CITY GRANDEES DEBATE FUTURE OF UK BANKING July 25, 2011 MAGIC circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s Fleet Street offices played host last night to a City crowd debating one of the most pertinent questions currently facing the UK’s politicians, regulators and bankers – whether the country’s biggest banks should be forcibly broken up, or whether other kinds of reforms are the best way forward. [...]
More bonus curbs could be on way July 20, 2011 BRITISH firms could be subject to an even more restrictive bonus regime under the terms of a new EU directive published yesterday. The Capital Requirements Directive 4 (CRD IV), which is the EU’s version of Basel III, suggests that financial institutions could have to endure yet more interference in their remuneration practices following a tome [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 6, 2011 Brooks Macdonald Asset Management The independent private client investment manager with £2.8bn of funds under management has appointed Richard Harley as an intermediary sales manager. Harley previously worked for Hornbuckle Mitchell, where he specialised in SIPP, SSAS and retirement options; prior to that, he worked for Friends Provident as an adviser and AXA Sun Life [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 5, 2011 Daiwa Capital Markets The investment banking arm of Japanese brokerage Daiwa Securities Group has appointed Keith Meekins as chief executive of its subsidiary firm Daiwa Capital Markets Europe. Meekins, who was previously head of fixed income and a member of the firm’s executive committee, will lead the investment bank’s strategy across Europe and the Middle [...]
Mayor backs £600m bond for Crossrail July 3, 2011 THE Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a £600m bond to finance the construction of Crossrail. Issuing the bond will help the Greater London Authority (GLA) fund its £4.1bn investment in the £14.8bn project to build the new rail link, which will connect east and west parts of the capital. London will be the [...]
BBA CONFERENCE | HIGHLIGHTS June 29, 2011 The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) annual conference took place at the Guildhall yesterday. Here are some of the highlights: • BBA chief executive Angela Knight (pictured, bottom right) said that some of the many regulations being introduced “simply don’t work right, don’t fit together, are not coherent”, such as the requirement to hold more capital [...]
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM OF THE YEAR June 27, 2011 ON the back of the Office of Fair Trading launching its investigation into the market dominance of the “Big Four”, it’s never been more important for professional services firms to prove their worth. Never far from the centre of the City’s biggest deals, strategic reviews and financial reports, our shortlisted entrants are favourites of UK [...]
HKEx: a global IPO hot-spot June 21, 2011 THE Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) is Asia’s third largest exchange in terms of market capitalisation, after Tokyo and Shanghai. It was first established in 1891, although informal exchanges were taking place in Hong Kong for some thirty years previous to that date. Nowadays, the exchange has become well-known for attracting big international companies – [...]
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR | THE SHORTLIST DAY 2 June 20, 2011 LUCKILY for all of us the City is full of rising stars, people we all think will make it to the top. This year’s selection includes Sam Smith, who has been making waves as head of the small cap broker finnCap. We’ve chosen two high-flying lawyers, one investment analyst and a fast rising star from [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 19, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES SMALL AND MID-CAP BROKERS SHINE IN ANNUAL RANKINGS Small and mid-cap brokers have outshone their larger competitors in stockpicking, according to the latest FT/StarMine rankings. Of the top 10 stock-pickers in the UK and Ireland – led by Richard Slape, energy analyst at Canaccord Genuity with his call on Rockhopper Exploration – seven [...]