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Daily News Roundup: Tuesday, 10th December 2019

Posted: 10th December 2019

BANKING

HSBC reshuffles top team ahead of restructuring

HSBC interim chief executive Noel Quinn has made some management changes ahead of a restructuring in February. The lender reported a 24% fall in Q3 net profit in October - a performance Quinn described as “not acceptable”. Marc Moses, HSBC’s chief risk officer, will be replaced by Pam Kaur, head of wholesale market and credit risk next month; chief operating officer Andy Maguire will retire in January and be succeeded by John Hinshaw, a former Hewlett Packard executive, and Samir Assaf is to step down as head of the investment banking division. Georges Elhedery, who runs the bank’s markets business, and Greg Guyett, head of banking, will replace Assaf as co-heads. The Mail’s Alex Brummer is impressed with Quinn saying it is “hard to see how the board can overlook Quinn when it comes to making a permanent choice.”

Gilinski Bacal grows stake in Metro

Jaime Gilinski Bacal has boosted his stake in Metro Bank to 6.1% with the Columbian billionaire now the lender’s largest shareholder. Investec analyst Ian Gordon said the move makes a transaction of some description, relating to assets such as loan books, very possible.

Worrying signs that a great global deregulation has begun

The FT’s Patrick Jenkins compiles a series of indicators he says combine to point to a risk that global consensus on banking regulation could break down.

PRIVATE EQUITY

Australia’s Carsales.com joins groups circling Scout24’s auto unit

Hellman & Friedman, Apax Partners and Permira have been joined by Australia's Carsales.com in showing interest in buying the car trading business of Germany's Scout24.

INTERNATIONAL

Morgan Stanley to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide

Roughly 1,500 jobs are to be cut worldwide by Morgan Stanley with a focus on the bank’s technology and operations division. Investment banking, wealth management and trading will also see job losses.

New Swedbank chief reviews culture amid money-laundering woes

Jens Henriksson, the new CEO of Swedbank, has launched a probe into its culture and revamped top management as the lender faces money laundering investigations in US, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia.

Deutsche to cut €100m from domestic retail banking unit

Deutsche Bank is to merge the legal entity running its retail banking operations back into the group structure in a move CEO Christian Sewing hopes will save the bank roughly €100m in annual costs.

Wirecard’s singular approach to counting cash

The FT takes a look at German fintech firm Wildcard and allegations the firm used suspect accounting methods to boost its balance sheet.

AUTOMOTIVE

JLR sales fall 3.4% year-on-year in November

Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover suffered a 3.4% fall in retail sales in November despite improving performance in China and the US. Sales were up 29% year-on-year in China and 4.9% in North America. However, sales in the UK were down 10.8%. Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover’s CCO commented: “Land Rover continues to perform well overall, with a very rich mix of models.”

AVIATION

Bradley joins easyJet

Catherine Bradley is to join easyJet as a non-executive director starting on January 1. Ms Bradley also serves on the boards of Johnson Electric and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority.

CONSTRUCTION

Guy Hands eyeing Kier Living

Guy Hands's Terra Firma Capital Partners has made a bid for Kier Living - the housebuilding arm of struggling construction firm Kier, which has suffered an 80% decline in value over the past year. Kier Property, Kier’s investment and development arm, is also up for sale, with US private equity firm Lone Star said to be interested.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Investors pull millions from UK property funds

Investors shaken by the suspension of withdrawals from the M&G property fund have pulled nearly £100m from similar investments in the subsequent two days. Other UK property funds saw withdrawals of £61m on Thursday and £36m on Friday, according to funds transaction network Calastone. Meanwhile, Morningstar has said that a net £30.8m was pulled from the Aberdeen UK Property fund on Friday. Writing in the Times, Patrick Hosking suggests it is time to rethink the regulation of funds following events at M&G and Woodford. He says the accountability of funds to their ultimate owners needs a drastic rethink, and adds that funds need to disclose much more, much earlier.

SMCR extended to 47,000 financial services firms

The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR) was yesterday extended to include asset managers, IFAs and hedge fund managers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The SMCR was introduced three years ago covering banks and insurers and is designed to hold senior managers accountable for failings on their watch. DLA Piper partner Michael McKee said the implementation of SMCR “will not seem like a step change at first” for many firms. “However, the challenges associated with the SMCR come from the change in supervisory expectations on boards and senior managers and in the impact of enforcement action – when this is taken,” he added.

Amigo Loans founder returns to the fold

The chief executive and chairman of Amigo Loans have said they will quit the struggling subprime lender after a boardroom shake-up saw the return of colourful founder James Benamor. CEO Hamish Paton and chairman Stephan Wilcke will walk away from the group through an “orderly and staged process” at some point next year, the firm said. Another board member, pay committee chairman Clare Salmon, will also leave.

Kingsbridge up for sale after talks break down

Gloucestershire-based Kingsbridge, which specialises in cover for workers in the so-called gig economy, is up for sale again after talks with US insurer Gallagher failed.

New CFO at Provident Financial

Provident Financial has hired Neeraj Kapur as its new CFO. Mr Kapur, who holds the same role at specialist lender Secure Trust, will replace Simon Thomas.

HEALTHCARE

Sanofi buys cancer-focused biotech and targets key growth areas

French drugmaker Sanofi is to shift its focus from research into diabetes and heart disease to areas such as oncology, rare diseases and immunology in an effort to combat falling revenues.

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY

Virgin Galactic shares rocket

Morgan Stanley’s suggestion that Virgin Galactic’s hypersonic technology could transform the travel market sent the company’s shares up 15% in US trading yesterday.

REAL ESTATE

Edinburgh leads £1m-plus home sales

The number of homes sold for over £1m has risen by almost one-quarter in Scotland, with high-end transactions increasing at a faster rate than the rest of the UK. According to figures released by the Bank of Scotland, almost 100 houses sold for £1m or more in Scotland in the first half of 2019, a rise of 21% compared to the year before. The increase can be directly linked to the number of six-figure properties sold in Edinburgh, up by 41% in the first half of 2019, accounting for 66% of all million-pound houses sold in Scotland. Across the UK as a whole sales of £1m-plus houses rose by just 5%.

RETAIL

M&S shares rise after Goldman Sachs backing

Shares in Marks & Spencer increased by nearly 4% after Goldman Sachs issued a “buy” rating, from its previous “sell” recommendation, following improvement in the retailer’s troubled clothing and home division.

ECONOMY

Hiring intention slumps to seven-year low

New survey data analysed by Manpower Group show hiring intentions are at their lowest since 2012 with optimism among UK employers driven down by signs of a slowing global economy, the General Election and a lack of clarity about Brexit. Chris Gray, director of Manpower Group UK, said these concerns led many firms to put hiring plans “on ice”. The survey found the normally buoyant market for workers in London's financial sector had tightened since the summer, especially among accountancy and law firms.

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