It has been confirmed that 46-year-old Francois Baroin will take over from Christine Lagarde as France’s finance minister. French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed the appointment yesterday. The announcement comes after Ms Lagarde became the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – the first ever woman in the role. Ms Lagarde replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn [...]
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has today confirmed John Cridland will take over the role as director general, when Richard Lambert steps down in January. Earlier this year, Mr Lambert said he would step down when his five-year term ends at the start of 2011. Mr Lambert has been with the lobby group since [...]
Banking giant Lloyds has today revealed it is shedding 420 positions at its Black Horse personal finance unit. This brings the total number of job losses to 22,000 since its merger with HBOS in autumn 2008, which resulted in 41% ownership by the taxpayer. Commenting on today’s announcement, the Unite union, said it was “appalled” [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 84% owned by the taxpayer, is set to reignite its dispute over bonuses after hiring John McIntyre. Mr McIntyre, the former Lehman Brothers banker, is a renowned figure in the City after successfully suing his former employer, Dresdner Kleinwort, for a £2 million bonus. He will join [...]
The Treasury has today announced Martin Weale will join the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Mr Weale will assume his position in time for next month’s rate-setting meeting and replaces Kate Barker after her term ended on 31 May. Consequently, the Bank’s June meeting only comprised eight members but it will resume to [...]
Tony Hobman has been appointed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to run the newly created Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB). The CFEB is aimed at enhancing consumers’ financial education and their ability to manage their finances. The newly-established CFEB comes at a time when the Government is concerned that a lack of financial knowledge [...]
Prudential has today announced it has appointed Rob Devey to head up its integration of AIA, the Asian arm of US company American International Group (AIG), which it acquired in a deal worth $35.5 billion (£23.3 billion) last month. Pru, which is Britain’s second largest insurer, said the deal provided it with the opportunity to [...]
Euroclear, which is Europe’s largest settlements group, has today announced that Tim Howell will become the group’s chief executive officer. Forty-nine-year-old Howell is currently the Global Head of HSBC Securities Services, where he is responsible for the custody, fund administration and corporate trust businesses of the HSBC Group. He has been a member of the [...]
The UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), the body which was set up a year ago to oversee taxpayers’ interests in High Street banks, has announced it has a new chief executive. A senior investment banker at UBS, Robin Budenberg, is to replace John Kingman, who is set to join NM Rothschild. Mr Budenberg was heavily [...]
Troubled buy-to-let lender, Bradford & Bingley (B&B), has confirmed that 27.8% of its new shares, which were on offer at 55p each, have been taken up by investors. Consequently, underwriters, Citigroup and UBS will have to place the remaining 597 million new shares, worth £328.3 million, by Friday. Citigroup and UBS are being supported by [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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