US prosecutors could revoke settlements in currency-rigging investigations
17th Mar 2015 15:58
The US Justice Department is considering revoking years-old settlements to open fresh probes into banks alleged to have rigged interest rates. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, prosecutors could decide to scrape the agreements with each lenders, if they're found guilty of having committed cri
Read moreRBS facing US banking trial over mortgage-backed securities
13th Mar 2015 14:11
Royal Bank of Scotland has been taken to court in the US as part of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) litigious campaign to recover part of the losses arising during the credit crunch. Seeking to recoup at least $1bn, the US regulator has accused Nomura and RBS, as sponsor and underwriter
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Astrazeneca soars on new diabetes research, RBS higher on upgrade
12th Mar 2015 14:00
AstraZeneca topped the risers as it committed $40m to backing phase 2a trials for a new diabetes drug - a form of long-acting insulin that only needs to be administered once week. Glaxosmithkline was boosted by news it plans to sell approximately half of its 12.4% stake in Aspen Pharmacare Holdings.
Read moreLondon midday: Commodity rebound boosts markets, TSB surges on M&A
12th Mar 2015 11:59
Strong gains from mining and oil stocks and M&A activity in the banking sector gave UK markets a big lift on Thursday morning, with the FTSE 100 trading nearly 1% higher by lunchtime. Resource shares were on the rise as commodity prices rebounded after recent falls, while positive Chinese bank lendi
Read moreBroker tips: RBS, Morrisons, ASOS
12th Mar 2015 11:40
Investec has raised its stance on RBS from 'sell' to 'hold' following an 11% drop in the shares since the bank's annual results on 26 February. Following the results, the broker now forecasts RBS to record an eight successive attributable loss in 2015, predicting a loss of £0.9bn. It had previously
Read moreInvestec upgrades RBS to 'hold' after recent weakness
12th Mar 2015 10:41
Investec has raised its stance on UK banking group RBS from 'sell' to 'hold' following a recent drop in the shares over the last few weeks. Analyst Ian Gordon said RBS has "duly delivered a useful 11% correction since its 2014 results on 26 February which triggers an upgrade from 'sell' to 'hold'."
Read moreUK government would not rush to sell RBS stake under Labour
11th Mar 2015 16:27
Under Labour, the British government would gradually sell its ownership of state-controlled bank the Royal Bank of Scotland, in order to return taxpayers' money, said shadow Chancellor Ed balls. RBS was rescued with a £45bn state funded bailout during the 2008 financial crisis and the government ret
Read moreMorgan Stanley expects UK bank capital ratios to rise further to meet regulatory standards
9th Mar 2015 17:41
US heavyweight banking titan Morgan Stanley took note of the rising capital demands for UK banks in its latest note to clients and now expects that over 13% of Common Tier Equity 1 (CTE1) ratios to become the new baseline for the sector. "We see more evidence that the seemingly relentless march upwa
Read moreLondon close: Greek concerns send UK stocks to three-week low
9th Mar 2015 17:01
UK stocks fell on Monday, dropping to their lowest in three weeks, as renewed concerns about Greece weighed on sentiment. London's FTSE 100 finished down 0.51% at 6,876.47 by the end of trading on the back of losses in the real estate and construction sectors. The index has not closed below this lev
Read moreBoE says size of investment banks leaves them vulnerable to risks
9th Mar 2015 16:53
With trading assets of 10 of the largest investment banks in the UK summing to more than £5trn, the sheer scale of these operations means that liquidity in financial markets can be vulnerable to the failure of a single firm. That was the message of the Bank of England's (BoE) latest quarterly bullet
Read moreOsborne plans "quick" sale of RBS stake
6th Mar 2015 08:28
UK chancellor George Osborne said he wants to sell off the government's stake in Royal Bank of Scotland "as quickly as we can" after the general election. If the Conservatives retain power, Osborne said he aimed to complete the sale of the 79% holding built up from the £45bn staged state bailout in
Read moreFriday newspaper round-up: RBS, Defence spending, Fed stress tests
6th Mar 2015 06:40
Chancellor George Osborne said he would like to proceed "as quickly as we can to get rid of" the government's stake in RBS, writes the Financial Times. However, he said that the size of stake was "massive" and the sell-down of shares could take years to complete. Whitehall sources have warned that t
Read moreSector movers: StanChart and Barclays give banks a boost
4th Mar 2015 14:53
Decent gains from the likes of Standard Chartered and Barclays drove the UK banking sector higher on Wednesday. Emerging markets-focused lender Standard Chartered was rising 4.3% in afternoon trade despite announcing that adjusted pre-tax profits in 2014 dropped 25% to $5.2bn as operating income fel
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Banks rebound, British Land boosted by acquisition
2nd Mar 2015 13:18
Banking stocks such as Barclays and RBS topped the risers as share prices rebounded after a weak outing last week following some poorly-received annual results. 2014 figures from Barclays, the last UK lender to report, are due out on Tuesday. Intertek, the product testing and certification outfit, w
Read moreLondon midday: Investors take profits after FTSE hits fresh intraday record
2nd Mar 2015 11:41
After a bright start, UK stocks dropped into the red by Monday lunchtime as investors assessed a raft of economic data and took profits after markets reached new record highs. The FTSE 100 was down 0.01% at 6,945.68 by midday, erasing gains after rising to a new intraday all-time high of 6,974.26 in
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