While Mark Carney was being quizzed by MPs over the Bank of England’s responsibilities in cases against manipulation of FX markets, the FCA was busy announcing its latest recruit a new head of investment banking.
GLG Partners has appointed Simon Price as an asset manager to focus on stock-picking opportunities in the US and Japanese financials sectors.
Pimco has unveiled GIS Capital Securities Fund to invest across debt issued by banks, insurance companies and other specialist financials.
Five years on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, and investors still today yearn for a return to monetary normality and, dare I say for the banks, a return to more antiquated times.
Rudolf Wolff is to launch a Dublin-domiciled Ucits IV version of its financials-focused Income Fund and has revealed plans for two new vehicles, a long/short global equity fund and another trading in ETF futures.
Much fuss has been made about Lloyds Banking Group being touted as a target for UK income fund managers, so could this signal a return to favour for the wider banking sector?
iShares has added a financials ETF to its European corporate bond range, which offers exposure to the European financials sector of the investment grade corporate bond market.
Banks have set aside extra funds to cover claims for derivatives and PPI mis-selling, but could face further costs as the FSA has concluded that a significant proportion of interest rate fixing products were mis-sold.
So, another banker loses his job. Its been a familiar story over the past five years, though the departure of Bob Diamond brings things to a whole new level.
The big question I like to pose to any fund manager or asset allocator I meet is: are we past the worst? If 2011 really was the economic trough, then things could begin to look rosier for banks especially.
Invesco Perpetual is to launch Global Financial Capital Fund aimed at profiting from the rehabilitation of the sector, including major banks in North American, UK and Europe.
UK bank valuations may be at 2008 lows but UK equity managers still have a very different view on how much exposure, and to which banks, they should have.
