Contracts for difference: What are they and what’s the FCA’s problem with them? December 6, 2016 It's been a tumultuous day so far for spreadbetting firms after financial regulators announced plans to clamp down on the retail trading of contracts for differences (CFD) products. Platform investors ran for the hills in the wake of the news: the likes of IG Markets, Plus 500 and CMC Markets have had between a quarter and [...]
US regulators have been much harsher than their UK counterparts while European authorities have been even kinder… December 5, 2016 US regulators have slapped fines on banks at four times the level imposed by their UK counterparts in connection with interest rate and foreign exchange manipulation. A total of 12 banks have been fined $9.8bn (£7.7bn) by US authorities over the last four and a half years. This compares with £2bn imposed on 11 lenders by UK authorities. [...]
Overseas banks miss out on bid to be excluded from banking levy scope December 5, 2016 Overseas banks have failed in their bid to be taken outside the scope of the UK's banking levy, a government consultation has revealed. The document, which was published today, noted various consultation submissions from foreign banks had asked government if it would reconsider the rules so the levy was on assessed on the balance sheets [...]
Too big to fail banks are a global affair, says Bank of England’s Sir Jon Cunliffe December 5, 2016 Handling too big to fail banks is a worldwide issue, particularly given the number of lenders which trade cross-border, a key Bank of England figure has said today. Writing for the European Economy online journal, Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank, said international cooperation to create response plans for the failure of one of [...]
Italian banks fall as Monte dei Paschi’s future hangs in the balance following Matteo Renzi’s resignation December 5, 2016 Most people aren't out of bed yet, but it's already a dramatic morning for Italy's troubled lenders, who are facing more uncertainty following the result of the country's referendum. The FTSE Italia all-share banks index was down 4.3 per cent in early trading in the country after the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi threatened another setback in [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland reaches £800m settlement deal with three shareholder groups December 5, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland has reached a settlement with three out of five shareholder groups involved in claims relating to a rights issue the bank carried out during the financial crisis. RBS said today that it has concluded a "full and final" settlement with three of the groups, representing around 77 per cent of the [...]
ECB set to unleash more firepower in December meeting December 5, 2016 The European Central Bank is widely expected to extend its quantitative easing programme by six months at its next policy meeting on Thursday, amid ongoing political risk and stubbornly low inflation. The bank is largely expected to keep the size of its monthly bond purchases unchanged beyond its current end date of March 2017, at [...]
Retail shareholders hold out for better deal in RBS lawsuit December 4, 2016 A subset of shareholders suing RBS over how it handled a financial crisis fundraising are holding out for a better deal, despite other investors closing in on an out of court offer. Shareholders are currently due to face off against the bank in court next March, claiming the lender misled them into taking part in a 2008 [...]
Italian banks still struggling along as country heads to the polls December 4, 2016 Italian lenders have been scrambling to bolster their position as the country heads to the polls today to vote in its constitution-changing referendum. The country's banks, which are burdened with some €360bn (£301.5bn) in non-performing loans between them, have been suffering for some time and there are concerns a 'No' vote could send more unwanted shocks [...]
Europe will suffer if Brussels shuts Canada out of EU markets December 2, 2016 Benjamin Franklin once said that “you may delay, but time will not”. With Article 50 to be triggered before the end of March pending the Supreme Court ruling, how much more time can Westminster and Brussels policy-makers really afford to spend on political rhetoric? Can we really ignore warnings from European officials that UK plans to [...]
