Prudential close to agreement with FSA
It is believed that the Prudential is close to announcing an agreement with the FSA which would allow the group to continue with the much-publicised £24 billion acquisition of AIG's Asian operations. The deal appeared to be in turmoil after the FSA requested more time to look through various capital adequacy requirements for the enlarged group. This caused confusion and concern within investment markets and the postponement of a £14 billion fundraising exercise.
It now appears as though the FSA and the Prudential have come to an agreement which will see the creation of a reserve worth in the region of £1 billion which would be used in a "Armageddon situation". One of the major concerns of the FSA had been the ability for the Prudential to withdraw funding from Asia if required by the UK regulator in the event of any seen circumstances. Now that this situation appears to have been resolved, hopefully we should get back to the subject of the deal at hand this week.
If these rumours are correct then this could be the lifeboat that the Prudential management have been looking for after coming under massive pressure over the last seven days.
Share this..
Related stories
Lufthansa flies the flag for Europe
While it was expected by many in the industry, the news that the Lufthansa airline is currently in talks to acquire Scandinavian airline group SAS is set to push Lufthansa to second in the European league table. The group had already been very vocal in its thoughts that bargains would appear and because of a robust business model and strong balance sheet, they would not be shy in stepping into th...
Read MoreGordon Brown confirms government backing for HBOS and Lloyds TSB merger
Gordon Brown has today repeated the UK governments backing of the Lloyds TSB and HBOS merger even in the face of rumoured offers from elsewhere. In a sharp put down to the Scottish suggestion of a new management team to take control of HBOS he concluded that the Lloyds bid should be allowed to go through in the absence of another "serious" bidder.
This is a sharp reality check for o...
Barclays Capital increases remuneration pool
Even though Barclays Capital, the investment arm of Barclays Bank, saw a reduction in external revenue streams during the first six months 2010, compared to the first half of 2009, the company has increased its contribution to the remuneration pool by 18%. This is the liquidity pool from which remuneration and bonus payments are funded and has been a bone of contention for those working outside of...
Read MoreConnaught calls in the administrators
UK social housing company Connaught has been forced to call in KPMG as administrators to the group after banking support was apparently withdrawn. This is a company which employed more than 10,000 people in the UK and is active in a whole host of public-sector service projects which will need to be protected from the ongoing issue with the company. It seems as though Connaught's problems began...
Read MoreIs there a counter bid on the way for HBOS?
It has been revealed that plans for a counter bid for HBOS are well underway with leading Scots financier Jim Spowart apparently the man chosen to head the consortium bid if it ever gets off the ground. The Scottish government has become involved and Scottish secretary Jim Murphy is believed to be in talks about a possible second bid for the bank.
While the government has been very...