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The London-headquartered bank (HSBA.L) said on Tuesday it would pay a special dividend of $0.21 per share, from the proceeds of the $10 billion sale of its Canada business. HSBC's conservative outlook echoed that of British rival NatWest (NWG.L), which warned last week that profit earned from rising interest rates may have peaked. HSBC said annual expected credit losses rose to $3.6 billion, more than the $3.2 billion analysts had estimated, due to rising inflation pressuring borrowers and lingering problems in China's property market. That matched the $17.5 billion average estimate of 22 analysts compiled by the bank. Meanwhile, HSBC said it still expects to complete the sale of its Russia business in first-half 2023, taking a $300 million loss.

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - European crypto asset manager CoinShares blamed market turbulence for a 97% fall in full-year income and said it lost 26 million pounds ($31 million) in the collapse of major exchange FTX, CoinShares said on Tuesday. The crypto market plummeted in 2022, as rising rates and a series of bankruptcies at high-profile crypto firms prompted investors to ditch risky crypto assets. CoinShares' "total comprehensive income", a measure which includes expected losses, fell to 3 million pounds in 2022 from 113.4 million in 2021, its fourth quarter earnings report showed. CoinShares had previously said it had around $30 million worth of crypto assets stuck on FTX, which froze customer withdrawals in November before filing for bankruptcy. CoinShares describes itself as Europe's biggest digital asset investor and trading group, with 1.4 billion pounds of assets under management at end-2022.

☆ HSBC cuts staff bonus pool, lifts CEO Quinn's total pay
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lawrence White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - HSBC cut its annual bonus pool by 4% to $3.4 billion in 2022, the bank said on Tuesday, as a global slump in dealmaking led it to trim awards for its bankers. Despite the overall bonus cuts for staff, Chief Executive Noel Quinn saw his pay package jump 14% to 5.6 million pounds ($6.7 million), from 4.9 million pounds the prior year. Once long-term incentive awards are included, Quinn's total pay could reach 10.5 million pounds, the bank said. The bank's bonus pool for staff was slightly smaller than the $3.5 billion paid last year. Rival NatWest raised its bonus pool by nearly a quarter to 368 million pounds in earnings last week, and almost doubled CEO Alison Rose's pay package to 5.2 million pounds.

Despite the overall bonus cuts for staff, Chief Executive Noel Quinn saw his pay package jump 14% to 5.6 million pounds ($6.7 million), from 4.9 million pounds the prior year. Once long-term incentive awards are included, Quinn's total pay could reach 10.5 million pounds, the bank said. The bank's bonus pool for staff was slightly smaller than the $3.5 billion paid last year. HSBC's rival NatWest raised its bonus pool by nearly a quarter to 368 million pounds in earnings last week, and bumped up CEO Alison Rose's pay package to 5.2 million pounds. Barclays meanwhile trimmed its bonus pool slightly, but still paid out 1.8 billion pounds in bonuses.

Say hi to Snow White," Staley emailed Epstein in July 2010, according to filings on Wednesday with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. "Beauty and the Beast," Staley allegedly responded, to which Epstein replied: "Well one side is available," according to the filing. According to the lawsuit, Staley exchanged around 1,200 emails with Epstein from his JPMorgan email account between 2008 and 2012. Staley allegedly wrote to Epstein on Nov 1, 2009, describing his relationship with Epstein as "profound". One month later, Staley allegedly wrote to Epstein to say how great it had been to give him "a long, heartfelt hug", after which Epstein allegedly sent Staley two pictures of young women.

