BANKING
Deutsche confirms John Cryan exit
Deutsche Bank has confirmed that chief executive John Cryan will be replaced by Christian Sewing, head of the bank's retail division, at the end of this month. The FT's Lex column suggests that Mr Sewing's wealth of experience as a risk manager will serve him well in the role, while the paper's Olaf Storbeck sees his appointment as "a strengthening of the lender’s Frankfurt headquarters as the company’s power base". Meanwhile, the Mail claims that in a memo to staff, Mr Sewing warned that changes in the corporate and investment arm of the bank are coming.
New Bank of England cyber standards expected by summer
Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank of England and head of the Prudential Regulation Authority, has said that Britain’s financial system is “under almost constant cyber-attack”, revealing plans to introduce new standards for firms operating in the sector. Meanwhile, the FCA is to publish a review of cryptocurrencies in the third quarter of this year. In its latest business plan, the regulator noted: “We will work with the Bank of England and the Treasury as part of a taskforce to develop thinking and publish a discussion paper later this year outlining our policy thinking on cryptocurrencies.”
Beverley aims to deliver personal service
As increasing numbers of lenders close rural branches, Beverley Building Society’s chief executive, Karl Elliott has commented: “While the society, which has just one branch, could not justify an investment in more bricks and mortar facilities, it is investigating the possibility of working with partners to establish 'pop-up' facilities so people in East Yorkshire can access a face-to-face service and get the help they need near where they live.”
PRIVATE EQUITY
Angel investors for furniture startup
Furniture startup Eporta has secured $8m (£5.7m) in funding from venture capital firms and angel investors including Canvas Ventures, LocalGlobe, Oxford Capital Partners, Talis Capital and Samos Ventures.
INTERNATIONAL
Veteran banker named head of HSBC Asia belt and road programme
HSBC’s Malaysia CEO Mukhtar Hussain has been appointed to the newly-created position of head of belt and road initiative in Asia Pacific, to address China’s goal of creating a new Silk Road to improve trade. The Mail reports, meanwhile, that under new chief executive John Flint and chairman Mark Tucker, HSBC is to try to reduce internal bureaucracy while increasing investment in China, extending from the country’s southern region.
StanChart says no Permata decision yet
Standard Chartered has said no decision regarding its holding in Indonesia's Bank Permata has been taken, after claims were made in a newspaper report that a team led by Farallon Capital Management is seeking a 44.56% stake in the lender.
AUTOMOTIVE
Uber acquires Jump
Uber has acquired bike-sharing start-up firm Jump for an undisclosed amount. Based in New York, Jump allows riders to rent electric-powered “pedal assist” bikes via an online platform. Uber, which already has a tie-up with Jump in San Francisco, said it would now look to “scale” the bikes globally.
AVIATION
Lufthansa cancels flights
Lufthansa was forced to cancel 800 flights yesterday as discontent among Europe's workers spreads to Germany. The airline has axed half of its 1,600 scheduled flights, affecting 90,000 passengers. Workers are staging the walkout ahead of pay talks, following similar action in France.
Rolls-Royce offloads fuel division L’Orange for £610m
Rolls-Royce has sold fuel division L’Orange for £610m to US engineering firm Woodward. L’Orange has factories in the US and China as well as Germany, with sales of €244m (£213m) in 2017.
CONSTRUCTION
Bank boost of £300m for Persimmon
Persimmon’s five-strong lender base has authorised an extension to £300m of facilities. The housebuilder noted that the facilities were an "important element in providing support to the group's working capital flexibility".
FINANCIAL SERVICES
With focus on Brexit, FCA scales back other operations
The FCA has dipped into its other budgets to increase its spending on Brexit-related activity to £30m, according to its latest business plan. The regulator’s chief executive Andrew Bailey commented: “The high level of resource we need to dedicate... inevitably affects the amount of work we can undertake in other areas”. The FCA’s last business plan detailed a total of only £2.5m spent on Brexit. The amount is likely to increase still further, as the FCA implements a new regulatory framework for the post-Brexit period.
Rathbones’ £200m takeover plan for Speirs & Jeffrey
Rathbone Brothers is considering the £200m purchase of stockbroker Speirs & Jeffrey, with private equity house Permira also rumoured to be mulling a bid.
Brexit openness urged by hedge funds
The Alternative Investment Management Association, a trade body for hedge funds and other alternative asset managers, has urged that the UK should allow EU fund managers post-Brexit access to British-based clients, despite the lack of a reciprocal arrangement.
UBS to keep equities research data feeds private
UBS is to stop the practice of sending its equities research data feeds to external data providers as it seeks to protect its intellectual property value.
MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY
One Media IP to work with former BBC and Pinewood Studies chiefs
Intellectual rights firm One Media IP has appointed former BBC chief Lord Michael Grade and ex-Pinewood Studios head Ivan Dunleavy non-executive director and non-executive chairman respectively.
REAL ESTATE
Buyer confidence falling amid flat market
UK house prices hit a new high last month, according to the Halifax, which said prices in March rose 1.5% to £227,871. Prices slipped by 0.1% from the previous quarter to December however and Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, noted mortgage approvals are down compared with 12 months ago, with sales remaining flat.
ECONOMY
FCA warns on rate increase
The FCA has cautioned that British families have accumulated huge debts in the low interest rate era, noting in its annual business plan that: "While interest rates are expected to remain low, a gradual increase in interest rates could have a detrimental impact on consumers who carry high levels of debt".
OTHER
Investors must pay closer attention to cyber threat
Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, has said that investors should insist on more information from firms regarding their strategies for combatting cybercrime. Mr Martin commented: “Institutional investors play an extremely powerful role in assessing many risks in companies, but that is not the same for cyber risks.”