Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.After years of being a UK banking also-ran, TSB is suddenly the most popular lender at the party. The British high street bank, carved out of Lloyds Banking Group more than a decade ago, has taken on a crucial role in two separate multibillion-pound takeover battles.In one, TSB is the target. Santander agreed to buy the bank from parent Sabadell for £2.7bn on Tuesday, seeing off competition from Barclays. But Sabadell is also a target of a hostile bid from Spanish rival…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldShares of healthcare provider Centene plunged nearly 40 per cent to their lowest level since 2017 after the company said ballooning costs skewed its forecasts and forced it to withdraw its guidance.In a regulatory filing late Tuesday, Centene said its healthcare patient spending related to the Obamacare insurance marketplaces and Medicaid were higher than estimated so far this year. Analysts expected the higher spending would cut into the company’s near-term profits.The company said it was hit by higher Medicaid costs…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Tens of thousands of UK financial services companies will have to report serious bullying and harassment by senior employees to regulators and future employers, under proposals announced on Wednesday.The Financial Conduct Authority said it would extend rules on non-financial misconduct beyond banks to 37,000 other financial services groups from September 2026. It aims to tackle the “rolling bad apples” problem of people moving between companies to avoid the repercussions of their behaviour.The watchdog said: “Serious, substantiated cases of poor personal behaviour…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US financial regulation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.In July 2007, the FT interviewed Citigroup’s then-CEO Chuck Prince in Tokyo, and asked him about the buyout boom. The answer was a banger, given the debacle that would soon unfold:When the music stops, in terms of liquidity, things will be complicated. But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.Some have defended the quote as being narrowly about acquisition finance, which was indeed still humming along (albeit increasingly out of tune).…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.EY breached independence rules for its audits of Shell in the US and in the UK, the energy major has revealed, putting the Big Four firm in regulators’ crosshairs again. Shell said on Wednesday that the EY partner who led the audit of its 2023 and 2024 financial results had exceeded the period allowed under strict rotation rules set by American regulators, meaning the individual was not eligible to perform that role. EY also told Shell that it had breached UK rotation…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Shares of New World Development, the heavily indebted Hong Kong property group, jumped as investors welcomed the end of its refinancing talks with banks and the resignation of the founder’s grandson from his remaining board roles.Shares rose as much as 11 per cent on Wednesday to above HK$6 after the company announced on Monday evening it had secured support from banks to refinance loans of HK$88bn (US$11bn) following marathon negotiations. Hong Kong’s markets were closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.The refinancing…

The UK’s largest wealth manager St James’s Place is poised to introduce sweeping new fees next month as it seeks to rebuild a reputation that has been savaged by complaints about poor service and opaque charges.Mark FitzPatrick, who was parachuted in as chief executive at the end of 2023 to turn the group round, told the FT that the clearer charges should help customers “compare and contrast” their products with competitors. CAN WE GET A STRONGER FITZPATRICK QUOTEThe new model includes separating charges from a “bundled” cost so that customers can more clearly see individual fees for product wrappers, funds…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The writer is a professor of economics at SOAS University of LondonEurope, the joke runs in Brussels, is permanently at a crossroads. But this time, it seems existential as the region faces the challenge of fickle allies and stronger economic competitors in a world of rapid technological change. The European Commission’s way out? A triple transformative imperative: close the innovation gap, make a joint effort to decarbonise while boosting competitiveness, and reduce excessive security dependencies.Yet transformation has a price tag. The report…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Individuals should be able to invest in private assets within Isas, according to the chief executive of the Investment Association, even as some of the UK’s largest wealth managers express concerns over their suitability for retail. Chris Cummings, chief executive of the IA, which represents fund groups, wealth managers and private equity firms overseeing £9.1tn, told the Financial Times that semi-liquid private asset funds should be made more widely available in tax-efficient wrappers.This could have a “profound” effect on improving people’s retirement…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Deutsche Bank has laid out a steeper than expected capital hit from new rules on how banks calculate risk, as European lenders begin to reveal the impact of Basel IV reforms.Under the new rules, which will be fully implemented by 2033 and limit the extent to which banks can use internal models to calculate their risk-weighted assets, Deutsche’s RWAs would increase by one-third, based on figures from the lender’s latest Pillar 3 report which includes key information required from banks under the…