The British lender reported a pretax profit for 2022 of 7 billion pounds ($8.5 billion), down from 8.2 billion pounds the year before and just below the 7.2 billion pounds average analyst forecast, as compiled by the bank. Profits before tax in that division also tumbled by 23% to around 5 billion pounds. In its annual report also published on Wednesday, Barclays said it had docked top executives' pay by a combined 1 million pounds to reflect the regulatory misteps. Barclays' results were further marred by 1.2 billion pounds in credit impairment charges as Britain's economy continued to slow. ($1 = 0.8239 pounds)Reporting By Lawrence White and Iain Withers, editing by Sinead CruiseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Barclays docks execs' pay by 1 million pounds over regulatory failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) has docked the pay of some top executives by a combined 1 million pounds ($1.2 million) in 2022, following regulatory misteps and a costly overissuance of billions of dollars worth of investment products in the United States. The British bank said in its annual report that it had cut the 2022 bonus for Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan by 403,000 pounds, while Finance Chief Anna Cross saw her compensation docked by 166,000 pounds. Some long term awards had also been clawed back from former executives, including those earned by ex-finance chief Tushar Morzaria, the bank said. Venkatakrishnan's total pay package for the year was 5.2 million pounds, which the bank said could rise to a maximum 9.7 million pounds if long-term awards were paid out in full.

SummarySummary Companies ClientEarth files novel UK case to hold directors accountableUK, Swedish, Danish, Belgian and French funds support lawsuitClaim alleges Shell board mismanaging climate risk, breaches lawLONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A group of European institutional investors is backing a novel London lawsuit against energy giant Shell's (SHEL.L) board over alleged climate mismanagement in a case that could have far-reaching implications for how companies tackle emissions. Shell rejected the allegations, saying its climate targets were ambitious and on track and that its directors complied with their legal duties and acted in the company's best interests. "ClientEarth's attempt ... to overturn the board's policy as approved by our shareholders has no merit," a spokesperson said. London CIV said its Shell stake was a "primary hotspot of risk and exposure within our portfolio". The case comes two years after Shell was ordered to slash carbon emissions in a landmark Dutch climate case.

StanChart declined to comment on the reports of a fresh bid, while FAB did not respond to requests for comment. While StanChart's balance sheet, staff numbers and global footprint dwarf FAB's, it is worth half as much. StanChart's shares rose by 11% on Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that a possible FAB bid would value its target at $30 billion to $35 billion, a significant premium to the Asia-focused banking powerhouse's $24 billion market value. A second shareholder questioned whether FAB's shares would be attractive to British-based holders of StanChart stock. "I can't think shareholders would relish adding a small Gulf bank to Stan's current geographic mix," the investor added.

Owners of crypto assets that use a "proof-of-stake" blockchain can stake some of their assets to potentially take part in the process of validating transactions. In exchange for their work, validators get transaction fees and/or newly created crypto assets. Lawmakers have stepped up calls for regulation after crypto firms' customers were left with large losses. Revolut said customers' staked funds would be held with "trusted custodians" but did not specify who these custodians were. Asked how the firm established the trustworthiness of the custodians, a spokesperson told Reuters that Revolut completed its own due diligence.

☆ UK PM Sunak expected to launch reshuffle to better suit his priorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to launch a mini reshuffle on Tuesday, breaking up two departments to better suit his pledge to spur the economy and turn around his party's fortunes before an election expected next year. Sources confirmed reports from the Sun and the Times newspapers late on Monday that there were plans to break up the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)and the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). He was also expected to name the new chair of the party, a position made ever more important before the next national election expected in 2024, after Nadhim Zahawi was sacked over his tax affairs. He has so far failed to reduce the commanding lead in the opinion polls held by the opposition Labour Party, which is increasingly presenting itself as Britain's next government. Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Sinead Cruise; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HSBC embarks on Saudi Arabia hiring spree amid deals boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) is hiring dealmakers as "fast as it can" in Saudi Arabia to capitalise on a wave of financing activity in the country, the global head of its investment bank told Reuters. The lender aims to increase headcount in its global banking and markets business in Saudi Arabia by 10-15% this year, Greg Guyett, the division's chief executive, told Reuters. HSBC declined to comment on how many such bankers it already employs in Saudi Arabia. HSBC's investment banking business made $65 million in profit in Saudi Arabia in 2021, according to company filings, the smallest such contribution among named countries aside from loss-making France. Saudi Arabia also sold $5 billion in bonds last October, its first international debt sale in almost a year.

