BANKING
TSB admits customers defrauded during IT crash
TSB has admitted that more than 1,000 of its customers had money taken from their accounts during the recent IT issues experienced by the bank. Speaking before the Treasury select committee yesterday afternoon, chief executive Paul Pester said that between 400 and 500 customers a day were leaving the lender. Mr Pester also stated that: "I believe I'm the right person to fix this problem for our customers."
Share trading revolution planned
Revolut is planning to expand its range of products with commission-free share trading. This follows its recent announcement that it now has 2m customers. Nikolay Storonsky, chief executive and founder, commented: "Brokers are charging people as much as £5 per trade and the user interfaces are typically clunky, slow and confusing for consumers… We will make investments cheap, intuitive and completely mobile, which is exactly what our audience has come to expect from us. This is another step towards our goal of building a one-stop shop where people can manage their entire financial lives."
Deutsche CFO says bank can break free from ‘vicious cycle’
Deutsche Bank chief financial officer James von Moltke has championed the bank's “tremendous inherent operating leverage” to improve the bank's fortunes.
PRIVATE EQUITY
Trott in talks over fund for the rich
As demand from wealthy families for new private equity funds continues to grow, financial adviser Byron Trott is in discussions to raise a new vehicle with a target of $9bn.
INTERNATIONAL
Anglo Irish Bank former chief executive guilty of fraud
David Drumm, Anglo Irish Bank's former chief executive, has been found guilty of fraud and will be sentenced this month. Eleanor O'Higgins, a specialist in corporate governance at University College Dublin, commented: "Anglo had a domino effect on the whole financial system. The fact that it was bailed out by the Irish people meant that there wasn't a single person who wasn't affected by it."
Credit Suisse US fine over Asia hiring practices
Credit Suisse has agreed to pay the US Department of Justice $47m over hiring practices related to referrals from government agencies in return for business and regulatory green lights in Asia between 2007 and 2013.
FCA fines India's Canara Bank
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Indian state-controlled bank Canara £896,000 after its systems were found to be not up to scratch with anti-money laundering guidelines. The FCA imposed a restriction stopping the bank from accepting deposits from new customers for 147 days.
Australia cracking down on finance
Australian authorities’ approach to financial misconduct is hardening, with six of the country's foremost bankers being charged with criminal cartel conduct, relating to a A$2.5bn equity raising by ANZ Bank.
China lenders hope for IPO approval as regulations loosen
The Chinese banking regulator is loosening its grip on share sales, with 17 lenders hoping for approval for mainland initial public offerings.
Banco BPM shares up
Banco BPM shares increased 4.4% after it was revealed to be seeking buyers for €3.5bn worth of bad loans.
AUTOMOTIVE
Profit warning at Autins Group sees shares crash
Shares in the components manufacturer Autins Group have fallen 36.5% to 52p after the firm downgraded expectations for the second half of the financial year. Adam Attwood, the company’s non-executive chairman, noted: "The investments made in the past year have enabled us to make good progress to ensure we can deliver sustainable growth. We have built a strong pipeline of quoted opportunities whilst winning good business for future year models across major targeted OEMs. This diversification across UK and Europe underpins our strategy and positions us for a bright future.”
Volvo aims to double sales by middle of next decade
Volvo plans to double its sales and increase profit margins 50% by 2025 as it expands its subscription service and increases sales to ride-hailing operators.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Intelliflo sold to Invesco
Intelliflo, a developer of software for financial and mortgage advisers, has reportedly been acquired by investment manager Invesco for £200m, with chief executive Hamish Purdey remarking: “In a comparatively short space of time, we have built one of the UK's largest pure-play software as a service businesses, and we now look forward to expanding our business, taking our leading technology into new markets.”
Alpha profits up 65%
Alpha Financial Markets Consulting says it is not seeing much impact from new regulations in the asset management sector, despite benefiting from cost pressures on asset managers in the UK. Chief executive Euan Fraser noted that the firm was advising fund houses on reducing costs instead of navigating changes to regulations.
Broker awards win for Exane BNP Paribas
Exane BNP Paribas has won in three separate categories at the annual Extel survey of brokers - best broker, best research and best sector research.
Target Global launches $100m fund
Target Global has launched a $100m (£74.7m) tech fund focusing on innovation in mobility and transportation.
HEALTHCARE
Oxford BioMedica inks $842m Parkinson’s disease deal with Axovant
Oxford BioMedica, spun out of Oxford University in 1995, has concluded a $842m deal with Axovant Sciences to commercialise the US firm’s gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT
Tech to drive UK entertainment sector growth
The UK’s entertainment and media sector is predicted to grow to £76bn over the next four years, with e-sports and virtual reality (VR), which is growing at 34% annually, as key sectors. The country's biggest E&M revenue generators will be consumer spending on internet access, set to rise from £13.7bn this year to £17bn by 2022, and advertising spend - which will account for a quarter of the sector’s total revenue at around £19bn.
REAL ESTATE
New UK property listings booming
New property listings in the UK rose 7.4% in May, according to HouseSimple, meaning May saw the highest number of new sellers list properties in any single month since before 2017. The figures show that across 100 major UK towns and cities, 73,577 new properties were marketed by estate agents in May, compared to 68,500 in April, a 7.4% increase, with London enjoying a 5.9% increase in the number of new properties on the market. Two areas in the south east experienced the biggest uplift in new stock in May - Chichester saw new listings double, up 98.3% on April, while listings were up 58.2% in Oxford.
RETAIL
Poundworld rescue hampered as Alteri pulls out
The chances of Poundworld securing a rescue deal have been damaged after Alteri Investors withdrew its interest. Owner TPG Capital is still in negotiations with other potential bidders.
ECONOMY
Higher inflation without rates increase: policymaker
Policymaker Ian McCafferty has said that interest rates should increase slowly now to keep inflation down, commenting on LBC that “If you leave it too late, we may see some pickup in inflation, which is harder to deal with. It will probably require interest rates to go up faster later on than if we put rates up now to deal with it."