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(Alliance News) - Lloyds Banking Group has picked HSBC Holdings' Wealth & Personal Banking head as its next chief executive.
Lloyds Banking said Monday it has chosen Charlie Nunn as chief executive officer. Nunn is currently global chief executive for Wealth & Personal Banking at fellow lender HSBC. He joined HSBC in 2011, having also held roles including global chief operating officer of Retail Banking & Wealth Management and head of Wealth Management & Digital.
Incoming Lloyds Chair Robin Budenberg said: "I am excited about Charlie's vision for Lloyds Banking Group, as well as his passion for and commitment to our purpose of helping Britain prosper. Given his career track record, he will bring world class operational, technology and strategic expertise to build on the strengths of the existing management team."
Added outgoing CEO Antonio Horta-Osorio: "Charlie will find a warm welcome at Lloyds Banking Group and a deep commitment from all of our people to deliver on our purpose and to help Britain recover."
Lloyds said Nunn's start date depends on agreement with HSBC. It noted that Nunn's contract calls for a six-month notice period and up to six months post-termination restrictions. The bank said that if Horta-Osorio steps down before Nunn's arrival, then Chief Financial Officer William Chalmers will be acting CEO.
Lloyds said Nunn will be paid GBP1.1 million per annum in basic salary, plus a fixed share award of GBP1.1 million.
HSBC meanwhile said that HSBC Bank PLC Chief Executive Nuno Matos has been appointed chief executive of Wealth & Personal Banking to replace Nunn. It said that Kevin Martin, chief operating officer of Wealth Personal Banking, will step up to interim CEO of the division, effective immediately, while Matos's appointment is confirmed.
Prior to his current role, which also includes being chief executive of HSBC Europe, Matos was CEO of HSBC Mexico, joining the bank in 2015.
Lloyds Banking shares were down 0.9% early Monday, while HSBC's were down 1.1%.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 6,347.55
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Hang Seng: down 2.0% at 26,361.96
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.8% at 26,433.62
DJIA: closed up 37.90 points, or 0.1%, at 29,910.37
S&P 500: closed up 8.70 points, or 0.2%, at 3,638.35
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GBP: up at USD1.3350 (USD1.3331)
EUR: up at USD1.1968 (USD1.1957)
Gold: down at USD1,779.70 per ounce (USD1,786.40)
Oil (Brent): down at USD47.25 a barrel (USD48.05)
(changes since previous London equities close)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
OPEC meeting opens in Vienna.
0930 GMT UK money and credit
1400 CET Germany provisional consumer price index
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Crunch talks aimed at securing a post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and UK will resume on Monday in what could be the final week of discussions. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his counterpart David Frost will meet again in London as they seek to hammer out an agreement. With just a month to go until the end of the transition period, talks remain stuck on fishing rights – described by Dominic Raab as an "outstanding major bone of contention". But the UK foreign secretary said there was "a deal to be done" after the EU showed progress on the so-called level playing field aimed at preventing unfair competition. Speaking on Sunday, Raab said this could be the last week of "substantive" negotiations and urged Brussels to recognise the "point of principle" on Britain's control of its waters. Fishing rights as well as the governance of any deal and the "level playing field" have been the main stumbling blocks preventing the two sides from reaching a deal thus far.
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The tighter tiered system coming into force this week will stop 98% of England's hospitality sector from doing business as usual at a cost of up to GBP7.8 billion, new research suggests. Jobs site Caterer.com estimated that pent-up demand for meals and drinks could have delivered as much as GBP15.9 billion to the UK economy when the current lockdown ends on Wednesday. A survey of more than 2,000 adults indicated that after four weeks at home, the public is eager to return to hospitality venues. One in four respondents said they were planning to spend more than usual at hospitality venues, suggesting that a potential GBP5.1 billion could be spent on meals and a further GBP5.1 billion on drinks, if venues were allowed to trade fully, said the report.
