Political meddling into RBS will hurt the taxpayer April 8, 2013 82 per cent state owned RBS is coming under continued assault from chancellor George Osborne. Our banking reporter Tim Wallace: Good performance in RBS’ markets unit ( investment bank) boosted operating profits. Yet it is cutting the unit under pressure from Osborne. — Tim Wallace (@Tim_Wallace) February 28, 2013 Osborne’s political ambitions are clashing with [...]
HSBC meets Basel capital target early March 7, 2013 BRITISH bank HSBC has hit tough new capital targets years before the official deadline, removing the drag on the lender’s growth and allowing it to supply more credit in the coming years, the firm’s full year results showed yesterday. HSBC is the first major institution to reach the Basel III requirements, clearing a huge obstacle [...]
Barclays bonuses cut by £450m February 27, 2013 Sky News reports that Barclays will be reducing its staff bonus pool by £450m. This comes as a result of the Libor-rigging scandal, and is in excess of the £291m fines imposed by US and UK regulators. Barclays will still award £1.8bn in bonuses to staff. This has not yet been confirmed by Barclays. The [...]
FTSE up on Fed boost February 27, 2013 THE blue chip index rallied this morning, gaining around 0.3 per cent in early deals, as strong sentiment from the US Fed boosted trading. Last night US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke leapt to the defence of its unprecedented QE programme. A slew of positive earnings updates from large-cap companies also lifted investor sentiment. In [...]
Barclays will publish pay February 26, 2013 BARCLAYS will publish its pay bands under a new transparency drive to be unveiled in the coming weeks, which is set to show hundreds of staff earning over £1m per year. Chairman Sir David Walker is spearheading the review into the bank’s practices, and the move would make Barclays the third lender in the world [...]
Rabobank next in line for Libor fiddling fines February 26, 2013 DUTCH lender Rabobank could be the next institution to be fined for manipulating key market interest rates, it emerged yesterday, making it the fourth to be hit by a major bill following the scandal. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is believed to be investigating wrongdoing at the bank, alongside the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission [...]
FTSE falls back on uncertainty in Italian polls February 26, 2013 LONDON REPORT WEAK banks and commodity stocks sent Britain’s top shares to a more than two-week closing low yesterday after an inconclusive election result in Italy revived Eurozone debt crisis concerns. Europe’s most indebted state faced a political vacuum after a huge protest vote left no party or likely coalition with enough seats to form [...]
How an Isa could earn you a million February 26, 2013 The route to tax-free prosperity is simple AS THE end of another tax year approaches, there is still time for investors to shelter up to £11,280 from taxation. But with most experts predicting cash Isas will undershoot inflation, it is surprising that, although close to half of the UK’s adult population holds an Isa, very [...]
Italian deadlock weighs on FTSE February 26, 2013 The leading share index sank this morning as Italy voted for a hung parliament, which spooked stock markets. Italy faced political deadlock after a protest vote left no party or no likely coalition with enough seats to form a majority. In early trading, the FTSE 100 was down almost 1.3 per cent, with financial shares [...]
Carney calls for focus on values and capitalism to rebuild banks February 25, 2013 BANKS need an infusion of capitalism as well as a focus on core values to rebuild their image in the eyes of society, Mark Carney said yesterday evening. The perception banks were too big to fail – or seen as too big to fail by regulators and governments – has dealt a “fatal blow to [...]