ARM tops FTSE 100 February 5, 2013 The leading share index shrugged off its losses yesterday to jump 0.5 per cent in early deals, helped by strong corporate earnings updates. Chip maker ARM Holdings topped the FTSE 100 leader board in early deals, rising almost 4.5 per cent. This morning it posted a better-than-expected 16 per cent rise in fourth-quarter pre-tax profit. [...]
Barclays ups mis-selling provisions by £1bn February 5, 2013 Barclays said this morning it had increased its mis-selling provisions by £1bn to cover possible interest rate hedging products (IRHP) and payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. Following a pilot review, the bank has upped its provision for IRHP mis-selling claims by £400m. It has put a total of £850m aside so far for IRHP mis-selling, [...]
Osborne’s bank plan set to hurt City and economy February 4, 2013 THREATENING to split up all banks if the ringfence does not work will hurt the economy and hit the value of the bailed-out banks, analysts and lawyers claimed yesterday, attacking George Osborne’s plan for the sector. Individual banks could be broken up if the authorities fear they are trying to get around the partial separation [...]
Italy probe on Euribor claims February 4, 2013 ITALIAN prosecutors in the town of Trani are investigating five foreign banks for possible manipulation of Euribor, the euro-priced counterpart of scandal-hit Libor bank-to-bank lending rates, court sources said yesterday. The five banks are said to be Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Societe Generale, according to the court sources. The probe [...]
Half of finance directors have no succession plan at their firm February 4, 2013 MORE than half of UK finance directors have no succession plan in place according to research released today. The survey of 200 finance directors by recruitment consultancy Robert Half found 55 per cent of respondents had no plans to ensure a smooth transition at their business, Yesterday Barclays confirmed that group finance director Chris Lucas [...]
The retail funding myth – why the investment banks aren’t to blame February 4, 2013 BANKS used retail deposits to gamble on the investment banking casino!” That is the common perception of the cause behind the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The popular belief is that retail deposits, instead of being used to fund “safe” traditional retail lending like mortgages, were used to fund high-risk derivatives trading on the international capital markets. [...]
FTSE 100 weighed by financial shares February 4, 2013 The benchmark index edged down this morning, as Chancellor George Osborne’s plans to electrify the ring fence between banks’ retail and investment banking operations was in the spotlight. UK banking shares fell as a result. HSBC dropped 0.13 per cent, RBS was down 0.6 per cent, Barclays shed 0.07 per cent and Lloyds Banking Group [...]
Barclays shake-up February 3, 2013 New Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins is looking for a new finance director following the departure of Chris Lucas, the bank said yesterday.
Barclays finance director announces his departure February 3, 2013 BARCLAYS finance director Chris Lucas is to announce his resignation today, the bank has revealed, continuing the clear-out of top executives since the Libor interest rate manipulation scandal broke last summer. General counsel Mark Harding is also leaving the bank. The resignations come just days after it emerged the authorities are investigating a 2008 fundraising [...]
Sweeping changes from new broom February 3, 2013 WHETHER or not the departures of Chris Lucas and Mark Harding from Barclays are related to any ongoing investigations (and the bank is very keen to point out that they’re definitely entirely separate), the pair were notably among a dwindling number of executives to remain from the era of the bank’s swashbuckling former chief executive [...]