☆ Brokers team up on new platform to boost retail interest in UK capital markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Investment firms and brokers in Britain teamed up on Thursday to back a new standalone retail platform to strengthen access for small investors to the UK capital market. "The collaboration of market participants using this service is an important step towards the more equitable inclusion of retail investors in UK capital markets," said a joint statement from brokers. One aim is to make it easier for retail investors to participate in capital markets, a step the European Union is also working on, with legislative proposals due in April. The government has said it will implement recommendations from a review of secondary capital markets to overhaul company fundraisings and give more access to retail investors. REX enables retail investors to participate in capital markets transactions such as initial public offers and follow-on equity offerings through retail brokers and wealth managers.

Downing Street referred requests for comment to the business ministry, which oversees Companies House, Britain’s public registry of companies. And, in most cases, if foreign companies purchased the property before 1999 or hold UK property in a trust they don’t need to publicly disclose the beneficial owners. The Cyprus-based company, A. Corp Trustee Limited, wasn’t listed on Britain’s new property register as of Tuesday morning. A listing on the UK’s new property register for Hanley Limited identifies the beneficial owner as a Swiss company called Pomerol Capital Sa. Ravellot also wasn’t on the new property register.

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Rising borrowing costs are giving a long-awaited lift to Europe's beleaguered banks, but they come with a sting in the tail. Last year central banks ended a decade of rock-bottom interest rates as the U.S. Federal Reserve and then the European Central Bank moved towards tightening. But while rising rates are good news for bank profits, they herald a slowdown in an economy hit by war and runaway prices that squeeze borrowers and could prick pricing bubbles, most notably in property. "On the one hand, interest rates are going up, which is good and helps banks," said Jerome Legras of Axiom Alternative Investments. Germany's financial regulator BaFin recently warned that a rapid rise in interest rates could weigh on some banks, and that loans may sour.

☆ Aviva keeps dividend, capital returns guidance after UK's December cold snap
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - British insurer Aviva (AV.L) on Wednesday maintained its dividend guidance and capital returns outlook as it reported a positive end to trading for the year in its general insurance unit. The company said it expects the group's full-year combined operating ratio to be around 94.6%, in line with guidance given at its third-quarter update. One of Britain's biggest motor and home insurers, Aviva estimated December's adverse weather conditions in the UK to cost around 50 million pounds ($61.65 million), and said it was continuing to support customers following the cold snap. Over the course of 2022, it said its weather experience in its UK & Ireland business was only marginally above long-term averages whilst its Canadian business actually recorded lower than long-term averages with no fourth quarter weather events. ($1 = 0.8110 pounds)Reporting by Simon Jessop, editing by Sinead CruiseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] People walk along the South Bank with the Houses of Parliament in the distance, in London, Britain, January 17, 2023. Some hires need vetting by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England (BoE). Britain introduced the accountability rules in 2016 in response to public anger that so few individuals were punished over taxpayers having to bail out banks in the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Regulators sought to reassure that the rules would not be used to put "heads on sticks" and discourage people from taking on senior roles. Reporting by Iain Withers and Huw Jones, editing by Sinead Cruise and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Frankfurt 'STIRs' up euro clearing battle with London
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Frankfurt expands derivatives clearing on Monday in an early test of how well European Union ambitions to lure trillions of euros of business from London could work in practice. Clarus Graphic on Swaps Clearing'TAKE YEARS'ESMA will calibrate how much of each of the three specified derivatives contracts banks must clear in the bloc. The other two are euro credit default swaps (CDS), also cleared by ICE in London and Chicago, and euro interest rate swaps (IRS), dominated by London Stock Exchange Group's LCH in London. Brussels is allowing EU banks to continue clearing in London until June 2025, though industry officials say an extension is inevitable given the time it could take for enough clearing to shift given banks' hostility. ICE said that by the third quarter of last year, ICE in Chicago cleared 88% of euro CDS instruments, with 8% at ICE in London, and 4% at LCH.

