Banks

The Director of Enforcement at the Financial Services Authority, Tracey McDermott, appeared before the Andrew Tyrie and the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards to answer questions about the FSA’s strategy and approach to dealing with banks and bankers who have stepped afoul of legal standards. One of the leading concerns of Tyrie’s commission was why […]

The share price of RBS (LSE:RBS) has fallen by 20.70 today to 345.10 as it has been reported that the US government is seeking a settlement with the bank on allegations connected to the Libor scandals.  Under normal circumstances, negotiating a settlement would be a fait accompli, but there is a catch in the deal […]

The President of the European Central Bank predicts economic recovery in the third and fourth quarters of 2012. Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has argued that he foresees economic recovery for Europe “in the second part” of 2013 as a result of national government’s “extraordinary” fiscal consolidation efforts. In December the […]

Mark Carney, incoming Governor of the Bank of England, says “the next two years will be decisive” for the UK banking sector. The incoming Governor of the Bank of England has argued that the issues of “shadow banking” and banks being “too big to fail” would need to be resolved in the next two years […]

Two days ago I wrote an article about the dysfunctional culture at Barclays (LSE:BARC) that had created an atmosphere that essentially ignored the “Do the right thing” culture that I grew up in with a “Do what I say or else” culture put employees all employees at the virtual edge of a slippery slope.  In […]

In most cases where fraud and regulatory non-compliance are revealed, the press reports the story, politicians point their fingers, and the populace gets in a tizzy.  Someone loses their job, fines may be paid, the politicians are happy, and the public sleeps at night again thinking that everything is fixed.  With a little patience the […]

US banking giant Morgan Stanley report strong growth in profits. Morgan Stanley has called a strong rise in profits a “pivot point” and a sign that the bank is making “meaningful progress”. The bank reported a net profit of $481m between October and December 2012, a result of a 37% increase in revenue to $7.5bn. […]

Trading in HMV stock suspended on the London Stock Exchange ahead of HMV Group appointing administrators. Troubled UK retailer entertainment HMV (LSE:HMV) has announced it will appoint administrators Deloitte after being “unable to reach a position where it feels able to continue to trade outside of insolvency protection”. In recent days suppliers, including major music […]

BBC reported today that Royal Bank of Scotland plc (LSE:RBS) (NYSE:RBS) is now in the final stage of negotiations as to how much fine it will pay over its alleged participation in the London Inter-Bank Offer Rates or LIBOR, which may also claim one executive’s seat at the bank. According to Robert Peston, BBC’s Business […]

That’s right.  UBS is “too arrogant” and “corrupted.”  Hold on now.  We didn’t say that (yet). It was UBS CEO Andrea Orcel who said that UBS and other major banks have been “too arrogant.”  The other was that financial guru, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who called the bank a “corrupted” organization.  Wow!  What a surprise! […]