Is “Londonograd” hiding a culture of dirty tricks in banking? January 11, 2021 | Sponsored A legal dispute is coming to a head concerning an alleged banking fraud committed during the sale in 2016 of Vivacom the largest Bulgarian telecoms company. Vivacom, the largest Bulgarian telecoms company, was sold in August 2016 by VTB Capital Plc (“VTBC”), a UK-based investment subsidiary of the Russian state-owned VTB Bank, in a pledge [...]
Regulator urges firms ‘don’t delay’ as the end is nigh for Libor January 11, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has again reminded firms they must complete their transfer away from the Libor benchmark interest rate this year. The city watchdog said firms had just one year left to remove their remaining reliance on these benchmarks. Libor, or the London Interbank Offered Rate, is an interest rate benchmark used in [...]
Revolut applies for UK banking license January 11, 2021 Revolut has applied for a UK banking licence, which would allow it to provide customers full service current accounts and products like overdrafts, loans and deposit accounts. A UK license would also mean customers had the security of protection of up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s lifeboat fund. Revolut [...]
Investors to push HSBC to pull out of fossil fuel investments January 10, 2021 A group of investors is reportedly urging banking giant HSBC to reduce its financing of fossil fuels such as coal. According to the Sunday Times, the coalition, which includes European fund manager Amundi and London-listed hedge fund Man Group, is aiming to table a resolution on the issue at April’s AGM. The campaign is being [...]
Deutsche Bank agrees to pay more than $87m over bribery charges January 8, 2021 Deutsche Bank will reportedly pay more than $87m to settle bribery charges as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice. The case, which alleges the bank broke US anti-bribery and commodities trading laws, was brought before federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Friday. The German lender agreed to the settlement as [...]
Brexit: BoE boss hits out at EU stance on equivalence for UK financial services January 6, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has slammed the EU for how it has handled decisions on the UK’s post-Brexit access to EU financial markets. Bailey told a Westminster committee today that Brussels’ demands to the UK Treasury on potential future regulatory decisions were “problematic”, before adding: “I fail to see why people would want [...]
Data-hungry fintech firms urge FCA to ‘break’ banks this year January 2, 2021 A coalition of London startups is calling on the Financial Conduct Authority to end the dominance of banking institutions over the use of consumer data this year. The firms argue it would increase competition in the savings, credit, mortgages and pensions markets. The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), an advocacy group that represent a [...]
Exclusive – Bank of America’s diversity chief urges City firms to ‘do more’ in 2021 January 1, 2021 Canada and the government recently launched a joint taskforce in order to tackle the lack of class diversity in the UK’s financial services sector as it is often argued the Square Mile needs to do better at diversity and inclusion. So will there be a step change in 2021? Morning Wire sat [...]
Wall Street and FTSE surge as US stimulus and Brexit deal lift sentiment December 29, 2020 Wall Street hit fresh highs and the FTSE 100 posted strong gains today as investor confidence mounts in the final days of the year. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones were up 0.49 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively as markets opened this afternoon. The Nasdaq also gained 0.42 per cent. Read more: Wall [...]
Brexit: Top law firm says Canada won’t get a quick EU financial services deal December 29, 2020 One of the world’s largest law firms has heaped doubt on claims by the UK that it can negotiate a post-Brexit financial services settlement with the EU within the next three months. US firm Baker McKenzie – the fourth largest law firm in the world by revenue and the top firm for multinational mergers and [...]