Libor

REGULATION

HSBC has put aside $1.3bn (£830m) in UK customer redress provisions and $700m (£450m) relating to US regulatory and legal issues as it reports $12.7bn in interim pre-tax profit.

Barclays has reported pre-tax profits of £4.2bn for the six months to 30 June but has set aside £450m for swaps redress and revealed its finance director is involved in a fresh investigation by the FSA.

The British Bankers Association (BBA) has come under fire from a former member of the LIBOR compilation team at Thomson Reuters, who claims the organisation was told on a weekly basis in 2008 that the rates were being distorted.

The European Commission has cracked down on the fixing of interest rates in the latest twist to the LIBOR scandal, which has dominated headlines in recent weeks.

Barclays has hired an investment banker to lead an independent review of its culture, as the bank tries to clean up its image following the LIBOR scandal.

FSA chairman Lord Adair Turner said the regulator is reviewing its approach to supervision following the LIBOR scandal, but said it would cost too much to prevent all malpractice in the industry.

Former Cabinet Secretary Lord O'Donnell has emerged as one of the leading frontrunners to take the role of Barclays chairman.

Investors have had to reassess their strategies to stand out from peers in recent months, as range-bound markets play havoc with long-held approaches.

Invesco Perpetual's Paul Causer, Paul Read and Nick Mustoe have invested over 75% of their new Global Financials fund into banks, the fund's first monthly update reveals.