Tidjane Thiam will be replaced by Mike Wells as Prudential chief exec May 1, 2015 Prudential has found its successor for departing chief executive Tidjane Thiam – and they haven't had to look too far. Mike Wells, head of the company's US arm Jackson National Life, will step into the role vacated by the popular Thiam, who is leaving to head up Credit Suisse. The 55-year-old will replace a resoundingly popular [...]
General Election 2015: A Labour-led government would be best for company pension deficits May 1, 2015 A labour-led government after the General Election would be best for employers struggling with pension scheme deficits, as the ensuing uncertainty would inject some upward momentum into bond yields and narrow funding gaps. Final salary pension schemes give retirees a guaranteed level of income regardless of movements in the stock market, as well as any changes [...]
RBS in the red as mega-fines for PPI mis-selling and forex-rigging wipe out profit April 30, 2015 RBS could be on-track to pay a dividend if its turnaround continues, its chief executive said yesterday, as the bank’s underlying profitability improved in the first quarter of 2015. But it made another loss, this time of £446m, as it struggles through its restructuring, and set aside another £856m to cover legal costs and [...]
When raiders strike: Are US activist investors in City boardrooms a force for good or a costly nuisance? April 30, 2015 When US investor Nelson Peltz walks into a boardroom carrying a piece of paper you know there’s going to be trouble. Peltz, best known in the UK for bouncing Cadbury’s into a series of spin-outs and mergers, has a tried and tested tactic for effecting change: meet a chief executive, present him with a [...]
Returning Liberum mum finds some sympathy for the dads April 30, 2015 THE CAPITALIST would like to doff its hat to all the City fathers who leave home before dawn to make the grinding, delay-riddled, coffee and sweat-soiled commute into town. The long-hours culture often means that “many only get to see their kids for 15 minutes, maybe, in the morning and half an hour before bedtime,” says [...]
Saga investors rewarded with 4.1p dividend as insurer posts 9.6pc jump in pre-tax profit April 30, 2015 Specialist insurer Saga posted a 9.6 per cent jump in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 January 2015, up to £195.5m from £178.3m the year before. The company, which targets the over-50 market, failed to live up to expectations when it listed on the London Stock Exchange in May last year. It floated [...]
Troubled Barclays braced for famously tough incoming new chairman John McFarlane April 29, 2015 It is hard to keep a straight face when calling PPI compensation and litigation costs “one-offs” at any of the big banks nowadays. Yet seven years on from the start of the financial crisis, Barclays and the other big banks are still treating the extraordinary costs as unusual items each quarter. Yesterday Barclays [...]
HSBC looking for greener pastures should not surprise April 29, 2015 The sandwiches and coffee were standard fare at HSBC’s annual meeting. But it took mere minutes for political red herrings to be added to the menu. Take the bank’s confirmation it is reviewing its headquarters’ location. Labour’s attempt to blame HSBC’s action on a Conservative-inspired EU referendum was misguided, but inevitable. Douglas [...]
Standard Life stands tall amid pension reform April 29, 2015 STANDARD Life’s assets under administration rose by five per cent to £311.9bn in the first quarter, as the savings and assets manager flexed its muscle in the face of new UK laws allowing savers to cash in their pension annuities. Third party net inflows of £3.7bn – 73 per cent of which came from outside [...]
City Moves for 30 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 29, 2015 ADS Securities London The brokerage has appointed Marco Baggioli as chief operating officer. He was previously global head of FX prime brokerage at BNP Paribas. Baggioli has over 23 years’ experience in the sector, and has also held roles at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, and MonteTitoli. Michelmores The law firm has appointed Patrick [...]