Barclays fined £7.7m for serious failings in sales January 18, 2011 BARCLAYS has been fined £7.7m for mis-selling two Aviva funds after one in seven of the investors complained to the City regulator. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) yesterday imposed its largest-ever fine for retail sales breaches after identifying “serious failings” in Barclays’ sales practices for two Aviva income funds. The bank raised £692m from 12,331 [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 17, 2011 RSM Tenon The financial services firm has appointed two new directors and an associate director in London. Nick Atkinson has been promoted to a risk management director, specialising in internal audits of the NHS. Nick Davies (pictured) has been promoted to business advisory director in the audit, tax and advisory team, specialising in corporate clients. [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 16, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS DIRECTOR TO STEP DOWN FROM BOARD One of the last Royal Bank of Scotland directors to remain on the bank’s board from the days of Sir Fred goodwin is poised to step down from his role. Colin Buchan, 56, a former UBS investment banker who until recently was chairman of RBS’s remuneration [...]
Insurers agree to stop sharing prices January 13, 2011 SEVEN insurance groups including Aviva and Axa Insurance UK agreed to stop sharing motor policy pricing data using an Experian tool after the UK regulator said it could limit competition. The tool, Whatif? Private Motor, allowed insurers to access the pricing information supplied by competitors to brokers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said in [...]
London hits 31-month closing high as Portuguese fears fade January 12, 2011 BRITAIN’S top share index hit a 31-month closing high yesterday, boosted by banks after a successful bond sale in Portugal eased investor concerns over Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, and as miners tracked metals prices higher. The FTSE 100 ended up 36.69 points, or 0.6 per cent, at 6,050.72, its highest close since early June 2008, [...]
Good news boosts FTSE to 2008 levels January 12, 2011 BANKS and miners dominated the FTSE today, leading the index to another 31-month high as good news from Portugal’s bond sale boosted financial stocks, and miners tracked metals prices higher. Four FTSE 250 companies also posted double-digit gains as news that Gartmore agreed a £335.3m takeover deal by rival Henderson sent their shares higher. The [...]
F&C board fights back as Sherborne showdown looms January 6, 2011 EMBATTLED F&C Asset Management has set a date for its showdown with Sherborne Investors over its bid to replace chairman Nick MacAndrew and take control of the board. F&C shareholders will meet on 3 February at Sherborne’s request to vote on whether to oust MacAndrew and director Brian Larcombe and appoint Sherborne’s founder Edward Bramson, [...]
The City is back but under new management December 21, 2010 BRITAIN’S financial landscape has been transformed since we last shone a light on the City’s most powerful figures two years ago. The City A.M./CityJet Power Hundred 2011 list ranks the most influential figures in UK finance as we head into the new year. It should be no surprise that it is very different from 2009. [...]
CITY VIEWS: ARE OVERDRAFT CHARGES TOO HIGH? December 7, 2010 MARK GIRARDOT | HOWDEN Yes, the rates are too high; it’s daylight robbery. It’s just wrong. It’s unethical. I don’t see how they could be in such dire financial straits that they need to do this, since they have just paid some very large bonuses to their employees.” GRAHAM NISBET | LLOYDS BANKING GROUP I [...]
Pension firms are not completely trusted December 7, 2010 IN the latest YouGov SixthSense Pensions Report, two-thirds of YouGov respondents say they “do not have complete trust in pensions companies”. Meanwhile, of the companies mentioned in the survey, Scottish Widows were the most highly regarded – one in four respondents who know of the company ranked it as their number one pensions provider, leaving [...]