Latest news with #financial system
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
City giants: Face-to-face annual meetings vital for share owner rights
Face-to-face shareholder meetings are 'a cornerstone of the financial system' and key to sustainable economic growth, a group of powerful City investors has told The Mail on Sunday. In a big boost to this paper's push to stop annual meetings becoming online-only, the Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC) says it is 'vital' they operate 'in a way which allows for genuine interaction with shareholders'. The Mail on Sunday is campaigning for all FTSE 100 companies to hold physical annual general meetings (AGMs) in the UK, and to make it easier for shareholders to vote via a platform or nominee so their voices can be heard – a move hailed by retail investor group ShareAction. It follows a trend by firms such as drug giant AstraZeneca, defence contractor BAE Systems and toothpaste-maker Haleon to move their AGMs to a digital-only format, effectively barring share owners from attending in person. On Friday, Nationwide came under fire at its virtual AGM for not allowing any of the 16 million members who own Britain's biggest mutual to attend in person, leading to charges that bosses were not being properly held responsible. 'Virtual-only AGMs make it harder for shareholders to hold firms to account and support the long-term value creation vital for sustainable economic growth,' said GGIC leader Caroline Escott. 'Hearing other shareholders' views, and being heard in turn, without our perspectives being filtered by management, is a key shareholder right,' added Escott, who is head of investment stewardship at train workers' pension fund Railpen. The GGIC is an alliance of pension schemes controlling £150 billion of assets, including BT's retirement fund and the Church of England Pensions Board on behalf of 11 million members. Escott added: 'The right of shareholders, as the owners of capital, to freely and genuinely engage with boards and executives is a cornerstone of our financial system. 'It's therefore vital AGMs are run in a way that allows for genuine interaction with shareholders.' The move to virtual-only meetings is shrouded in legal uncertainty, with Ministers under pressure to clarify the law about the physical location of AGMs. A review is expected later this year. Escott added: 'It's just one of the important shareholder rights that we must protect in the UK if we are to achieve the thriving UK companies, capital markets and economy that we all want to see.' And it's good enough for Warren Buffett! Directors tempted to stage digital-only annual meetings should follow the example of legendary US money manager Warren Buffett, says Ann Francke, head of the Chartered Management Institute. The 94-year-old, pictured right, has turned the in-person meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway fund into 'the focus of his leadership'. Each year, he outlines his strategy and decisions to 40,000 people who pack out an arena in Nebraska. Buffett may be stepping back from his role, but his commitment to openness has won the loyalty of investors, transforming Berkshire from a small textile firm into a $1 trillion conglomerate. The event will continue under Greg Abel, his successor. Francke said that in-person meetings show a willingness in bosses to be held accountable, adding: 'Directors need to be able to look shareholders in the eye: it's hardly much to ask and the process needs to be as inclusive as possible. 'I do believe that we behave differently when we are face-to-face.' It also means bosses have to be more authentic, and cannot avoid awkward issues or angry shareholders.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Risk of Tighter Money Reignites Debate Over the Fed Funds Rate
The amount of spare cash flowing around in the US financial system is poised to shrink over the coming months, rekindling the debate about how to assess money supply tightness and which benchmark rates the Federal Reserve should actually be targeting. A host of voices, including the Cleveland Fed's President Beth Hammack, JPMorgan's Teresa Ho and Wrightson ICAP's Lou Crandall, have pointed out limitations in the fed funds rate, with some suggesting the US central bank should ditch it and use another metric to gauge money supply.
South China Morning Post
17-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
HKMA dismisses ‘bad bank' rumours, saying industry remains healthy
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) , the city's de facto central bank, said it had no plans to establish a 'bad bank' to absorb troubled debt in the financial system, saying that the local banking sector remained healthy and profitable. Advertisement 'Overall, banks in Hong Kong maintain a healthy balance sheet; their credit risk is manageable and provisions are sufficient,' the authority said in a statement on Thursday. 'The HKMA has no intention to set up the rumoured 'bad bank'. We understand that the relevant banks also do not have such a plan.' The banking regulator saw no need to create a bad bank, as the current provisions for bad debts at banks were already sufficient, an HKMA representative added. The HKMA's statement came hours after a Bloomberg report, citing unnamed sources, indicated that Hang Seng Bank, Bank of Communications, and other lenders were in discussions about creating a bad bank. A bad bank is typically set up to buy non-performing loans and other bad debts to clean up the balance sheets of another bank. The logo of Hong Kong Monetary Authority is seen at its office in Central. Photo: Yik Yeung-man The Bloomberg report, citing Fitch Ratings estimates, said that soured loans in Hong Kong climbed to US$25 billion at the end of March, representing 2 per cent of the total and reaching a two-decade high.
Bloomberg
15-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Standard Chartered Is First Systemic Bank to Offer Spot Crypto
Standard Chartered Plc said it's the first global systemically-important bank to offer a spot crypto trading service, allowing corporate and institutional clients to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether. While some of its rivals have steered clear of crypto currencies, Standard Chartered Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters said on Tuesday that digital assets were becoming a 'foundational' part of the world's financial system.
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Banking and investment behaviour faces considerable change as the population ages
An RBNZ report said the ageing population will likely force changes in the financial system. (File photo) Photo: Unsplash/ Towfiqu Barbhuiya The country's banking and investment behaviour faces considerable change as the population ages, according to a new report from the Reserve Bank. The central bank said the financial industry needs to understand and get prepared for what may be complex, long term changes, that may also increase risks to the financial system. Report co-author Enzo Cassino said over the next 25 years or so it foresaw higher savings, different investment patterns, affecting interest rates, bank lending, as well as the insurance sector. "Overall we think there'll be lower demand for housing loans and also higher deposits as older people want to hold more in lower risk investments such as term deposits, so this will affect business models that banks are using." He said similar changes would likely affect the insurance sector with increased demand health insurance and lower demand for life insurance. Increased saving would also would put pressure on interest rates and lift the value of assets such as housing and shares. Such a shift might then steer banks to increase lending to other sectors, and with more domestic savings and sources of capital, would reduce borrowing overseas. Cassino said it wanted to alert banks and other financial businesses to potential changes and how it might affect them. "We want to encourage banks and other financial institutions how an older population will impact their business model over the coming decades. "The greatest risk may be that these institutions may not be preparing or necessarily thinking about these changes will affect them." Cassino said the RBNZ was not raising the alarm or concerns for financial stability. The report has been published in advance of its inclusion of the next RBNZ financial stability report due in November. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
