What the other papers say this morning October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES BAE shareholders say chair must go A group of BAE Systems shareholders has demanded the resignation of chairman Dick Olver, saying sweeping changes are needed at the UK defence group following the collapse of its proposed merger with EADS two weeks ago. In a letter to the board, which has been seen by [...]
Permira to be new parent of Ancestry.com October 22, 2012 PRIVATE equity group Permira has splashed out $1.6bn (£1bn) on buying US-listed genealogy website operator Ancestry.com. The firm will take Ancestry private at $32 per share, a 10 per cent premium to Friday’s closing price. Ancestry’s chief executive Tim Sullivan and chief financial officer Howard Hochhauser will keep most of their shares in the firm [...]
Small lenders fear new rules only aid giants October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL regulators are failing to promote competition in the banking sector and perpetuating the “too big to fail” problem, a small bank claimed yesterday, by favouring big lenders under new capital requirements. Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust Bank, pointed to Sir John Vickers’ proposals allowing a large bank to risk-weight mortgages at five [...]
FTSE 100 down as Japanese exports fall October 22, 2012 The leading share index fell back this morning, as weak economic data from Japan weighed on sentiment. Sausage skin maker Devro led the poor performers this morning, shedding 7.74 per cent as it issued a profit warning. Brewer Punch Taverns fell 4.41 per cent, while software development firm Northgate dropped 4.4 per cent. Trading software [...]
Nationwide is mulling its first bank purchase October 22, 2012 THE NATIONWIDE building society is considering buying the 316 RBS branches which are up for sale, joining a small field of potential investors. The building society has expanded by merging with other mutuals over the years – but it is not thought that a building society has ever before acquired a bank, or such a [...]
Banks struggling to cope with volume of PPI misselling claims October 22, 2012 CONTRACTORS hired by banks to process PPI claims are having trouble attracting and keeping staff, according to research published today. Annual staff turnover has reached more than 50 per cent at the outsourced contractors, financial services recruiter BrightPool said, as there are few staff available who are competent at processing claims and can cope with [...]
Best of the Brokers October 21, 2012 BARCLAYS Canaccord has cut its rating on the bank from “buy” to “hold” while keeping its price target at 280p. The broker reckons a shake-up at Barclays Capital to make it more independent could bolster the shares. REDROW Panmure Gordon keeps its “hold” rating and 152p target on the house builder after takeover talks failed [...]
FTSE 100 weighed down by Aggreko October 19, 2012 The leading share index slipped on Friday, weighed down by banks and miners. Power supplier Aggreko fell back 7.38 per cent as it said this morning its full-year profits would be hit by unfavourable exchange rates and higher bad debt provision. Housebuilder Redrow fell 7.14 per cent as its founder Steve Morgan dropped its bid [...]
Misselling set to cost banks £12bn October 18, 2012 BARCLAYS put aside another £700m yesterday to deal with soaring payment protection insurance (PPI) misselling claims, as analysts warned that other banks would also have to increase their provisions. Analysts expect the four biggest banks to have set aside an additional £2.2bn over the last quarter to cover PPI misselling, taking the total for the [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 18, 2012 Barclays Mike Rigby has been appointed head of manufacturing, transport and logistics in Barclays’s corporate banking division. He joined the bank in 2008, and was previously corporate director in the manufacturing team. Rigby has also held roles at HSBC. Ernst & Young John Clarke has been appointed partner in the professional services firm’s operational transaction [...]