Author: Lily Harper

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The tide has turned for UK banks. Having lagged their southern European rivals as interest rates rose, their shares are now surging ahead. NatWest, whose shares have doubled over the past 12 months, leads the pack, with Barclays close behind. Even Lloyds, which has lost nearly a tenth of its value since a negative motor finance ruling on Friday, is trading roughly in line with the Euro Stoxx banks index.They deserve their place in the sun. Third-quarter results last week underscored their…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK financial regulators have fined Wise’s chief executive Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for breaching conduct rules and failing to notify them of “significant tax issues”, but have cleared him to continue in his job.The Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into Käärmann’s conduct after he was fined by tax authorities in 2021 over a deliberate tax default.The regulator said on Monday that Käärmann had “failed to appropriately consider the significance of the tax issues and notify the FCA, despite being aware of them…

Franklin Templeton is battling the worst quarter for outflows in its history, as reputational damage and poor returns spurred tens of billions of dollars of withdrawals from its fixed-income business just as rivals are being boosted by falling interest rates.The group, which manages $1.7tn in assets, announced in August that the co-chief investment officer of its largest subsidiary had been put on leave amid a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission.The news has compounded investor concerns about years of underperformance and prompted a flood of outflows from big clients just as many institutions were looking to increase fixed-income allocations.“This…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Bangladesh’s new central bank chief has accused tycoons linked to the toppled regime of Sheikh Hasina of working with members of the country’s powerful military intelligence agency to siphon $17bn out of the banking sector during her rule.In an interview with the Financial Times, Ahsan Mansur — who was appointed Bangladesh Bank governor after Sheikh Hasina fled the country in June — said the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence had helped force takeovers of leading banks. Mansur said an estimated Tk2tn ($16.7bn)…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.There are two ways to read last week’s announcement from new HSBC boss Georges Elhedery that the bank will restructure and embark on a “simplification journey”.One is dramatic. The embodiment of global finance, with operations in 60 countries (second only to Citigroup), is giving up on globalisation with its decision to split itself into a cluster of “eastern markets” and another of “western markets”. It is a move that sounds very similar to the Asia spin-off lobbied for by leading Chinese shareholder…

The way private equity executives have been able to amass vast personal fortunes has been a source of admiration and contention for years. At the heart of what Oxford university professor Ludovic Phalippou has controversially described as the “billionaire factory” is carried interest, the share of profits that buyout fund managers receive when they sell investments.Also called “carry”, it is a regular political flashpoint in the US, the EU and currently the UK, where the sector is awaiting the outcome of a tax consultation by the newly elected Labour government. Why is there a debate over carried interest taxation? Carried…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Financial services myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK’s business community has not taken fright over the new Labour government, according to the former treasurer of the Conservative party, as he called on the Tories to unite and offer a “credible” opposition. Malik Karim, the former Tory treasurer who leads boutique investment bank Fenchurch Advisory, said there was “no massive change” in sentiment since Labour swept to power in this summer’s general election after 14 years of rule by the Conservatives.Since then, Labour has sought to woo businesses, including…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s leading Islamic financial institution, has cemented its position as the country’s most valuable lender after its shares surged and the bank profited from consumer demand for sharia-compliant finance and high interest rates.Meezan earned record after-tax profits of Rs84.5bn ($305mn) last year, an increase of 88 per cent on the year before, part of a sector-wide boom in earnings from government debt at a time of high interest rates.After-tax profits at Pakistan’s oldest Islamic bank rose 34 per cent in…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Private equity myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Europe’s largest publicly traded private equity group is preparing an acquisition push for what it expects will be a wave of consolidation in the $10tn private capital industry, as smaller firms or those facing succession challenges sell to larger rivals.Stockholm-based EQT is studying acquisitions of specialised private investment groups including so-called secondaries firms that buy private equity fund stakes, growth-oriented investment firms and those with a niche focus in healthcare, chief executive Christian Sinding told the Financial Times in an interview.“There are…

Unlock the US Election Countdown newsletter for freeThe stories that matter on money and politics in the race for the White HouseFor some heavy hitters (and big egos) in markets, the worst possible outcome from the US presidential election is a victory for Kamala Harris.A narrowing or even vanishing lead in the opinion polls for the Democratic candidate, mixed in with a big rise in wagers on her rival in the betting markets, have been enough to convince a good chunk of macro hedge fund managers that Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House. Some wishful…