UK banks: clouds ahead
The UK parliament’s report into banking standards has some noble aims, but it makes life less certain for investors in bank shares
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Osborne looks at ‘bad bank’ for RBS
Chancellor tells Mansion House the Treasury ‘actively considering’ how to start sale of Lloyds, while more radical restructuring may be needed at RBS
Cameron backs criminal sanctions for bankers
Greg Clark, financial secretary to the Treasury, promises to implement the report’s proposals ‘at a pace’ and to respond in full within a month
King praises radical plan for state-owned lenders
‘Britain needs a thriving banking system to serve households and businesses, and Lloyds and RBS will be able to play that role to the full only when back in the private sector’
Highlights of report into banking standards
Highlights of banking commission report include sanctions for government’s arm-length authority for running banks and tougher sanctions for bankers’ wrongdoing
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RBS and Lloyds: here comes Sid?
A think tank has proposed allowing taxpayers to take some of the government’s RBS and Lloyds shares. But the idea has its drawbacks
Royal Bank of Scotland: splitting shares
With the release of yet another report on the state of the UK banking sector, the debate on what to do about a problem like RBS has reignited
HSBC: what the job cuts mean
HSBC announces it could cut up to 14,000 more jobs as banks become increasingly desperate to prove they are still growth stocks
UK retail banks: new players needed
If it really wants change, the government should be encouraging start-ups, because, despite a lot of talk, not much has changed.
Standard Chartered: anything but standard
Not all is going well at the emerging markets-focused bank, but management remains sanguine
Comment and analysis
Holding UK banks to higher standards
The commission on banking standards’ far-reaching recommendations have hit home and underline the importance of accountability
Reckless banking should be a criminal offence
Many British banks would still be in business if senior executives could be prosecuted for mismanagement. This is a crucial moment for banking reform
Co-operative bust
The restructuring of the lender offers the lesson that mutuality does not prevent bad banking and also raises questions over its regulation
Culture change could be the saviour of UK banks
The industry needs to change. Realigning the relationship between risk, responsibility and reward is at the heart of the Banking Commission report
The second act in Osborne’s play starts with Hester’s exit
It is not obvious which path the UK government favours over reforming the banking system and the chancellor must clarify his vision for it
Bad politics and good banking
After the departure of Stephen Hester, RBS’s new management should be allowed to devise and implement a credible strategy without interference
Osborne shouldn’t treat RBS like his family business
It is not the government’s place to intervene directly in questions or to second-guess decisions in areas better left to managers
Britain must fix its banks – not its monetary policy
What is appealing in the short term may prove a big error in the longer term: a lending boom followed by another crisis
Multimedia
Summer of scandal
Timeline tracking the scandals that have shaken UK banks, from RBS’s embarrassing technical failure to allegations over StanChart’s Iran transactions
Bank Street
Interactive feature: Follow the fortunes of some of the world’s largest banks as they navigate the global financial crisis
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