Standard Chartered prepares for potential $1bn sanctions penalty April 8, 2019 Standard Chartered is expected to cough up more than $1bn (£770m) as it settles with US authorities over sanctions-busting claims. The payment could be agreed as early as tomorrow morning, sources told Reuters. Read more: Standard Chartered to build new virtual bank in Hong Kong It would be the culmination of a years-long investigation into [...]
Sanjeev Gupta launches Commonwealth Trade Bank with one eye on Brexit April 8, 2019 British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is set to launch a new bank to support trade with Commonwealth countries as Britain nears its exit from the European Union. The businessman will set up the Commonwealth Trade Bank from the framework of Diamond Bank UK, which he bought today from Diamond Bank PLC of Nigeria. Read more: Gupta [...]
Santander and Barclays face lawsuits over film financing schemes April 8, 2019 Santander and Barclays are facing lawsuits from investors in failed film financing schemes. Santander could be sued for the role of legacy bank Alliance & Leicester’s role in part-funding the Imagine film financing scheme while Barclays is beng targeted over a similar scheme known as Timeless Releasing. Read more: HSBC sued for £150m in relation [...]
Freshfields to be investigated by legal regulator over review into UBS rape allegations April 8, 2019 Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is being investigated by the legal regulator over its review into rape allegations at UBS. The City law firm was called in to conduct an independent review after a former trainee graduate alleged she was raped by a colleague nearly 20 years her senior. Read more: Former graduate [...]
MPs call for investigation into Lloyds ‘cover up’ of HBOS fraud April 8, 2019 MPs have urged city regulators to investigate Lloyds Bank executives over an alleged “cover up” of fraud at its HBOS unit in Reading. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on fair business banking has called for a probe into whether bosses, including chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio, breached corporate governance and conduct rules. It comes after a separate [...]
Mortgage and investment platform Lendinvest secures £200m funding from HSBC April 8, 2019 Mortgage marketplace and property investment platform Lendinvest has secured up to £200m in funding from HSBC in order to launch its home loan product this year. The new funding will allow the London-based firm, which launched in 2008, to enter the regulated home loan market for the first time as it targets becoming a whole-of-market [...]
Activist investor Ed Bramson hits back at Barclays and ramps up pursuit for seat on the board April 8, 2019 Activist investor Ed Bramson has launched another attack on Barclays’ investment bank as he urged shareholders to give him a seat on the board. Bramson, whose investment vehicle Sherborne Investors holds a 5.5 per cent stake, issued a plea to shareholders ahead of a crunch vote on his bid to become a director next month. [...]
Jury discharged in trial of senior Barclays executives accused of financial crisis fraud April 8, 2019 The jury in the trial of four former senior Barclays executive accused of fraud for their part in a financial crisis-era emergency fundraising was discharged today. The high-profile case marks the first time senior bankers have faced court in a case related to the 2008-09 financial crash. In October the High Court quashed an attempt by [...]
Barclays plugs $6m into London financial tech startup Simudyne April 8, 2019 Financial simulation technology firm Simudyne will today announce the close of a $6m (£4.6m) series A funding round, led by Barclays. Early Snap and Lyft investor Graphene Ventures also joined the round, alongside Gauss Ventures which has previously backed digital banks Revolut and Tandem. The round raises Simudyne’s total amount of investment to date to [...]
FTSE 100 ends week strong with biggest gain in two months April 6, 2019 The FTSE 100 ended the week strongly as it gained 0.61 per cent during Friday's session and saw its biggest weekly increase for two months. The index continued its six-month high, outshining its European peers despite the on-going Brexit saga. Optimism grew early on as US President Donald Trump said a deal to end the US-China [...]