Rothschild & Co investigated complaint against the late financier in 2003 and he left shortly afterwards
The financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left the bank that bears his family name in 2004 after an investigation into a sexual misconduct complaint, it has emerged.
Staff at Rothschild & Co were told on Wednesday that the late banker, who was a financial adviser to Queen Elizabeth II, left in March 2004 after the complaint in late 2003.
Continue reading...Court papers seen by the Guardian mean Jes Staley’s appeal against FCA ruling will demand answers on links to sex offender
The former chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, is gearing up for an explosive trial next month, that will force him to address evidence suggesting he hid the depth of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the sex offender he referred to as “family”.
Court documents seen by the Guardian reveal myriad allegations made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), including that Epstein messaged Staley about sex, women and foreign holidays, while working behind the scenes to bolster Staley’s career by liaising with government officials, business leaders and royalty.
Continue reading...CBI says businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices while debt charity says millions are ‘facing worries’
The government is under growing pressure to get momentum back into the economy amid warnings that businesses plan to cut jobs and raise prices, while millions of families believe their finances will worsen this year.
Before a major speech this week by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, designed to restate Labour’s commitment to improving the economy, the CBI said private sector firms were urgently assessing their budgets to offset measures announced in last October’s budget.
Continue reading...Bank of England says it is rowing back on ‘overcooked’ regulations introduced after financial crisis
The Bank of England plans to slash the “reporting burden” on UK banks and allow insurers to make riskier investments without initial approval, as it comes under government pressure to ease regulations introduced after the financial crisis.
Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank who leads its regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said the central bank had rowed back on rules that appeared to be “overcooked”, as he suggested it might have gone too far and harmed the financial sector.
Continue reading...Around-the-clock work will be commonplace to tackle an M&A surge fuelled by tax changes, activist investors … and the Trump factor
Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.
“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.
Continue reading...New powers come amid concerns that cyber-attacks and outages could put the country’s financial stability at risk
City regulators will begin cracking down in the new year on tech firms providing “critical” services to UK banks amid concerns that cyber-attacks and outages at companies such as Google or Amazon could put the country’s financial stability at risk.
From 1 January, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority will be handed powers to regulate companies that are becoming a crucial part of the day-to-day operations of the increasingly digital banking and payments sector.
Continue reading...Claims management company expects claims over collapsed Neil Woodford fund to exceed £200m
More than 5,000 people who invested in Neil Woodford’s collapsed equity fund are suing Hargreaves Lansdown, claiming that the investment platform was still promoting the fund even when it was aware of its problems.
The number of people suing Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK’s largest investment site, has almost doubled in the past two years, according to the claims management firm RGL Management. Two years ago the number of people taking part stood at 2,750.
Continue reading...New remit given to FCA by chancellor raises fears of a weakening of rules meant to avert another financial crisis
The financial regulator has been ordered to encourage more risk-taking across the City, raising concerns that the Labour government is in danger of watering down rules meant to avoid another financial crisis.
In an official “remit” letter addressed to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss, Nikhil Rathi, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said regulations meant to protect consumers should not stand in the way of “sensible risk-taking” by investors and the wider financial sector, which includes banks, asset managers and insurers.
Continue reading...Rare agreement among forecasters gives 96% chance of today’s MPC meeting cutting borrowing costs to 4.75%
The Bank of England policymakers are widely expected to cut borrowing costs for businesses and homeowners by reducing official interest rates from 5% to 4.75% when they meet later today.
Financial markets are overwhelmingly forecasting that the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) will reduce rates for a second time when it announces its latest decision at noon.
Continue reading...Analysts forecast bank will have to halve £2bn buyback plan, as ex-boss of City regulator blames watchdog for crisis
Lloyds Banking Group could give almost £1bn less to shareholders this year as a result of the car finance crisis, analysts have said, as the City regulator’s former boss blamed the watchdog for the chaos.
The estimated size of a multibillion-pound compensation bill for motor lenders has grown after a shock court of appeal ruling last Friday, which said customers could not consent to motor loans that involved “secret commission” payments to brokers and car dealerships.
