Royal Bank of Scotland mulls sale of 300 branches
19th Feb 2013 13:32
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is considering a hybrid sale of more than 300 branches to private equity firms and institutional investors, according to reports published Tuesday. The bank is devising plans to sell a minority stake in the branch network to an outside investor before trying to list the
Read moreAndrew Bailey named head of BoE's new Prudential Regulatory Authority
19th Feb 2013 13:01
Andrew Bailey was on Tuesday named Chief Executive of the new Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Bailey, who joined the Bank of England in 1985, will begin as the boss of PRA on April 1st when it replaces the Financial Services Authority (FSA) as Brita
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: RBS, BP, Nestlé...
19th Feb 2013 06:55
David Cameron has said he wants state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland to speed up restructuring and has refused to rule out giving the government's share in the bank to the public. The government owns 82pc of RBS after pumping in 45bn pounds of capital when the bank neared collapse in 2008. Speaking i
Read moreMonday broker round-up UPDATE
18th Feb 2013 08:09
AMEC: Deutsche Bank cuts target price from 1350p to 1250p and stays with its buy recommendation. HSBC lowers target price from 1225p to 1200p keeping an overweight rating. Anglo American: Deutsche Bank moves target price from 2260p to 2290p and maintains a buy recommendation. HSBC upgrades to overw
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: RBS, Bumi, easyJet
17th Feb 2013 16:03
George Osborne was yesterday said to be considering a mass giveaway of the government's shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland before the next general election. Reports suggested that taxpayers would each receive a pre-election boost of several hundred pounds under proposals being worked on by the Tre
Read moreLondon close: Barclays leads stocks higher as risk appetite increases
12th Feb 2013 17:00
Strong gains in the banking sector helped push the FTSE 100 one per cent higher on Tuesday afternoon, as markets welcomed news of a turnaround plan at UK lender Barclays. "European stock markets picked up some pace in Tuesday's session as traders upped their exposure to risk following recent weakne
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Barclays leaps after results
12th Feb 2013 15:16
UK banking group Barclays was performing well today after releasing the details of its strategic review, which includes 3,700 jobs cuts. Meanwhile, the company said that adjusted profits before tax grew 26% to £7.05bn in 2012, helped by a 46% improvement in Corporate and Investment Banking and 52%
Read moreLondon midday: Banks pull Footsie into positive territory
12th Feb 2013 11:47
Stocks had pulled into positive territory by Tuesday lunchtime helped by strength in the banking sector as full-year results and the outcome of a strategic review at Barclays were well-received by the markets. Providing some support this morning was the news that credit ratings agency Standard & Po
Read moreLondon open: Stocks flat despite banking strength
12th Feb 2013 08:28
UK stocks opened broadly flat on Tuesday morning ahead of some UK inflation data, with markets pausing for breath after a strong rise in the year to date. The FTSE 100 had a subdued day yesterday on the back of a lack of economic news and low trading volumes, partly owing to the closure of Asian ma
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Cyprus, RBS, Heathrow...
12th Feb 2013 07:03
Cyprus is likely to receive its long-awaited eurozone bailout by the end of March, according to the European Central Bank executive Jörg Asmussen, pictured. Cyprus is hoping to secure a 17.5bn euros (14.8bn pounds) bailout from other European member states, but some German politicians have been hesi
Read moreMonday newspaper round-up: Barclays, RBS, Tobacco companies...
11th Feb 2013 06:40
Barclays is preparing to cut at least two billion pounds from its annual cost base of 20bn pounds as part of a strategic overhaul to be presented by the bank on Tuesday, say bank insiders and analysts. The cuts are to focus on a retrenchment from some of Barclays' investment banking operations in As
Read moreRBS Chairman voices regrets over LIBOR scandal
7th Feb 2013 14:08
Royal Bank of Scotland's Chairman Philip Hampton said he regrets mistakes that were made on his watch in relation to LIBOR rigging. In a live question and answer session on The Guardian's website Thursday, Hampton said he accepted the full weight of charges against the bank's role in the interest
Read moreLondon close: Political uncertainty caps gains
6th Feb 2013 16:48
If in the best of times equities would find it hard going to continue advancing in the face of higher bond yields and rising energy quotes then even more so now that political uncertainty in the Eurozone, namely in Italy this time, as well as in the US is re-emerging a little. Thus, in the ear
Read moreSector Movers: Financial Services led higher by Hargreaves Lansdown
6th Feb 2013 16:20
The financial service sector was led higher by Hargreaves Lansdown on Wednesday after the company posted record revenues and profits for the second half of 2012, driven by a boost in client numbers. The FTSE 100 group said revenue was up 24% to £140.3m, while profit before tax rose 30% to £93.7m.
Read moreIt's a 'sad day' for RBS as bank accepts LIBOR-related penalties
6th Feb 2013 13:29
Royal Bank of Scotland, the 81 per cent state-owned lender, has agreed to pay LIBOR-related penalties after a report found 'serious failures in the controls and risk management systems RBS had in place'. The group agreed to pay penalties of £87.5m, $325m, and $150m to the Financial Services Authori
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