Former Lloyds security chief admits to fraud August 7, 2012 A FORMER Lloyds Banking Group anti-fraud chief yesterday admitted cheating the bank of £2.5m in what prosecutors called a “huge breach of trust” against her employer. Jessica Harper, who served as the state-backed firm’s interim head of fraud and security for digital banking, faces a lengthy jail sentence after pleading guilty to fraud and money [...]
Standard Chartered is the victim of US warfare against British banking August 7, 2012 STANDARD Chartered, one of the few British banks hitherto left untainted by allegations of misconduct, saw its share price nosedive yesterday, after accusations by a New York regulator that it had violated sanctions against Iran. I’m now left more convinced than ever that US politicians and regulators have a hidden objective in exposing the wrong-doings [...]
Another banking scandal was the last thing the City needed August 6, 2012 JUST when it felt as if it couldn’t get any worse for the City, it is now Standard Chartered’s turn to be engulfed in a major scandal. The bank – which didn’t need a bailout and is hugely successful thanks to its emerging market focus – stands accused by US regulators of having deliberately ignored [...]
Catlin survives catastrophes to boost its profit August 6, 2012 INSURER Catlin announced strong profits for the first half of 2012 yesterday, mainly thanks to the absence of any natural catastrophe claims during the period. Pre-tax profits at the group hit $231m (£148m) for the six months to 30 June, against a loss of $201m for the same period last year. This beat analysts’s expectations, [...]
Insurer Catlin back in profit as catastrophes ease August 6, 2012 Bermuda-based insurer Catlin swung back to profit in the first six months of 2012, helped by a sharp drop in natural catastrophe-related claims relative to last year. Catlin, operator of the biggest syndicate in the Lloyd’s of London market, made a pretax profit of $231m (£148m) in the six months to 30 June, compared with [...]
CITY VIEWS | ARE YOU PLANNING TO GO TO THE OLYMPICS? August 2, 2012 DANNY MILLS LLOYD’S OF LONDON I’m not going but being a rower myself, I went ecstatic when I went to see Britain’s first gold medal victory in the rowing a couple of days ago, and having served in the Royal Navy I found the presence of the Armed Forces added to the patriotic fervour. MIKE [...]
CITY VIEWS | IS THE CITY SUFFERING FROM THE OLYMPIC EFFECT? August 1, 2012 GRAEME KALBRAIER CALL CONNECTION (LLOYDS OF LONDON) I don’t think City business has been affected by the Olympics at all, though I do think the smashing Olympic complex and the new Westfield complex is a people-magnet. PAUL ALLAN F W BERRINGER Walking around I can see retail activity is still robust, and there are a [...]
RAPID RESPONSES August 1, 2012 Sporting nations [Re: Entrepreneurial nations win big in medal tables, yesterday] Stefania Lovo raises some interesting thoughts in her article, but the truth is more complicated. Why, for example, have some large nations not won more medals? The answer is linked to cultural characteristics of each particular nation. Many countries provide winning athletes because they [...]
INSURER OF THE YEAR July 31, 2012 OUR INSURER of the year award celebrates firms from across the industry, ranging from small specialists to global giants. Lloyd’s of London firms such as Lancashire qualify for their commitment to innovation and personal service in a global marketplace. Meanwhile the changing face of the British insurance business is recognised with the nomination of firms [...]
Few disasters as Hiscox appoints new chairman July 30, 2012 INSURER Hiscox returned to profit in the first half of this year, assisted by the absence of major disasters, the firm announced yesterday. The Bermuda-based firm made a pre-tax profit of £125.8m against a loss of £85.6m for the same period last year. “The lack of catastrophes has helped but but there has been a [...]