Lloyd’s of London insurer Lancashire share price falls on year of losses and challenging outlook February 15, 2018 Lloyd’s of London insurer Lancashire swung into the red today after counting the cost of a string of natural catastrophes and warning 2018 would be challenging. Shares dived over four per cent as dividends were slashed. Net annual operating losses for 2017 were $86m (£61m), compared with profits of $144m in 2016. Investors will see [...]
The $13bn investment firm Varde Partners has just taken a stake in London proptech startup funder Pi Labs February 15, 2018 The London property tech, or proptech, scene is grabbing attention across the globe, as the $13bn (£9.4bn) US investment firm Varde Partners has today scooped a stake in venture capital firm Pi Labs, City A.M. can reveal. London-based Pi Labs, which closed its second $10m fund last year, focuses on scaling up early-stage proptech firms [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen shares slump after £109bn Scottish Widows mandate is axed February 15, 2018 Standard Life Aberdeen was today dealt a blow after being stripped of £109bn of assets it manages on behalf of life insurer Scottish Widows. The newly merged fund management behemoth said it would lose up to five per cent of annual revenues and take a £40m impairment charge after Scottish Widows’ owner Lloyds Bank pulled [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen share price falls after being stripped of £109bn Lloyds Bank owned Scottish Widows mandate February 15, 2018 Standard Life Aberdeen was today dealt a blow after being stripped of £109bn of assets it manages on behalf of life insurer Scottish Widows. The newly merged fund management behemoth said it would lose up to five per cent of annual revenues and take a £40m impairment charge after Scottish Widows’ owner Lloyds Bank pulled [...]
Shawbrook Bank’s backer, Pollen Street Capital, has just raised another £400m fund to invest in financial services businesses February 14, 2018 Pollen Street Capital, the private equity firm which won shareholder approval to take over challenger bank Shawbrook last year, has raised a new £400m fund to invest in financial services businesses. The firm’s third fund, which was initially targeting £350m, has already spend 53 per cent of the total on deals including Shawbrook, direct lending [...]
Shawbrook Bank’s backer has just raised another £400m to invest in financial services businesses February 14, 2018 Pollen Street Capital, the private equity firm which won shareholder approval to take over challenger bank Shawbrook last year, has raised a new £400m fund to invest in financial services businesses. The firm's third fund, which was initially targeting £350m, has already spend 53 per cent of the total on deals including Shawbrook, direct lending [...]
Starling Bank announces partnerships with mortgage broker, investment and pensions firms and insurer in open banking push February 13, 2018 Starling Bank will today unveil four new partners for its in-app marketplace, raising the prospect of customers buying insurance and even gaining a mortgage through the bank's app within weeks. The digital-only bank will launch an integration with Pensionbee in its app from today, with digital investing service Wealthsimple, mortgage broker Habito and Kasko travel [...]
A match made in blockchain? The case for bitmarriage February 12, 2018 “Are you married?” For most people this feels like an obvious question. But despite common acceptance of the definition of marriage, marital status can be highly complex. English marriage law comes from a mix of statutes from the last two centuries, which throw up bizarre lacunae: a marriage in a synagogue is automatically legally valid, [...]
A new civil partnership law going through parliament could add billions to companies’ pension liabilities, warns Royal London and Lane Clark & Peacock February 10, 2018 A new law currently going through parliament could add billions of pounds to companies’ pension scheme liabilities, the UK’s largest mutual life insurance and pensions company has warned. A private member’s bill prepared by Conservative MP Tim Loughton wants to allow opposite-sex couples to register for a civil partnership for the very first time. Currently, [...]
Training AI to be unbiased must be a priority, not an afterthought February 9, 2018 When considering threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI), the focus usually rests on two. Some foresee a terrifying Skynet dystopia, with sentient computers identifying mankind as their greatest enemy and turning the world into a killbot hellscape. Others, slightly less alarmist, fear automation rendering vast swathes of the population literally redundant. But the most likely [...]