BANKING & INSURANCEHester set to land top RBS role as Goodwin pays price for slumpSTEPHEN Hester, head of property giant British Land, is set to emerge as the new chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland in a re
gime change forced by the dramatic collapse in RBS's stock market value last week and the likely emergence of the government as a major shareholder (
Scotsman). Sir Fred Goodwin, some nine years at the helm, looks likely to step down. Details of the timing of the change are to be sorted out. While there is a case for an immediate departure, it is possible he will stay until the new capital raising is complete. The aim is to achieve as smooth a change as possible. "The essential point is that it is done in an orderly way," said an RBS spokesperson yesterday. "The last thing we need is more instability." Hester, who joined the RBS board as a non-executive director in August, is topping the list of potential successors to Goodwin.
Britannia and CFS moot merger ideaMOVES to create a "super- mutual" from the merger of the Co-op's financial services arm and the Britannia building society were revealed yesterday (
Scotsman). A tie-up would form a business with more than six million customers and £70 billion of assets, although both sides stressed that talks were at an early stage and were part of wider discussions about them working together. Legislative changes due to come into force by the end of this year will make it easier for different types of mutuals – building societies, co-operatives and friendly societies – to join forces. Both organisations are in sound financial health and believe a tie-up could offer customers a customer-owned alternative to the plc market.
Friends Provident 'eyeing up' stake in St James's Place CapitalFRIENDS Provident chief executive Trevor Matthews is considering buying up HBOS's majority stake in wealth manager St James's Place Capital, weekend reports claimed (
Scotsman). Matthews, who was previously head of the UK arm of Edinburgh-based insurer Standard Life, is expected to update the market on the sale of Friends' Lombard and F&C units at the end of the month – and analysts say an acquisition of SJP would fit "nicely" with the firm's ethos.
Read all today's banking news from scotsman.comWinner takes it all in its strideGrupo Santander, Spain's largest bank and a big player on Britain's high streets, is confident it can survive the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and says it is "well-positioned" to grow further despite turmoil in global financial markets (
Herald). "We can continue to deliver EPS (earnings per share) growth above the industry thanks to our strong balance sheet and low risk profile," Santander's chief financial officer Jose Antonio Alvarez said last week in a presentation at a Merrill Lynch Banking Conference. Santander describes itself as one of the world's leading banks by market capitalisation and "number one in the eurozone". The group became a household name in the UK when it acquired Abbey National, the former building society that transformed itself into a bank, for £9.5bn in 2004. Santander has agreed to buy Alliance & Leicester and deposits and branches of Bradford & Bingley this year to make it the UK's third- largest lender by deposits. Chairman Emilio Botin has made more than $60bn of acquisitions, helping Santander become Europe's second-biggest bank by market value.
ECONOMY
Scotland forecast to lose 38,000 jobsSCOTTISH companies are shedding jobs at the fastest rate in more than a decade, casting an even greater shadow over the economy north of the Border (
Scotsman). In a bleak assessment of the country's private sector, Royal Bank of Scotland's latest Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) – published today – also reveals a drop in output and order activity as companies struggle with the credit crisis and soaring costs. The survey's employment index posted a reading of 45.7 – down from 47 in August and the lowest since the PMI series began in January 1998. Today's report comes as small businesses in Scotland highlight worsening trading conditions as they face a "double whammy" of rising costs and loss of customers
Read all today's economics news from scotsman.comINDUSTRY
Venturehaus trains its sights on capitalA TRAINING and consultancy firm that specialises in financial services is bucking the credit crisis by opening a new base in Scotland (
Scotsman). Venturehaus will open a new office in the centre of Edinburgh headed by Scots-born John Slavin, who is said to have more than 20 years' industry experience working for the likes of Logica, PwC and KPMG. Alan Noble, managing director of Venturehaus, said: "John can open the company to new opportunities in Scotland and we are delighted he has accepted the role.
Read all today's industry news from scotsman.comTECHNOLOGY
Caledus opens oil base in DubaiOil services company Caledus has opened an office and manufacturing base in Dubai to tap into demand for products to assist with increasingly complex drilling projects in the Middle East (
Herald). The five-year-old Aberdeen-based well construction technology business has previously opened bases in Perth, Australia, Calgary in Canada and Houston in the United States to tackle the Americas and Asia-Pacific markets, as well as its home region of the North Sea. Caledus has agreed strategic alliances with established service companies Shoaibi Group in Saudi Arabia and Al Mazroui Trading and General Services in Abu Dhabi as it targets business from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. It will promote its Slimwell and TD Solutions products, which aim to reduce well construction costs and ease difficult conditions such as high-angle drilling and horizontal wells. Paul Howlett, chief executive of Caledus, said: "We see the Middle East as a vitally important market and are entering at a crucial time for Caledus and the industry as a whole.
Read all today's technology news from scotsman.com
