US banking giant Citigroup is to pay 730m dollars to settle claims about allegedly misleading investors over its exposure to subprime mortgages between 2006 and 2008, reports the Financial Times. The paper says that this is the second-biggest class action payout in relation to the financial crisis.
According to The Telegraph, RBS will spend £700m over the next three years to improve and refurbish its network of 2,066 branches “as part of a continuing shift in focus towards its domestic lending business”.
Budget airline easyJet could walk away from a multibillion-dollar order with Boeing and Airbus to upgrade its fleet unless it gets better terms from manufacturers, writes The Times. The paper says the company is negotiating on the price of upgrading to more fuel-efficient jets.
The Times says that Moscow has threatened to withdraw its financial aid to Cyprus after the proposal to enforce a bank levy on customer accounts. President Putin said that the proposed tax was “unfair, unprofessional and dangerous”, as the country warned that it could pull its €2.5bn of financial aid.
Hedge fund manager Man Group is to cap bonuses for executives to 250% of their salaries in an effort to “increase transparency and alignment with shareholders whilst reducing the complexity and likely quantum of awards”, writes The Guardian.
Ian McCafferty, a policy-maker from the Bank of England, has warned about the impact of a weakening pound, saying that its inflationary consequences would be “damaging for the economy”, says The Telegraph.