US investment bank, Jefferies, has agreed to acquire Hoare Govett, the stockbroking business of Royal Bank of Scotland. With its one hundred year history, Hoare Govett is regarded as one of the UK’s most prominent corporate brokers and the acquisition includes the firm’s entire senior broking team. In all, around 50 members of staff will [...]
The Cabinet Office has let slip that the Knighthood conferred upon Fred Goodwin as a Knight Bachelor has been cancelled and annulled. The official announcement will appear shortly in the London Gazette and the decision, not normally publicised in advance, has been taken on the advice of the little known honours Forfeiture Committee. Mr Goodwin [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS’s) share price will be watched closely today following the news that chief executive, Stephen Hester, has surrendered this year’s bonus, which amounts to almost £1 million in shares. Mr Hester has bowed to mounting political pressure including yesterday’s threat from Labour to bring an opposition day motion and put his [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is selling its aircraft leasing business to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), for around £4.7 billion. By book value, the business is the fourth largest in the sector worldwide. SMBC says it expects demand for leased commercial aircraft to continue to increase steadily on the back of growth in emerging [...]
UKFI, which oversees the taxpayer’s interest in the UK’s rescued banks, has announced that Sir David Cooksey is retiring as chairman. Chief executive, Robin Budenberg, who joined UKFI in 2010 from UBS, will become chairman in his place. Jim O’Neil, who is currently responsible for UKFI’s investments in Lloyds and RBS, will become chief executive. [...]
Heineken N.V. has confirmed that it has acquired the Galaxy Pub Estate in the UK from Royal Bank of Scotland, for £412 million. The deal is on a cash-and-debt-free basis and the brewer has paid a further £10 million to settle accrued amounts owed under an existing management agreement between RBS and Heineken. Galaxy comprises [...]
Lloyds Banking Group, RBS, UK Cards Association, Mastercard and Visa are among 26 groups to have signed up to “midata”, a government initiative that should usher in a new era of consumer empowerment. The voluntary scheme aims to give consumers increasing access to their personal data in a portable, electronic format. Businesses, consumer bodies and [...]
Moody’s has today downgraded the senior debt and deposit ratings of 12 UK financial institutions and confirmed the ratings of one. The firm says its has reassessed the support environment in the UK in the light of “announcements made” and actions already taken, which have “significantly reduced the predictability of state support over the medium [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched RBS Maze, a multi-asset capital protected five-year note linked to equities, bonds, precious metals and commodities. The note has been designed to solve the asset allocation problem resulting from today’s troubled markets, on the basis that diversifying into multiple asset classes will provide return in bull, bear and [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is launching a spot foreign exchange trading algorithm, which it says should help its clients automatically manage the gamma sensitivity associated with foreign exchange options portfolios. RBS Agile understands gamma and can be used in a variety of ways. At its simplest, it monitors the gamma of an option’s position [...]
Mortgage and savings provider, Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank (WLB) is reported to have acquired secured loan specialist, Link Loans. WLB was itself acquired by the Special Opportunities Fund of RBS Equity Finance in January, having previously been an offshoot of Manchester Building Society. At the time, RBS said it would be investing significant additional capital to [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is planning to bolster its investment banking division with new hires, The Daily Telegraph has reported. According to the newspaper, the majority taxpayer-owned bank has handed out mandates to recruitment firms and City headhunters to begin hiring staff from early next year. Last week, RBS reported a £794 million loss [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland has reported a pre-tax loss of £794 million for the six months to the end of June 2011, compared with a profit of over £1.1 billion in the same period of 2010. The result takes account of a previously announced £850 million charge for payment protection insurance claims and a £733 [...]
The US Federal Reserve Board has issued a “cease and desist order” to Royal Bank of Scotland Group and its branches in New York and Connecticut. The order requires the bank to improve oversight of its US operations, with particular reference to its risk-management practices and compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act, and anti-money laundering [...]
