City Moves for 20 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 19, 2014 BDO The accountancy and business advisory firm has announced two appointments to its forensic accounting team. Gavin Williamson joins as a partner from Deloitte, where he specialised in complex, multi-jurisdictional fraud and corruption investigations. Cathie Cameron (pictured) joins as a director. She previously ran her own consulting business in the US, and has also held [...]
James Crosby-backed Moneybarn sold in £120m deal to Provident Financial August 14, 2014 Doorstep lender Provident Financial yesterday raised £120m to snap up Moneybarn, the motor insurer chaired by ex-Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) boss James Crosby. The lender, which makes loans to people with poor credit scores, generated the cash in a matter of hours after mandating JP Morgan to raise the fund. Existing shareholder Invesco bought [...]
Mark Wilson has put Aviva back in the game – Bottom Line August 8, 2014 When I think of Norwich, three things come to mind – Norwich City, Norwich Union and Alan Partridge. You’ll be relieved to hear that I’m going to spare you any terrible puns based on the latter, but I will dare to make an albeit clumsy connection between the first two. Aviva, as it is now [...]
Bank of England’s regulatory tweaks to be norm says Haldane August 5, 2014 THE WORLD faces more business cycles in financial services, not fewer, meaning the Bank of England could have to become more involved in the market, its new chief economist Andy Haldane warned yesterday. As banks have shrunk, much of their work has moved to pension funds, insurers and mutual funds, which Haldane believes may mean more and [...]
AIG pays $960m to settle legal battle with angry shareholders August 4, 2014 INSURANCE giant AIG last night announced it will pay shareholders $960m (£569m) to settle the lawsuit they launched in the wake of the firm’s collapse in the financial crisis. The group, led by the state of Michigan’s pension fund, had argued the insurer misled the market over its financial health in the run up to [...]
Argentina says holdouts may be fraudsters August 4, 2014 ARGENTINIAN officials accused hedge funds of insider trading yesterday, and demanded the US authorities investigate. In the country’s latest attack on bondholders who refused to accept a low payout on their investments, regulator Alejandro Vanoli asked the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) for data on credit default swaps. He argued that if the holdouts bought [...]
City Moves for 04 August 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 3, 2014 Sovereign Land The retail and leisure developer and asset manager has announced the appointment of Thomas Mallindine as a senior asset manager. He previously worked at M&G Real Estate for five years, most recently as investment manager, retail and institutional funds. Kingston Smith & Partners The corporate recovery and insolvency arm of Kingston Smith, the accountancy [...]
Barclays’ Antony Jenkins says his bank has turned corner July 30, 2014 Antony Jenkins had a new spring in his step yesterday. Payment protection insurance mis-selling might have blown another near-billion pound hole in his profits, but he had the look of a man who knows he is on the verge of something great. Like most post-crisis banking chiefs, Jenkins took the reins at Barclays in the wake [...]
Payback time but Bank of England’s bonus clawbacks are rife with pitfalls July 30, 2014 Quite literally, yesterday it was payback time for Britain’s banking industry. Regulators’ demands that lenders must force staff to hand back bonuses awarded as long as seven years earlier delivers a belated sense of justice for those clamouring for more robust post-crisis retribution. The Bank of England’s timing could hardly have been better, coming [...]
German city of Hamburg is the latest to try and ban taxi app Uber July 23, 2014 Yet another city that doesn't like Uber. The German city of Hamburg has become the latest to try and ban the smartphone taxi app service, further indication of the increasing pressure the US company is facing from local regulators and cab drivers. The San-Francisco based firm, which operates in more than 149 cities in 42 [...]