City Moves for 11 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs September 10, 2014 Falcon Group The alternative finance firm has appointed two to its risk management team. Mark Wyatt (pictured) joins as chief risk officer. He was director of risk, information and claims at Euler Hermes. Tim Esden joins as portfolio manager from Coface, where he was head of claims and debt collection. PwC The professional services firm has [...]
Treasury calls on EU to stop red tape torrent September 8, 2014 Brussels must stop churning out countless financial regulations, and instead deal with the unintended consequences of the tide of red tape it has pumped out since the crash, a top Treasury official said yesterday. “We cannot allow this incredible pace and volume of standards reform to become the new normal,” said the Treasury’s financial services [...]
Acquisitions and a rise in diversity mark year September 8, 2014 ACCOUNTANCY FIRM of the year IT’S been a tough year for many accountancy firms – making it a very tough decision for our judges to make. However, it has also been a year of opportunity, as the achievements of our nominees prove. These companies have forged ahead, seeking new markets – especially in London’s growing [...]
Retailers cheer as sales recover September 8, 2014 RETAIL sales picked up again in August, with the high street enjoying its strongest growth since January this year. Like-for-like sales rose by 1.3 per cent in August compared with same time last year and a 0.3 per cent dip in July, according to the latest data from KPMG and the British Retail Consortium (BRC). [...]
PPI scandal: Customer compensation cost big lenders £31bn in three years September 7, 2014 Britain’s five biggest banks have spent £31bn compensating customers for mis-selling and other bad behaviour over the past three years, KPMG analysts said today. Between them the giant lenders have given customers more than £20bn in payment protection insurance mis-selling alone, and have racked up the remainder on paying interest rate swap redress, as well [...]
London Report: Retailer data to reveal strength of UK recovery September 7, 2014 THE NEWLY-MERGED Dixons Carphone will report its maiden quarterly results tomorrow in a week containing a flurry of updates for retailers. Figures for the company, whose merger only completed a month ago, will be keenly watched by investors, who will be hoping the firm’s planned synergies are starting to take effect. Other retailers due to [...]
Two-thirds of London businesses are struggling to hire due to a shortage of skilled workers September 4, 2014 London’s businesses are calling out for skilled workers but 66 per cent have struggled to recruit the highly skilled workforce they need, according to research released yesterday by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and professional services firm KPMG. As a result nearly half of London’s companies (45 per cent) now say that there is [...]
A third of new KPMG partners women – but chair wants more September 1, 2014 Consultancy giant KPMG yesterday announced 52 new partners, pushing the total number over 600 and improving the firm’s gender balance at senior levels. A third of the new promotions are women – in comparison to only 15 per cent of KPMG’s existing partners. The firm said that it made particular efforts to bring in more [...]
Geneva’s bank opacity is melting like Swiss chocolate – Bottom Line August 28, 2014 When historians come to write the history of Swiss banking in the 21st century, the mid-2010s are likely to be some of the better thumbed chapters. The release of results this week by Pictet, Lombard Odier and smaller rival Mirabaud has lifted the veil of secrecy on the traditionally discreet world of Swiss private banking. [...]
Why Quindell’s share price bombed today, even though profits rose threefold August 21, 2014 Over the past few months, insurance outsourcer Quindell – once the darling of the stock market – has been the reluctant protagonist in a soap opera with a plot involving a shadowy organisation run by a mysterious superhero intent waging war on business “bad guys”. Quindell’s woes began in April, when analyst Gotham City [...]