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US President-Elect Joe Biden has a foot fracture and will likely have to wear a medical boot, his team said Sunday after the 78-year-old was taken to the doctor because he had slipped while playing with his dog. Biden, who will become the oldest US president upon his January swearing-in, suffered the injury Saturday with Major, one of his two German shepherds. The president-elect's personal physician Kevin O'Connor initially said x-rays had not uncovered any "obvious fracture", but added that an additional CT scan would still be done. That scan "confirmed hairline fractures...in the mid-foot," O'Connor said in a subsequent statement released by Biden's office.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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RBC RAISES DUNELM GROUP TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('SECTOR PERFORM') - TARGET 1450 PENCE
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JPMORGAN CUTS BODYCOTE TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 635 (670) PENCE
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RBC RAISES CENTRAL ASIA METALS TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('SECTOR PERFORM') - TARGET 270 (170) PENCE
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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Unilever said it has completed the unification of its group legal structure under a single parent company, Unilever PLC. "From today, and for the first time in its history, Unilever now trades with one market capitalisation, one class of shares and one global pool of liquidity, whilst also maintaining the group's listings on the Amsterdam, London and New York stock exchanges," the consumer goods giant said. It stressed that there will be no change to operations, locations, activities, or staffing levels in either the Netherlands or the UK as a result of unification.
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Advertising firm WPP intends to take full ownership of its Australian and New Zealand operations. WPP said it has submitted a proposal to buy the remaining shares in WPP AUNZ it does not already own. The London-listed advertising firm holds a 61.5% stake in WPP AUNZ, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. "The proposed acquisition is in line with WPP's global strategy of simplifying its structure and will move WPP to 100% ownership and control of its Australian and New Zealand operations," WPP said. WPP is proposing to buy the shares at AUD0.55 each in cash, a premium of 34% to Friday's closing price. The total consideration payable by WPP for the remaining stake would be AUD181 million.
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Frasers Group said it would be interested in any sale process should Philip Green's Arcadia retail empire tumble into administration. Frasers Group confirmed it has provided draft terms to fellow retailer Arcadia Group for a loan of up to GBP50 million. The Sports Direct and House of Fraser owner is now awaiting a "substantive response". Philip Green's struggling Arcadia Group, which runs the Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton brands, is on the brink of collapse with around 15,000 jobs at risk. "Should the company and the Arcadia Group's efforts to agree an emergency funding package fail and the Arcadia Group enter into administration, the company would be interested in participating in any sale process," said Frasers.
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Indivior said it strongly believes Reckitt Benckiser's GBP1.1 billion claim is "without merit". On Friday, Indivior announced Reckitt Benckiser had submitted a GBP1.07 billion claim against the company. The claim related to an indemnity contained in the demerger agreement entered into between the two companies in November 2014. Drug maker Indivior spun off from consumer health and hygiene firm Reckitt and listed on the London Stock Exchange in December of that year. Indivior on Monday said: "Based on the information available to it, Indivior strongly believes that the claim is without merit and that it has strong grounds for defending against the claim should it be served." If the claim is served, Indivior will "fully and vigorously" defend itself.
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COMPANIES - GLOBAL
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AXA said it has agreed to sell its Gulf region insurance operations for USD269 million in cash to Gulf Insurance Group, the largest insurance firm in Kuwait. The sale includes French insurance firm AXA's holding in AXA Gulf, AXA Cooperative Insurance Co, and AXA Green Crescent Insurance Co. AXA said the deal expected to close by the third quarter of 2021. In 2019, AXA's operations in the Gulf region recorded underlying earnings of EUR25 million and gross revenue of EUR851 million. As part of the deal, Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo will also sell its AXA Gulf and AXA Cooperative Insurance shareholding. AXA and YBA Kanoo are among the top five Gulf region insurers and have collectively over 1,000 employees over more than 30 branches and sales outlets located across Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
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Monday's Shareholder Meetings
Europa Metals Ltd - AGM
Advance Energy PLC - AGM
Seeing Machines Ltd - AGM
Pensana Rare Earths PLC - AGM
OPG Power Ventures PLC - AGM
Macau Property Opportunities Fund Ltd - AGM
Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust PLC - GM re voluntary liquidation
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
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