Financial services firm Merriman Curhan Ford has announced it has hired a quartet of senior investment bankers to help bolster its investment banking platform. Andy Arno was formerly CEO of Unterberg Capital LLC and becomes vice chairman of the investment bank and head of capital markets advisory. Previously he served as a managing director with [...]
Payments services association, APACS, has announced that the UK’s cheque guarantee scheme will end on 30th June 2011. Agreement has been reached between the 24 banks and building societies that subscribe to the scheme, introduced in the 1960s, meaning that it will no longer be possible to guarantee a cheque using a plastic card after [...]
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has a won a pair of awards at the 17th China International Financial Services Exhibition. The ICBC, which this year became the largest bank in the world with the globe’s biggest profits, won the prizes for Distinguished Financial Product Award and Distinguished Financial Brand Award for its [...]
Australian banking firm Westpac Group has announced that Ilana Atlas, People group executive, is to step down from the firm in December of this year. Westpac will shortly commence an external search for a suitable replacement. Atlas joined the firm as group secretary and general counsel nine years ago, and for the last six has [...]
The Governor of the Bank of England has described the UK’s banks as “not in good shape”. The remark was made by Mervyn King while speaking to Newcastle-based newspaper, The Journal, during a two day visit to England’s North East. Mr King also warned that it will be a “long time” before banks’ balance sheets [...]
The Prime Minister has sided with consumers over the High Court case regarding banks’ charges for unauthorised overdrafts. The test case brought by the Office of Fair Trading to establish the legality of the charges is currently bogged down in an appeal by the banks, while over one million individuals and businesses wait for their [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said it is pleased to note that people are more satisfied with their mortgage lender than they were a year ago. The body was referring to a recent survey from Which? Money, which shows average customer satisfaction rising from 58% this time last year, to 62%. The CML [...]
Crédit Agricole Suisse has announced the appointment of Youssef Dib as the new head of Private Banking. Dib brings with him over a quarter of a century of experience in finance and banking, and during his career has worked in cities across the globe including New York, Paris, Hong Kong and Geneva. He has worked [...]
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has made it clear that “the party is over” as far as banks are concerned. Speaking to the BBC before departing for the G20 summit, Alistair Darling said he wants limits on City bonuses and new rules to allow bonuses to be clawed back where losses are made later in [...]
Deutsche Bank has named Guy Ashton as the new head of Equity Research, Asia Pacific. Presently he is a member of the Global Equity Trading Executive Committee and head of Research, EMEA with Deutsche Bank. Earlier in his career Ashton worked for HSBC as head of Asia Research, later becoming head of European Research. He [...]
Russian firm Sberbank has released its financial results for the first eight months of 2009. Before provisions the firm saw operating income rise by 32.3% compared to the first eight months of 2008. Net interest income was up 42.7% with net fee and commission income rising by 5.8%. The bank also managed to cut its [...]
In a speech to the Ai Africa Investor Conference at the New York Stock Exchange Dr. James Mwangi, Equity Bank Chief Executive Officer, has stated that the vast economic potential of Africa remains largely untapped. Dr. Mwangi called upon investors to take advantage of investment opportunities in Africa, adding that the continent was not affected [...]
Wells Fargo & Company has announced that Chairman Dick Kovacevich will relinquish his position as both chairman and director at the end of the year. Kovacevich has been with the firm for over two decades and agreed to hold the post of chairman on an interim basis in November last year. In accordance with the [...]
A report from the EU consumer commissioner has accused retail banks of letting down their customers. Among a number of misdemeanours, banks have been called to account for producing information for consumers that is incomprehensible and having fee structures that are opaque, rather than transparent. According to Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, only 9% of current account [...]
Financial Services Authority (FSA) chief, Lord Turner, has described the banking system as now “stable”. However, the FSA chair has reiterated that banks cannot go back to “business as usual” and that radical change is needed. Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s City Banquet last night, he stated: “Even indeed if the path of growth, unemployment [...]
Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research has announced the appointment of Michael Hanson as a senior US economist. He is to be based in New York and will report directly to Ethan Harris, head of North America Economics at Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research. He was formerly an economist with the Federal Reserve Board [...]
Deutsche Bank has announced it is strengthening its Global Markets division with a quartet of hires in Global Prime Finance. John Egan is appointed to the post of director, and joins from the Och-Ziff Capital Management where he led the North America Portfolio Finance group. Egan will head up the new Securities Lending Special Situations [...]
Investment bank Brewin Dolphin has criticised measures in the Budget which amend and complicate the rules on ISAs. The overall annual ISA limit has been raised from £7,200 to £10,200, with £5,100 available for a Cash ISA or the full £10,200 for a Stocks and Shares ISA. However, Brewin Dolphin has criticised Chancellor Alistair Darling’s [...]