☆ Davos 2023: UBS head says regulators' 'eyes off the ball' on non-banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher said traditional finance firms were "systemically safe" after years of increased regulation, but guardians of global financial markets had further to go to eradicate the risks posed by the non-banking sector. "Regulators have - with respect - taken their eyes off the ball in terms of the non-banking sector," the chairman of Switzerland's largest bank said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, referring to a category of loosely supervised finance firms. They're systemically safe, we can argue," he added. "We are looking for the regulatory framework that will allow us to accommodate that for our clients." Reporting by Stefania Spezzati and Sinead Cruise; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But this could present an opportunity to address shortages of homes, property bosses said. "Office buildings need to be converted to residential," said Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of New York-based investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, during a panel discussion. Offices are emptier than official data suggests as most buildings are still generating income for landlords. However, as these rental contracts expire, cities like New York will have a significant number of obsolete buildings, said Christian Ulbrich, CEO of global property consultancy JLL Inc. (JLL.N). Millions of workers were forced to work from home during lockdowns aimed at stalling the spread of COVID-19 in 2020.

☆ U.S.-China friction stokes concern among some top finance bosses
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Carmine Di Sibio, Global Chairman and CEO of EY, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 2, 2022. Anne Richards, CEO of the $610 billion money manager Fidelity International, put her level of worry about a potential decoupling of the two economies at 6 out of 10 when asked during a panel discussion. EY global chair and CEO Carmine Di Sibio put his own level of concern at 9 out of 10. EY's Di Sibio told the event U.S. administration officials were "extremely aggressive" about the extent of business with China particularly in technology, adding this was the case across much of the West. But the politics are really in the way and I am worried that they're not getting better," Di Sibio said.

[1/2] People work on the trading floor at the global headquarters of Goldman Sachs investment banking firm at 200 West Street in New York City, U.S., January 11, 2023. The Wall Street titan's rivals have also started to cut jobs as global banks prepare for recession and broader, deeper cuts are expected across the industry if deal-making activity remains weak. The long-expected jobs cull at Goldman follows a recruitment drive during the pandemic, which saw the bank's total headcount top 49,000. Johnson, who was with Goldman Sachs for more than six years, declined to comment. Oliveira said some bankers who have reached out to recruiters like him are considering ditching investment banking for other positions.

☆ Goldman staff brace as global jobs cull begins
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON/HONG KONG, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Staff at Goldman Sachs (GS.N) are bracing for news on whether they will keep their jobs on Wednesday, as the U.S. investment bank begins a sweeping cost-cutting drive that could see its 49,000-strong global workforce shrink by thousands. About 8 staff were also laid off in Goldman's research department in Hong Kong, the source added, with layoffs ongoing in the investment bank and other divisions. A trader works at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 16, 2012. Goldman had 49,100 employees at the end of the third quarter, after adding significant numbers of staff during the coronavirus pandemic. Reporting By Sinead Cruise and Iain Withers, Selena Li in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney;Editing by Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

It is likely to affect most of the bank's major divisions, with its investment banking arm facing the deepest cuts, a source told Reuters this month. "We know this is a difficult time for people leaving the firm," a Goldman Sachs statement on Wednesday said. Last year was challenging across groups including credit, equities, and investment banking broadly, said Paul Sorbera, president of Wall Street recruitment firm Alliance Consulting. [1/3] A trader works at the Goldman Sachs stall on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 16, 2012. Shares of Goldman Sachs have partially recovered from a 10% fall last year.

☆ British insurer Direct Line axes dividend after bad weather claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It also expected higher motor claims inflation to add two to three percentage points to its 2023 combined operating ratio. Direct Line in July cut its profitability outlook for the year and delayed the second leg of a share buyback. The insurer said it expected total weather claims of around 140 million pounds ($170.30 million) for 2022, well above its original expectation of 73 million pounds. Gross written premiums in motor insurance fell 2% in the fourth quarter versus the previous year, the insurer said. Direct Line also said its property investment portfolio had seen a 15% drop in values, equivalent to 45 million pounds.

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