MYNERS: BANK BOFFINS CAN’T REPLACE THE FSA July 22, 2009 CITY minister Lord Myners yesterday launched a scathing attack on Tory plans to transfer huge regulatory powers to the Bank of England, claiming the central bank neither wants nor has the right skills for the job. “They have misjudged the competence and culture of the Bank of England. The Bank is a very academic institution. [...]
Walker plans bonus delays July 16, 2009 BANKERS would have half of their bonuses withheld by employers for up to five years, under proposals designed to end City “short-termism.” The new plans came from former Morgan Stanley chairman Sir David Walker yesterday in a review of banking in the wake of the global downturn. Walker’s review of banks’ pay comes after some [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 12, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphFOCUS DIY CHAIN FACES TOUGH CREDIT REVIEWA review of Focus DIY’s financial position will be delivered by Ernst & Young (E&Y) to the group’s lenders this Friday to help them to decide whether to continue backing the DIY retailer. Although the lenders, GMAC and HBOS, have agreed in principle to renew a [...]
EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION July 8, 2009 CHANCELLOR Alistair Darling yesterday unveiled a white paper on financial regulation that will reform the way banks operate while retaining all the major aspects of the global financial system. Darling’s proposals, while costly and onerous to the City, will mean that giant global financial institutions are here to stay, most activities will continue to be [...]
Darling’s report: good in parts but flawed overall July 8, 2009 THERE will be no return to business as usual, not by any stretch of the imagination. But yesterday’s Treasury white paper also confirms that financial capitalism as we know it is here to stay. The authorities want to reform global finance to make it work better and to try and avoid extreme booms and busts; [...]
Darling gives FSA power to rein in the activity of City firms July 8, 2009 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) will share formal responsibility for financial stability with the Bank of England, under a raft of measures included in chancellor Alistair Darling’s white paper on financial regulation. The chancellor rejected Conservative calls for the Bank of England to be given primary responsibility for monitoring dangers to the economy, instead opting [...]
Council of regulators led by chancellor to monitor risks to the financial system July 8, 2009 A NEW Council for Financial Stability (CFS), composed of representatives from the tripartite authorities, will be handed responsibility for monitoring emerging risks in the financial system, chancellor Alistair Darling announced yesterday. The CFS, to be chaired by Darling himself, will see figures from the Treasury, Bank of England and FSA meet regularly to discuss and [...]
Advisers blamed over recession losses June 29, 2009 INVESTORS believe that financial advisers have failed to react effectively to the economic meltdown, according to a report released yesterday. According to a survey by the World GoldCouncil, many investors blame advisers for failing to shield them from tumbling markets. And a failure by advisers to diversify their clients’ assets by spreading them around more [...]
Firms want new code of practice June 24, 2009 A clutch of the UK’s largest firms have called for the code of best practice covering boardrooms to be loosened, to allow them to opt out of guidelines. Companies including British Airways, Marks & Spencer (M&S) and Cable & Wireless want a change to the code’s ethos of “comply or explain” because they believe investors [...]
Obama to overhaul regulation June 15, 2009 PRESIDENT Barack Obama will tomorrow outline the most sweeping overhaul of US financial regulation since the Great Depression, in an attempt to prevent a repeat of last year’s financial crisis. Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner and White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers yesterday said the administration plans to create a “council of regulators” to coordinate supervision across [...]