THE CITY’S GOT TALENT: THE HUNKIEST GENTS IN FINANCE August 9, 2010 ANTHONY ASTBURY, GFI GROUP Environmental markets broker Anthony takes the crown in the second annual round-up of the City’s hunkiest gents, voted for by your good selves and judged by a panel of terribly dedicated City A.M.ers. A keen sportsman, who boxes, skis and plays football when he’s not jetting around Europe meeting clients, Anthony [...]
Pru to boost payout after £760m profit August 8, 2010 PRUDENTIAL will smash profit forecasts and hike its dividend this week as it tries to win back investors’ confidence following its disastrous $35.5bn (£22bn) attempt to buy AIA. The insurer is expected to report first-half operating profits of more than £760m, the top end of City consensus, boosted by strong performance in Asia. Prudential has [...]
Santander scoops 318 RBS branches after £4.5bn boost August 4, 2010 SPANISH giant Santander fired a warning shot across the bows of UK lenders yesterday, agreeing to buy 318 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland and preparing to reshuffle its global operations. Santander will become the fourth-largest bank on the high street after it takes over the outlets from RBS for £1.7bn. The deal, due to [...]
CITY VIEWS: GIVEN BANKRUPTCIES ARE DOWN, DO YOU THINK PEOPLE’S FINANCES ARE STARTING TO RECOVER? August 4, 2010 KEITH VALENTINE | AXCO INSURANCE INFORMATION SERVICES “People are beginning to find things a little easier, and are feeling a bit more confident. I have noticed some small price increases, which might make it hard for some, but I think people are generally feeling better in themselves. But if people are struggling, I don’t think [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 1, 2010 Association of British Insurers Alain Dromer will join the ABI’s investment committee as chairman on 15 September. Dromer, who is currently chief executive of Aviva Investors, takes over the position from Keith Skeoch, who has spent three years in office. Dromer has also spent time as head of global investment at HSBC, head of insurance [...]
Bumper UK earnings fail to lift FTSE as bank sell-off weighs July 29, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed easier yesterday as a retreat from banks and investor caution ahead of US growth data offset a batch of robust UK corporate earnings from companies including AstraZeneca. The FTSE 100 closed down 5.73 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,313.95, after it ended 0.9 per cent lower on Wednesday. AstraZeneca advanced [...]
CITY VIEWS: DO YOU THINK NEW START-UP BANKS HAVE A CHANCE OF July 29, 2010 ANDREW FRANCIS | MUNICH RE “The new start-ups are not likely to take major market share, but they probably will see an increase in customers who will move for customer service reasons because the big banks are lacking in that area. I doubt people will move because the start-ups have better rates.” CAROLYN BEGG | [...]
Market calm on bank tests July 26, 2010 EUROPEAN lenders’ credit default swap (CDS) spreads narrowed and the euro was steady yesterday as the market gave a mild thumbs-up to the region’s bank stress test results. The cost of insuring against default on debt issued by key banks fell after the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) said just seven of 91 institutions [...]
Morgan Stanley continues down the road to recovery July 21, 2010 WALL Street lapped up a solid set of second-quarter results from Morgan Stanley yesterday, buoying market sentiment after a disappointing performance over the same period from some of the bank’s peers, notably Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley beat analyst expectations with post-tax profit of $1.4bn (£921m) for the three months to June, swinging back into the [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 21, 2010 BANK OF IRELAND The bank has appointed Bill Greaves to the position of head of corporate banking in the UK. Greaves previously led the bank’s technology, media and telecoms team, which he established in early 2005 upon joining the group. Prior to that, he led the media team at Barclays. In his new role, he [...]