By Kenny Kemp Published: Sunday Herald Date: May 29th, 2011 A Church of Scotland leader has branded the new Heart of Midlothian strip sponsor, Wonga.com, as “immoral”. The London-based finance firm, founded by South African-born entrepreneur Errol Damelin in 2006, has already been labelled as “ethically bankrupt” and usurious by the Harvard Business Review. The firm [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: May 29th, 2011 FSA demands raise capital cost of acquisition, while Sir Richard Branson say he expects to bid for 600-plus network. By Ian Fraser Clydesdale Bank has lost its leading position in the race to acquire the 600-plus branches that Lloyds Banking Group has to sell, as [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Financial Times Date May 23rd, 2011 As Antonio Horta-Osório, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, weighs up whether or not to sell Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, the bank’s asset management arm, the consensus in the City is that he should plump for a sale. He is due to announce the decision [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: April 3rd, 2011 A LEADING Highland firm of chartered accountants and tax advisers is facing bankruptcy following a lengthy dispute with the state-owned lender Royal Bank of Scotland. Graeme Fraser, who founded 16-strong Graeme M Fraser & Co in the early 1980s, will appear as a ‘party litigant’ [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: The Sunday Times Date: March 27th, 2011 Keith Anderson, of Scottish Power Renewables, is aiming to become a leader in offshore wind turbines Not content with having outpaced his rivals in wind energy, Keith Anderson wants to conquer the waves. Scottish Power Renewables, based in Glasgow, is the largest renewable energy [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: March 13th, 2011 FSA and Business Secretary Vince Cable among those handed evidence linked to Operation Hornet investigation into alleged £1 billion scam. (View article on Herald Scotland site) An alleged £1 billion HBOS corporate fraud was known to former directors of the state-rescued bank, but they failed [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: February 20th, 2011 A CORPORATE whistleblower’s eight-year battle over his claims that Scottish Widows policyholders were deprived of £1.5 billion during the Lloyds takeover is to be the subject of an English high court hearing. Graham Senior-Milne, a former internal auditor at Lloyds TSB and Scottish Widows, is [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Financial Times Date: January 31st, 2011 The investment trust sector, eclipsed by the unit trust sector in the UK’s retail market, is due to receive a shot in the arm in two years when the UK government’s retail distribution review takes effect. However Carol Ferguson (pictured above), outgoing chairman of the [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Financial Times Date: January 17th, 2011 Standard Life Investments runs one of the biggest and best performing diversified growth funds on the market. The Edinburgh-based group’s £8.6bn ($13.5bn) Global Absolute Return Strategies fund has been pulling in billions from pension funds and charities in the UK, Scandinavia and the US. It [...]
By Ian Fraser Published: Sunday Herald Date: January 16th, 2011 Paul Moore, former head group regulatory risk at HBOS-turned-whistleblower, has cast doubt on the rigour of the Financial Services Authority’s ongoing investigation into the collapse of the Edinburgh-based bank, on the grounds that informed critical witnesses have not been approached for evidence. Moore said he [...]