Banks are off the hook – but customers will suffer April 11, 2011 WHEN? the coalition government launched the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) shortly after coming to power, it was clearly kicking party differences into the long grass. At the time, Vince Cable, a far more powerful figure before his “war on Murdoch” gaffe, would settle for nothing less than a full-scale separation of retail and investment [...]
Caution ahead of US results pulls FTSE 100 to a flat close April 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat yesterday, with caution from traders wary of turbulence during the US earnings season offset by strength in the banking sector following the ICB report on the future shape of UK banking. The FTSE 100 closed down 2.31 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 6,053.44 after trading in positive territory [...]
Banks told to “ring fence” retail arms April 11, 2011 Top banks should shield their retail operations from riskier investment banking activities and hold more capital to protect taxpayers in the event of another financial crisis, a report said. Radical shake-up proposals outlined appear harshest for Lloyds Banking Group, which may be forced to sell hundreds more branches in addition to the 600 already on [...]
VICKERS’ VERDICT: REFORM FOR BANKS April 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S banks will this morning find out what sort of shake-up the industry is facing as John Vickers publishes the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) interim report into competition and stability in the financial sector. Banks have been given 90 minutes to read and respond to the report before markets open at 8am, with the [...]
Spotlight on famous five of the Commission April 10, 2011 The spotlight will today be on the “famous five” members of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) as it presents its 200-page interim report. Two of the commission’s five members come from a banking background, which banks might hope will make them sympathetic to the difficult of running a major lender in current regulatory conditions. [...]
ICB has to strike a difficult balance April 10, 2011 With such a broad mandate to recommend how to promote greater financial stability and competition within UK banking, the Independent Commission on Banking has a wide range of options to choose from. And while the level of concern within UK-based banks is understandable, it is important to remember that the paper is merely an interim [...]
City’s competitive edge is at stake April 10, 2011 Hands off, Mayor Bloomberg: Barclays is ours. And so is HSBC. The feverish media speculation even has Nicholas Sarkozy in on the act, trying to lure the headquarters of banks over the Channel. London obviously has no God-given right to be the banking headquarters rather than New York or Hong Kong or Paris; we have [...]
Three bankers defect from Barclays Wealth April 10, 2011 THREE Barclays Wealth bankers have quit the firm to join boutique wealth management service Vestra Wealth. Andrew Palmer, Bandish Gudka and Oliver da Cunha have all been hired as portfolio managers in Vestra’s London office in a move that will be seen as a slap in the face for the bigger bank. The team managed [...]
Triton buys German engineer April 10, 2011 German private equity firm Triton has snapped up engineering firm Dywidag Systems International (DSI) for around €370m (£327m). Dywidag, which worked on Wembley Stadium, has been owned by lenders Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch since a debt for equity swap last year. Triton and Dywidag signed a sale and purchase agreement at the start [...]
Hurdle for Barclays’ hotel bid April 10, 2011 Attempts by the Barclay brothers to take control of the Maybourne Hotel Group have hit a snag, after a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund bought up debts linked to the firm. 1Malaysia Development Fund is thought to have paid £50m for debts held by the Irish government against shares owned by one of Maybourne’s biggest investors, [...]