The year in preview: Our in-depth guide January 5, 2014 City A.M.’s journalists take a wide-ranging look at what 2014 has in store for the world of finance and business BANKINGRestoring faith means costly overhaulsA CAUTIOUS optimism pervades the British and European banking system at the start of 2014. The incoming economic recovery is at last improving customers’ creditworthiness, while the hard work running down [...]
Insurers warn of insolvencies as low interest rates hit bottom line December 2, 2013 INSURERS are warning that low interest rates could cause insolvencies in their industry, a report from Linklaters has found. Two thirds of insurers are looking to explore new markets, according to the global law firm, as low rates mean they are unable to turn a profit. The report found that 65 per cent are looking [...]
RSA Insurance Ireland CEO Philip Smith quits November 28, 2013 The chief executive of the Irish arm of RSA Insurance, Philip Smith, has resigned from the company after saying he has become the scapegoat for allegations of serious financial irregularities. In a statement Smith said he and his family have been traumatised by recent events. He also claims the ongoing probe by RSA has a [...]
Large company insolvency rate cut by over half November 27, 2013 INSOLVENCIES among Britain’s largest companies more than halved in October when compared to a year earlier, according to data released by Experian yesterday. In a boost to the UK’s economic prospects, Experian said that the year-on-year insolvency rate for companies with 500 or more employees was 0.08 per cent last month – down from 0.2 per [...]
SEI Investments fined £900,000 for failing to protect client funds November 26, 2013 INVESTMENT manager SEI was fined £900,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority yesterday for failing to protect client money properly. The City watchdog found that from November 2007 to October 2012, SEI repeatedly failed to perform its internal reconciliations, failed on several occasions to ensure any shortfall or excess identified was covered by the end of [...]
Bosch sells solar panel plant as £2bn loss takes shine off unit November 26, 2013 SOLARWORLD, once Germany’s top solar group, agreed to buy one of Bosch’s solar panel plants, as the car parts supplier rids itself of a business that caused it to post billions of euros worth of losses. Under the deal, SolarWorld will take over cell and module production capacity of a combined 900 megawatts (MW) from [...]
Regulator slaps fine on SEI Investments Europe for client money breaches November 26, 2013 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined SEI Investments (Europe) £900,200 for failing to protect its client money properly. Between November 2007 and October 2012, SEI failed to make sure that its records and accounts were maintained in an accurate way, said the regulator. Under FCA rules, companies are required to keep client money separate [...]
English football going German and embracing fan ownership November 25, 2013 ENGLISH football is set for a steep rise in the number of clubs adopting fan-owned structures, according to a new study. Teams in financial difficulties are particularly likely to turn to the community interest company (CIC) model, report insolvency experts Begbies Traynor. Darlington, Eastbourne and Scottish side Stenhousemuir are among those to embrace increased supporter [...]
Bank of England analysts back sovereign cocos November 19, 2013 GOVERNMENTS should copy banks and issue contingent convertible bonds (cocos) – debt instruments which ease the burden on borrowers if the sovereigns get into financial difficulty – a Bank of England paper proposed yesterday. The maturity dates on the bonds would automatically be extended when the government takes a bailout, easing the immediate pressure on [...]
City Moves for 19 November 2013 | Who’s switching jobs November 18, 2013 Knight Frank The property company has hired Liz Crawford as an associate within its healthcare team. She was most recently at Humberts Leisure, where she was a director. Prior to that, Crawford was head of licenced and leisure at Lambert Smith Hampton. Axa Investment Management The investment management business has recruited Shajahan Alam as a solutions [...]