MPs call for cap on King’s power July 17, 2012 REGULATORS grossly overreached themselves by forcing Bob Diamond out of the top job at Barclays, top backbench MP Andrew Tyrie declared yesterday, accusing Sir Mervyn King and Lord Turner of “handing the chairman a revolver to shoot the chief executive” at the troubled bank. MPs on the Treasury select committee (TSC) also dealt a blow [...]
HSBC exec resigns over probe in US July 17, 2012 A SENIOR HSBC executive resigned yesterday amid claims by the US Senate that the bank allowed “drug kingpins and rogue nations” to launder money through its accounts. David Bagley stepped down as head of compliance at Britain’s biggest bank in front of a Senate subcommittee after a report was released revealing HSBC had failed to [...]
Somebody needs to guard the City of London’s guardians July 17, 2012 I HAVEN’T been a fan of all of the Treasury select committee’s recent outings. There have been some excellent moments and some dire ones. But Andrew Tyrie, the body’s chairman, did a great job yesterday. He pointed out that the removal of Bob Diamond raises serious questions about whether regulators should be given such arbitrary [...]
Playing by the rules needs a strong referee July 17, 2012 COMPLIANCE jobs are the new growth sector in banking, but it’s not easy money. In March, a Thomson Reuters survey found over a third of respondents spent a day every week just keeping up to speed with the latest alterations to the rulebook. The survey saw just one in ten compliance officers expecting a budget [...]
A gunslinging row after Tyrie draws on King July 17, 2012 “WE protected the shareholders,” cried one regulator. “We were making clear the public’s anger,” called another. “But what were you actually regulating?” asked the MP. “Well, that isn’t our job,” came the inflammatory reply. So it came to pass that yesterday the Treasury select committee (TSC) dug a little deeper into the roles of the [...]
Gus O’Donnell leads race to be next Bank of England governor July 17, 2012 THE RACE to succeed Sir Mervyn King as the next governor of the Bank of England is heating up as potential candidates are embroiled in various scandals. Formerly the frontrunner, Paul Tucker’s odds slipped after the bad press associated with his contact with ex-Barclays boss Bob Diamond. Lord O’Donnell, the country’s most senior civil servant [...]
We need a fresh approach to risk July 17, 2012 IN LATE June, beginning of July, someone pressed the emergency malfunction switch again for the UK’s banks. The reputational fallout has been toxic. Even Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England said: “[something] went very wrong with the UK banking industry and we need to put it right.” In just two short weeks, [...]
FTSE in modest gains as UK inflation dips July 17, 2012 The FTSE 100 made modest gains in early trading as investors awaited a key report by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke which could open the door to new monetary stimulus measures after recent weak US data. Bernanke will present his latest monetary policy report to Congress today and tomorrow against a background of lacklustre [...]
FSA: BARCLAYS WAS GAMING US July 16, 2012 REGULATORS claimed last night that they felt “gamed” by Barclays as former executive Jerry del Missier told MPs that Bob Diamond had instructed him to lower the bank’s Libor rate submissions. Appearing in front of the Treasury select committee del Missier, Barclays’ ex-chief operating officer, admitted instructing traders to reduce Libor submissions but said he [...]
Eurozone woes and bad assets hit Citi profits July 16, 2012 CITIGROUP profits fell again in the second quarter, its results revealed yesterday, as a loss on the sale of its stake in Turkish institution Akbank added to the headwinds it faces from the Eurozone crisis and a substantial drag from troubled assets left over from the financial crisis. Net income came in at $2.95bn (£1.85bn), [...]