July, raising hopes that the flow of credit is at last improving on the back of initiatives like the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS). However, analysts have warned that the FLS’s impact is negligible so far. “The scheme has succeeded only in ensuring credit flows tread [...]
City Moves for 2 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 1, 2013 Stonehage The wealth management and advisory services company has announced the appointment of Simon Clark as managing director of group services. Clark was most recently at ACPI, where he was chief operating officer. Prior to that, he was chief financial officer at Heartwood, and he has previously held various roles at RBS Financial Markets, Greenwich [...]
Barclays appoints former White House and Treasury lawyer as general counsel August 30, 2013 Barclays has announced the appointment of former White House and Treasury lawyer Bob Hoyt as group general counsel, completing chief executive Antony Jenkin's executive team to deliver the bank's "Transform" programme. Hoyt will succeed Mark Harding, who announced his intention to retire in February. He joins from PNC Financial Services, where he is currently general [...]
Cameron will look back on this vote as a political blessing August 29, 2013 SO THE heir to Blair, who seemed so keen to intervene in Syria, has been stopped in his tracks. Prime Minister David Cameron came home early from his holiday to persuade parliament of the need for action against Syria and in the end received a bloody nose himself. It might not look great for him [...]