City Moves for 28 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 27, 2014 RPC The law firm has announced the appointment of Anna Cook as a senior litigation partner. She joins from Radiant Law, the technology and outsourcing boutique, where she set up its dispute resolution team in 2012. Cook was also formerly a partner at Wedlake Bell. Kleinwort Benson Andrew Shiels has been appointed global chief risk [...]
City Moves for 27 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 26, 2014 Silicon Valley Bank The bank has appointed Wibke Pendse as managing director of private equity finance and banking for the UK. She transfers from Silicon Valley Bank in the US, which she joined in 2010. Pendse has also held roles at Square 1 Bank and Comerica Bank. Old Mutual Global Investors The asset manager has [...]
Aviva share price falls as Friends Life shares rise: Surprised market reacts to deal bombshell November 24, 2014 The market was divided yesterday following the announcement of a planned merger between insurer Aviva and its competitor Friends Life. Aviva saw its shares fall by more than five per cent during the day, while shares in Friends Life climbed by six per cent. Most analysts agreed that the announcement was surprising, with [...]
Scientists say Regin is one of the most sophisticated pieces of malware ever found November 24, 2014 Cyber security firm Symantec says it's just discovered the most sophisticated piece of malware – that's malicious software – it's ever seen. The company, which has dubbed it "Regin", said that once it infects a computer, it can take screenshots, steal passwords and even recover deleted files. That makes it even more sophisticated than Stuxnet, [...]
As RBS is fined for its 2012 computer failure, are IT meltdowns the biggest risk to banks? November 20, 2014 Paul Thomalla, senior vice-president and managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at ACI Worldwide, says Yes. The antiquated IT infrastructure of many of our biggest financial institutions is a ticking time bomb. The payments community has been warning for years that it isn’t up to scratch, but retail banks have been like [...]
City Moves for 18 November 2014 | Who’s switching jobs November 17, 2014 Barclays Andrea Delay has been appointed head of professional services at the bank. She has held several senior positions at Barclays, including head of industry for the facilities management sector. Delay has also held corporate banking roles at Wachovia Bank and Commerzbank. Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Munish Varma has been appointed head of structured [...]
British companies considering hiring hackers to fight cyber criminals November 16, 2014 British companies are considering turning to ex-hackers in a bid to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals, according to latest research released today by KPMG. The professional services company surveyed 300 senior IT and human resources professionals in firms employing 500-plus staff to assess how they were protecting themselves against cyber security breaches. Nearly [...]
2014 City A.M. awards: It’s always good to toast the best of the City – Editor’s Letter November 13, 2014 In a matter of weeks, during the first few days of January, I will be calling people to invite them to next year’s City A.M. awards. The event, the latest of which was held last night, has become a fixture in the City calendar and has grown in stature since its inception. Last night, [...]
KPMG’s Matt Wood has the eye for ING’s art November 11, 2014 Director of operations for KPMG (Restaurant Associates), Matt Wood (right) enjoyed last night’s preview of the 2014 ING Discerning Eye exhibition – and thanks to City A.M.’s competition, he walked away with one of the pieces. Here he is with ING’s chief of commercial banking Gerald Walker and his new piece of art, Wet Morning [...]
Drinks giant Diageo drops KPMG for PwC as new rules come in November 11, 2014 Diageo announced yesterday that it had replaced its auditor KPMG with rival PwC, to bring it in line with new regulations compelling companies to consider changing their accountants every decade. The alcoholic drinks giant – which produces Guinness – said PwC’s appointment would take effect for Diageo’s financial year ending 30 June 2016, subject to [...]