RBS admits a large fine for rate fixing may be on the way soon July 30, 2012 RBS, the majority government-owned bank, is being investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) over the Libor scandal, boss Steven Hester admitted yesterday. It comes a month after Barclays was fined £290m for manipulating the market by entering false rates. “RBS is one of the banks tied up in Libor. We’ll have our day in [...]
Banks have to recognise that even unfair criticism must be acknowledged July 29, 2012 THE OLYMPICS is a welcome respite for the banking industry after weeks in the media spotlight. Finance, and the City generally, has suffered a serious blow to its reputation. A period for some reflection should be welcomed. The British banking industry is being judged harshly by comparison with other industries and other countries. Certainly, the [...]
Barclays sorry for Libor as profits top £4bn July 27, 2012 Barclays said it was confident it will repair the damage caused by an interest rate rigging scandal that has rocked it and the banking industry after beating expectations with a £4bn profit. “We are sorry for the issues that have emerged over recent weeks and recognise that we have disappointed our customers and shareholders,” chairman [...]
PPI drags down Lloyds again in new £700m hit July 26, 2012 LLOYDS reported a first half loss yesterday as it set aside another £700m against PPI mis-selling claims, taking its total bill to date to £4.3bn. The majority taxpayer-owned bank said it made a management profit of £1.165bn in the six-month period, up six per cent on the year, but an overall loss of £439m thanks [...]
Carnwath leaves Barclays as Del Missier gets £8.8m July 25, 2012 EMBATTLED bank Barclays suffered another significant loss yesterday as a third board member resigned in the wake of mounting turmoil following the devastating Libor scandal. Non-executive director Alison Carnwath left the bank after almost two years on the board citing time pressures, as she holds numerous other directorships across the City. Although she has not [...]
EC plans mean Libor-fiddlers could face jail July 25, 2012 LIBOR manipulation will become a crime across the European Union under new plans unveiled yesterday by commissioners Viviane Reding and Michel Barnier. The announcement comes after Barclays was fined £290m by the Financial Services Authority for entering false interest rates to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) who set the key interbank lending rate. That scandal [...]
CITY VIEWS | HAVE YOU SEEN THE OLYMPIC TORCH? July 25, 2012 GRANT LOWDEN PORTWARE LLC Yes I saw the flame pass through our local high street a couple of weeks ago and was delighted to see people making the effort to get out and wave as it passed – even in the pouring rain. DORIAN TRANQUILLE-DAY ERNST & YOUNG No and I also think it is [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 25, 2012 Tullow Oil Anne Drinkwater has been appointed non-executive director at the oil and gas exploration group. She joins after a long career at BP, where she was most recently president and chief executive of BP Canada. Akbank Josef Ackermann has been appointed to the international advisory board of the Turkish bank. He will work alongside [...]
Major powers for Salz inquiry into Barclays July 24, 2012 TOP LAWYER Anthony Salz will have free rein to speak to staff and examine company documents in his inquiry aimed at cleaning up Barclays’ culture in the wake of the Libor scandal, the bank revealed yesterday. The former Freshfields senior partner has roughly nine months to investigate what went wrong at the bank and to [...]
PROFILE: ANTHONY SALZ July 24, 2012 ANTHONY Salz, appointed yesterday to lead the investigation into staff culture at Barclays, has a long record in City law, banking and public works, as well as experience of leading reviews into voluntary regulation at private firms. After 30 years as a corporate lawyer at Freshfields, including 10 years as senior partner, in 2006 Anthony [...]