Francine McKenna: Ten things you need to know about ‘Big Four’ audit firms
I’ve long suspected that, where banking and finance sector clients are concerned, the Big Four audit firms see their role […]
2010
On bankers’ bonuses, Osborne remains captivated
Ever since Gordon Brown bailed out Britain’s banks in October 2008, the saga of bonuses has become one of the
Charlie Munger: “The accounting profession is a sewer”
In this remarkable interview, Stanford University’s professor Joseph A. Grundfest talks Charlie T. Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. It might
Dutch pension firm Mn leads charge to sue RBS for subprime exposure
Dutch asset management group Mn Services is preparing to sue the Royal Bank of Scotland for damages after the Edinburgh-based
FSA will publish RBS report but, given sanitization, what’s the point?
The saga of the Financial Services Authority supposed “review” of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s pre-implosion behaviour is getting more
RBS executives seem to think they’re above the law
As they scramble to shore up their balance sheets, Britain’s banks are treating some of their corporate and small and
William K Black: “This is the financial equivalent of ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell”.
Here is a clip from Dylan Rattigan’s show on MCNBC. In it Charles Ferguson, director of the forthcoming movie “Inside
FSA’s attempts at an RBS whitewash take further knock… from WikiLeaks
A cable published by WikiLeaks and the Guardian suggests that, contrary to the recent “review” (or “whitewash”?) of RBS by
Pension giant considers RBS pull-out over governance worries
Scotland’s largest pension fund is considering disinvesting in Royal Bank of Scotland shares over concerns about poor environmental, social and
Dear PayPal: Wikileaks is not a terrorist organization
Much of the debate surrounding Wikileaks’s release of confidential cables sent by US diplomats to their bosses in Washington D.C.
The FSA/PwC investigation into Royal Bank of Scotland’s ‘bad decisions’ is a joke, right? — the FSA’s RBS report, Part 1
Royal Bank of Scotland probe THE Financial Services Authority’s obsession with “light touch”, laissez-faire regulation in 1997-2008 did more than
The FSA wanted someone to whitewash RBS and, sure enough, PWC obliged — the FSA’s RBS report, Part 2
The Financial Services Authority this morning declared that, after a 17-month “investigation”, it has concluded that none of the RBS
EXCLUSIVE: How the FSA helped to destroy UK building societies
The Financial Services Authority sat idly by while the UK’s building societies sector destroyed itself by gorging on Wall Street’s
Scottish Revolution – Alyson Stafford interview
One aspect of her job that Alyson Stafford relishes is her interactions with Scottish politicians, including first minister Alex Salmond
PFI/PPP players urged to hand money back to taxpayers
Leading PFI/PPP companies including Innisfree, Semperian, Serco, Skanska, Balfour Beatty, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS are being urged to hand some
Irish crisis: how the Celtic Tiger became a moggy
Taiwanese-based Next Media Animation has produced its take on 300 years of Irish history. Okay it does simplify things a
Irish bailout seems to unravel before it’s even announced
You know that things must be getting desperate in Ireland when significant numbers of the country’s population want to draft
Cantona’s talkin’ bout a revolution
In the last few days people have been asking me what I think of Eric Cantona’s call for a silent
Scottish dealmakers: in for the long run
Scottish dealmakers — corporate finance and M&A practitioners — have had to learn to adapt to a new economic environment,
Lloyds executioner with a talent for mimicking Ferraris
Mark Fisher, the low-profile “blustery Yorkshireman” and petrol-head, who was renowned for his ability to imitate the sound of a
Banker fears threaten Cairn Energy’s £5bn Vedanta deal
Cairn Energy’s plan to raise £5 billion through the sale of its majority stake in Mumbai-listed Cairn India to Vedanta