Credit Suisse execs ‘overruled’ risk managers on Greensill loan March 11, 2021 Senior Credit Suisse executives reportedly approved a $160m loan to beleaguered finance firm Greensill Capital despite concerns raised by the bank’s risk managers. London-based risk managers at the Swiss bank rejected the loan before chief risk and compliance officer Lara Warner signed off on the loan in October, according to the Financial Times. “There is [...]
New tech startup launches every half an hour during pandemic March 11, 2021 The tech sector has been one of the few winners from the pandemic with many entrepreneurs using the time to launch new companies. Between January and December 2020, 19,465 businesses were registered in the information and communication sector according to data from Tech Nation. It is equivalent to a new tech firm launching every half [...]
Nightingale Hospitals were meant to save us, but the £500m idea was dead on arrival March 10, 2021 NHS England announced yesterday that four out of seven Nightingale Hospitals will shut permanently from next month as coronavirus cases and hospitalisations continue to decline. The remaining three, including the site at London’s Excel Centre, will remain open as vaccination centres. The temporary hospitals were swiftly erected in just two weeks last March to deal [...]
Zego becomes first UK insurtech to secure unicorn status March 10, 2021 Motor insurance startup Zego has secured unicorn status with a valuation of more than $1bn after its latest funding round. The London-based company provides insurance to gig economy workers and claims to be the UK’s first insurtech unicorn. It follows a $150m round led by DST Global with backing from General Catalyst, whose founder and [...]
Greensill’s downfall: Ripples of panic as flaw in shadow banking spin led to firm’s tragic end March 10, 2021 It has been a week from hell for Greensill Capital. Just a year after Australian financier Lex Greensill sought a $7bn valuation, his boutique bank filed for administration this week as his lawyers appeared before a UK court on Monday. What is likely to turn into the tragic end to what once was a City [...]
DLT may not be the silver bullet, but it’s worth a shot March 10, 2021 Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE delivers the third installment of his five-piece analysis of the government's Financial Services Bill.
FTSE 100 opens lower as inflation worries weigh March 10, 2021 The FTSE 100 opened lower this morning as market momentum slowed following a tech-fuelled rally on Wall Street last night and inflation worries weighed on investors. London’s blue-chip index dipped 0.21 per cent to 6,715 points shortly after markets opened. The domestically focused FTSE 250 was marginally down. It came on the back of a [...]
UK financial services sector shakes off Covid blows as vacancies surge March 10, 2021 Vacancies in the financial services sector are well on their way to recovery after a sharp slump at the start of the pandemic, according to new APSCo data. Research from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) showed hiring fell 58 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 as Covid battered employment prospects. However, numbers [...]
M&G shares surge after increasing full-year dividend March 9, 2021 M&G was one of the biggest gainers on the FTSE on Tuesday after boosting its final dividend by 2.6 per cent. The asset manager closed nearly five per cent higher despite reporting a 31 per cent in its operating profit to £788m. Operating income fell 3.9 per cent to £1.9bn with declines across its insurance [...]
London’s Nightingale Hospital to close next month as coronavirus cases plummet across capital March 9, 2021 The Nightingale Hospital at London’s Excel centre will close next month as hospital admissions and coronavirus cases continue to fall dramatically across the capital. All seven Nightingale Hospitals across England will shutter from April, one year after they were built last spring in a bid to ease pressure on the NHS. The temporary facilities, including [...]