Barclays “most at risk” from bank reforms April 8, 2011 Barclays is most at risk from a government appointed commission’s push to reform the sector by protecting and ring-fencing ordinary savers from risky investment banking, a poll showed. Six out of 11 analysts and fund managers polled said Barclays had the most to lose if the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) proposes on Monday that [...]
Barclays to add €1.3bn to Spanish unit’s capital April 7, 2011 THE Spanish arm of Barclays is to undertake a €1.3bn (£1.1bn) capital hike to meet new Bank of Spain minimum solvency ratios, the bank said yesterday. The parent bank will subscribe to the entire increase, a spokesman for Barclays Spain said. “The board approved the capital increase to meet new capital requirements in Spain,” said [...]
Banks said to be petrified by ICB report April 7, 2011 EXECUTIVES at Barclays are preparing for a “disaster” scenario when the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) releases its interim report on Monday, which could involve an ultra hard-line ring-fencing of bank functions. Banks are said to be “petrified” that the report could signal a major industry overhaul. In pre-briefings this week, analysts have been told [...]
Nick Clegg has got it wrong yet again April 6, 2011 IT seems that Nick Clegg specialises in making unsubstantiated statements. He said yesterday that “who you know is increasingly becoming more important that what you know” when it comes to securing a job in the City as well as in politics, the media and other professions. The key phrase here is “becoming increasingly important.” We [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 6, 2011 SWIP William Low has been appointed as head of global equities at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership’s (SWIP) International Equities team. Low, who joins from a 15-year tenure as director and portfolio manager at Blackrock, will be based in SWIP’s Edinburgh office and will be responsible for driving the firm’s global equity strategy across a range [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 6, 2011 BURBERRY Nomura rates the luxury retailer “neutral” with a target price of £12. The broker expects the firm’s half-year trading update on 19 April to show a 14 per cent rise in like-for-like retail sales, which will make up 70 per cent of overall sales. While Nomura expects another vintage year from Burberry, it has [...]
Sun shines for the start of new tax year April 6, 2011 THE excitement of the end of tax year rush to fill up your tax free Individual Savings Account (Isa) may be over, but don’t fret. Yesterday’s sunshine and birdsong heralded the start of a new tax year and the chance to start investing in a new Isa. This tax-year also sees a rise in the [...]
Junior Isas to match adult savings funds April 6, 2011 IN LAST month’s budget, the chancellor announced the arrival of the Junior Isa scheme, which will become available in November of this year. The Junior Isa is a replacement for the Child Trust Fund (CTF), but will do away with the government contribution of the previous scheme (see the table below). The Junior Isa will [...]
Relief for banks as 2011 sees fees rise April 5, 2011 INVESTMENT banks have raked in their largest first-quarter fees pool since 2007 with fees up eight per cent globally on last year, according to Thomson Reuters data released yesterday. The UK and Ireland saw fees drop 5.4 per cent, however, versus north America, where fees income rose 13.4 per cent. Barclays Capital was the biggest [...]
Small firms see no effect from Merlin as banks sign up to new lending code April 5, 2011 THE UK’s major lenders have gone on the offensive to convince small businesses that they are freeing up credit, signing up to a new lending code and launching a website to help businesses access loans. But a survey of 500 small businesses released yesterday showed that 75 per cent of respondents have seen no change [...]