Thursday newspaper round-up: BT, Barclays, HSBC

14th May 2009 06:07

BT could face a pension-fund deficit of more than £11bn, according to independent pensions expert John Ralfe. Mr Ralfe estimates that under "true market valuations" the hole in BT's pension could have ballooned to over £11bn - more than the market capitalisation of the former state-owned telecoms company, according to the Telegraph.Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan and 15 other large financial institutions filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against MBIA, claiming the bond insurer reduced its ability to pay policyholders by splitting its business in two, says the FT.The suit, which includes Barclays and HSBC of the UK as well as European banks, is the second legal challenge to MBIA's restructuring since the bond insurer in February received regulatory approval to split into two: a "good bank" business responsible for guarantees of municipal bonds and a "bad bank" that had insured structured bonds backed by mortgages and other assets. Abbey, the country's second-largest mortgage lender, will relax the lending criteria on its most popular home loans, providing a significant boost to the mortgage market. The lender, which is owned by Santander, of Spain, is lowering the minimum deposit required for its best fixed-rate deals from 40 per cent to 30 per cent, making its most competitive deals available to tens of thousands more prospective homeowners, reports the Times.Dozens of European airlines, including budget carriers Ryanair, EasyJet and Wizz Air, have caved in to demands from Brussels to improve their websites in a move that should make booking tickets online cheaper and less confusing, writes the FT.The Independent adds that Ryanair passengers face a £5 charge per flight to print out their tickets at home as part of moves to abolish check-in desks and increase revenues. The policy replaces Ryanair's practice of offering free online ticketing and charging anyone who opted for face-to-face check-in £10. A consortium led by Citigroup's infrastructure fund has been kicked out of the £1.3bn-£1.4bn bid for Gatwick, leaving just two bidders vying for control of the Sussex airport. The bid is now a fight between London City Airport-owner Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a joint-venture between Credit Suisse and General Electric; and a consortium of Manchester Airport Group, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund and Canadian infrastructure investor Borealis, reports the Telegraph.Chief executives at two of Britain's largest insurers have criticised changes to the pensions system proposed by Alistair Darling in last month's Budget, warning the move will discourage saving. Tim Breedon, chief executive of Legal & General, said the decision to scrap the higher rate of pensions tax relief for employees had complicated the existing systems and would prevent saving for their retirement. He was joined by Trevor Matthews, of Friend's Provident, who said the decision had "hindered progress towards a 'save now' culture", according to the Telegraph.