Auto Trader grows sales, earnings and profit in first year as a listed company June 9, 2016 Online car selling service Auto Trader grew sales and profit in its first year as a publicly listed company The figures Revenue increased by 10 per cent to £281.6m in the 2016 financial year, up from £255.9m in 2015. Operating profit increased by 27 per cent to £169.6m, from £133.1m, and earnings per share grew [...]
Losing the EU financial services “passport” would be a disaster for the UK economy June 9, 2016 I read with real concern that the Leave campaign does not think that the “passporting” afforded by the EU is worth much to the City. “Such rubbish,” Vote Leave campaigner Andrea Leadsom called it recently. Her statement shows a tragic lack of understanding of what modern financial services need. Thanks to the EU, a UK [...]
EU rules could force Europe’s banks to raise €135bn in extra capital June 8, 2016 Banks across Europe could be forced to move nearly half a trillion euros in assets to comply with new EU financial services regulations, ratings agency Fitch has found. If EU regulators opt for the toughest new rules regarding how government debt should be classified on balance sheets, banks would need to raise another €135bn (£105bn) [...]
Challenger banks will take “years” to make money June 8, 2016 Ambitious digital challenger banks hoping to topple the big high street players will take "years" to make money according to one of the founders of a mobile bank with ambitions to do just that. Entrepreneur Tom Blomfield, founder and chief executive of the yet to launch digital bank Mondo which recently became the fastest ever crowdfunded business, told City [...]
Four of the best bank accounts: Get paid £100 just to change your current account June 8, 2016 Banks are offering customers free cash for switching their current accounts. The UK’s big four – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS – have been shaken up by the arrival of newcomers, from online-only “challenger” banks to European giants. Banks are working harder to draw customers, with several offering between £100-£200 to newcomers. “It appears free-in-credit accounts [...]
The CMA’s retail banking recommendations have been slammed by experts addressing parliament’s Treasury Select Committee June 7, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) work on the retail banking market is a failed opportunity, MPs have been told. One challenger bank boss said that the concentration risk in the market will take “decades” to unwind, speaking at a Treasury Select Committee hearing earlier today. Meanwhile, a former Competition Commission member said that the provisional recommendations issued [...]
French court orders Societe Generale to pay Jerome Kerviel €450,000 for unfair dismissal June 7, 2016 Societe Generale has today been ordered to pay €450,000 (£350,171) to former employee Jerome Kerviel on the grounds the ex-trader was unfairly dismissed, according to various reports. Kerviel has previously been found guilty for breach of trust and fraud, with his unauthorised trades losing the bank €4.9bn in 2008 in an incident that is one of the largest of its kind. The French [...]
Australia’s securities watchdog seeks civil penalties from National Australia Bank over benchmark rigging allegations June 7, 2016 National Australia Bank (NAB) found itself in the firing line today, after Australia's securities watchdog announced it would be pursuing civil penalties for alleged benchmark rigging. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has launched legal proceedings in the Federal Court in Melbourne, claiming that NAB was involved in manipulating the bank bill swap reference rate (BBSW) between 8 June 2010 [...]
Banks face a storm of new regulation in the aftermath of the EU referendum – and they’re worryingly unprepared June 7, 2016 June 24. The Brexit referendum result is in the books. Everyone wakes up dazed and wonders “what next?” The City, in particular, will have work to do. Normal politics has taken a bit of a holiday but the bureaucratic processes steadily reshaping financial services regulation have not. To give just a few examples: tax rules [...]
Tom Hayes’ crowdfunding campaign breaks £20,000 mark June 6, 2016 Tom Hayes' crowdfunding campaign is gaining pace, having recently broken the £20,000 mark. The former UBS and Citigroup trader has turned to Fundrazr in an attempt to raise £150,000 to pay towards his legal costs of appealing to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. At time of writing, the campaign had raised £21,110, having previously been stalled around the [...]