Continue reading...UHY Hacker Young says 92 companies have delisted and only 10 floated on junior stock market in past year
The UK’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim) has shrunk to its smallest size in 23 years as business owners and investors anticipate an abolition of inheritance tax relief in the budget this week.
The accountancy group UHY Hacker Young calculated that 92 companies have delisted from Aim, London’s junior stock market, in the past year, reducing the total number of companies on Aim to 695.
Continue reading...Ministers heralded ‘record-breaking’ £63bn total at London event but £16.5bn appears to have preceded July election
About a quarter of the investment announced by the government at its summit this week appears to have been secured or initiated before Labour came to power.
Ministers touted £63bn of investment at the summit on Monday, where they hosted hundreds of company bosses in a showcase of the UK’s pro-growth policies.
Continue reading...Rachel Reeves is to seek advice from City experts to ensure big projects’ value for money and reassure markets
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is taking action to ensure her budget plan for a multibillion-pound increase in government borrowing to fund infrastructure projects avoids a Liz Truss-style meltdown in financial markets.
Ahead of her tax and spending event on 30 October, the chancellor is convening on Friday the first meeting of a taskforce of leading City figures to advise on infrastructure projects. The government will also launch a watchdog to oversee public works and ensure value for money for the taxpayer.
Continue reading...The chancellor desperately needs more money to finance growth and public spending so expect a bit of tweaking to supposedly strict constraints
Change*. If Labour’s one-word campaign slogan had an asterisk, it would have directed voters to Rachel Reeves’s budget.
Later this month the chancellor will attempt to walk the line between repairing Britain’s battered public realm, while sticking to a manifesto promise to balance the books without raising taxes on working people.
Continue reading...Thinktank says tax increases in budget will be necessary even if Rachel Reeves changes fiscal rules
Keir Starmer’s promise to end austerity and rebuild public services will require tax increases of £25bn a year in the coming budget even if debt rules are changed to provide scope for extra investment spending, a leading thinktank has said.
In its preview of the first Labour budget in 14 years, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said Rachel Reeves would need to raise taxes to fresh record levels to meet the government’s policy goals. The chancellor was also warned of the risk of a Liz Truss-style meltdown if the City responded badly to substantially higher borrowing.
Continue reading...FTSE 100 firm turns down fourth offer from the Australian property company REA Group
Rightmove has rejected a £6.2bn takeover offer from REA Group, the Australian real estate firm backed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
The UK property portal told the City on Monday morning that its board had turned down REA’s fourth offer, having concluded it was “unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove”.
Continue reading...Policymakers vote 8-1 against back-to-back cuts in borrowing costs after inflation stayed above Bank target
The Bank of England has kept interest rates unchanged at 5% as it put its efforts to ease the pressure on household budgets on hold.
The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by a majority of eight to one against launching a back-to-back reduction in borrowing costs amid concerns over lingering inflationary pressures.
Continue reading...Accountancy firm accused of issuing false audits says it has sacked six partners and five other staff have left
The China arm of the accountancy firm PwC has been banned for six months and fined a record 441m yuan (£47m) over its audit of the collapsed property developer Evergrande, according to Chinese authorities.
Beijing’s ministry of finance imposed a six-month business suspension on PwC Zhong Tian, the accounting firm’s main division in mainland China, along with a 116m yuan penalty.
Continue reading...FCA gives detailed guidance to lenders after hearing lack of access could lead to ‘significant harm’ for individuals
The City regulator has warned UK banks over denying accounts for sex workers, after hearing that a lack of access to business banking could lead to “significant harm” for individuals.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that while banks said they were able to provide accounts for the adult entertainment industry in theory, they were often denying or shutting down business accounts in practice.
Continue reading...Company tells clients it also expects to receive a large fine following property developer’s collapse
The auditor PwC China has reportedly told clients that it expects to receive a six-month ban from Chinese authorities, and potentially a large fine, as a punishment for its role in auditing the collapsed property developer Evergrande.
PwC expects to be banned from conducting regulated activities in China, such as signing off on financial results, for six months starting in September, the Financial Times reported.
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