Investment banks in talks over possible merger with energy-focused boutique April 26, 2016 Investment banks Perella Weinberg and Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co are understood to be in talks over a possible merger. New York-based Perella, which recently advised Deutsche Boerse on its proposed merger with the London Stock Exchange, is the bigger of the two banks. Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co is an energy-focused boutique bank based in Houston, Texas. [...]
Mega fines for the UK banking industry might be about to end April 26, 2016 The era of multi-billion pound fines, compensation payouts and litigation charges for UK banks could be drawing to a close, one of the world's leading ratings agencies has said today. In a new report that is sure to make for welcome reading in City boardrooms, Standard and Poor's (S&P) said that 2016 will be the final [...]
Emails between staff about fixing Libor were “improper”, says former Barclays senior executive April 26, 2016 A former senior executive at Barclays has today called emails between staff at the bank about setting Libor to better suit their trading position "improper". Eric Bommensath was formerly global head of fixed income at the bank and today gave evidence in a trial against five former Barclays employees accused of offences relating to manipulating US-dollar linked [...]
Standard Chartered’s share price leaps as troubled bank begins to show signs of turnaround April 26, 2016 Standard Chartered's share price leaped more than 10 per cent today, as the beleaguered bank revealed green shoots in its turnaround plan. The figures This time three months ago, StanChart was revealing an $876m (£601bn) underlying pre-tax loss, today it has reported a profit of $539m. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, operating pre-tax profit was up 264 per [...]
There’s still more to come from UK banks’ connections to the Panama Papers, says the financial watchdog April 26, 2016 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is still looking into the link between UK banks and the so-called Panama Papers tax avoidance leaks. The financial watchdog has written to around 20 banks and other financial institutions asking about their connection to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca. The FCA gave firms a deadline of 15 April to undertake an initial review but there's still a [...]
Now we can all bank like the super-rich – as Goldman Sachs offers bank accounts to the hoi polloi April 25, 2016 Goldman Sachs might be used to dealing with the wealth of the world's highest rollers – but now you can feel just as exclusive, after the bank launched a drive for new retail bank customers. Yep – having revealed last week it had completed the acquisition of online retail bank GE Capital Bank and rebranded it as GS [...]
Warnings over number of interest-only mortgages maturing in 2016 as wave hits April 25, 2016 Up to 20,000 interest-only mortgage holders across the country could be without plans to repay their home loans when they mature this year. As many as 40,000 interest-only mortgages are set to be called in during 2016, kicking off a new wave of maturities expected to run until 2020. The high level of mortgages reaching maturity has sparked [...]
RBS and other UK banks facing first quarter earnings woe after US lenders posted a sharp drop in profit April 25, 2016 British banks are set to post first quarter profits this week that are weighed down by the rising risk of Brexit, bad debt, and poor investment banking performance. The difficult period has already dragged down profits at some the biggest US banks, though they largely managed to beat low estimates. Citibank, Goldman Sachs, Bank of [...]
Buyout firm Carlyle in talks with former Barclay’s CEO Bob Diamond for Africa arm bid April 24, 2016 Carlyle, the US buyout group, is in early stage talks with one of Bob Diamond’s investment vehicles over a bid for Barclays Africa. Diamond, who resigned as Barclays’ chief executive amid the Libor scandal, will use his New York-based investment vehicle, Atlas Merchant Capital, to jointly fundraise with Carlyle. Barclays announced last month it would [...]
Masthaven secures first retail banking licence of 2016 as challenger banks keep up the pressure on traditional groups April 21, 2016 Here's proof – if you needed it – that the rise of challenger banks continues. The government has granted its first retail banking licence of the year to Masthaven Bank – and the group is promising to "disrupt the market" with its approach to savings, mortgages and staff. Masthaven Bank received the thumbs up from the Prudential Regulation [...]