Articles by Tom Metcalf and Bastian Benrath

UK to Sign Deal Boosting City of London’s Post-Brexit Ties to Switzerland

The UK and Switzerland will sign an agreement around financial services on Thursday, a post-Brexit accord to deepen ties between their respective financial centers. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will visit Bern to sign it, according to people familiar …

Insured Losses From Natural Catastrophes Set to Top $100 Billion for 3rd Year in a Row

Claims for weather-related incidents are set to exceed $100 billion for the third year in a row, as floods, hail and wildfires linked to climate change become more frequent. Munich Re has put the total global insured costs of natural-catastrophe …

BOE’s Bailey Says UK’s Reforms of Insurance Capital Rules Increase Failure Risk by 20%

The governor of the Bank of England has told lawmakers that the UK government’s plans to reform insurance capital rules increases the annual risk of a failure in the life insurance sector by around 20%. The likelihood of a failure …

UK Financial Services Firms Fear Rise in Loan Defaults: CBI/PwC Survey

An increasing number of the UK’s financial services firms expect a rise in loan defaults in the next three months, the latest reminder of a gloomy economic outlook. A balance of 23% of respondents to the CBI/PwC Financial Services Survey …

Rise of Remote Work to Define Future of City of London

More than 85% of UK finance workers no longer view the office as their main place of work, highlighting the challenge the industry faces if it tries to persuade bankers to return to pre-pandemic norms. The demand for a new …

Banks, Asset Managers, Representing 40% of World’s Assets, Vow to Meet Climate Goals

Banks and asset managers representing 40% of the world’s financial assets have now pledged to meet the goals set out in the Paris climate agreement, as an alliance championed by former central banker Mark Carney swells under the gaze of …

Workers in London’s Financial Services Industry Are Returning to Their Desks in Droves

On the lower floors of HSBC Holdings Plc’s Canary Wharf headquarters, the desks are filling up. Traders, salespeople and close support staff not currently in the office have been told they are expected to be at their workstations on the …

Van Gogh Theft Focuses Attention on Empty Museums’ Security During COVID-19 Crisis

The break-in lasted just minutes. At 3 a.m. on Monday, a thief — or thieves — forced open the glass doors of the Singer Laren museum in the Netherlands and headed straight for its prize exhibit: a Van Gogh oil …

Unpicking the Complicated Finances of UK Insurance Exec, Pro-Brexit Donor Banks

Ever since Brexit supporter Arron Banks made the largest political donation in British history he’s been dogged by questions about where he got the money. For a man who told the Financial Times he was worth 100 million pounds ($130 …