LONDON’S BUSINESS NEWSPAPER
RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC AND MISOGYNIST THE DAMNING VERDICT ON THE MET P10 TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2023
ISSUE 3,953
DON’T PANIC!
PROPERTY LONDON’S BIGGEST WINNERS AND LOSERS ON THE HOUSING MARKET P9
CITYAM.COM
FREE
BANK OF ENGLAND EASES BONDHOLDER CONCERNS MARKETS SOOTHED BY CREDIT SUISSE RESCUE DOWNING STREET: UK BANKS ARE ‘ROBUST’ AND ‘SAFE’
CHARLIE CONCHIE AND CHRISTOPHER DORRELL MARKETS proved less volatile than expected yesterday as investors welcomed the late-night rescue of Credit Suisse by its rival UBS at the weekend. The FTSE 100 cratered on the open but recovered to finish up by the close of trading. Stanchart lost three per cent and Barclays lost slightly more than two per cent, but otherwise banks were either flat or finished in the green as contagion fears appeared to abate slightly. Much of the reassurance came from the Bank of England, which assuaged the concerns of holders of bank-offered AT1 bonds. Those who held those bonds in Credit Suisse, also known as
CoCos, were wiped out by the Swiss regulator despite being higher in the creditor hierarchy than shareholders, who received around $3bn in the deal. The Swiss banks, as well as the regulator, are expected to face legal action after the controversial move. Threadneedle Street issued a statement yesterday, followed by the European Central Bank, which confirmed that in the event a bank ran into trouble in the UK it would be shareholders before bondholders who were zeroed. That reduced concern among holders of AT1 bonds in other banks across Europe. The day of relative calm also saw the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson echo the Bank of England’s claim that the UK’s banks are “safe and sound”.
THE CITY VIEW P2 SUISSE JOB LOSS FEARS P3 ANALYSIS AND OPINION P11, P14
Put deal to other strikers, Lynch told, as Network Rail staff vote to end walkouts CITY A.M. REPORTER COMMUTERS may soon be able to plan their trips to the office and post-work drinks without fear of strike action disrupting their plans. Members of the RMT working for Network Rail voted overwhelmingly yesterday to accept an offer to end
the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions. The union said the deal includes an uplift on salaries of between 14.4 per cent for the lowest paid grades to 9.2 per cent for the highest paid, increased backpay, a no compulsory redundancy
agreement until January 2025 and rail travel benefits. RMT members working for train operating companies, however, are still set to strike on 30 March and 1 April. Yesterday, the transport secretary Mark Harper challenged RMT boss
Mick Lynch (left) to give those members a vote on a separate pay deal, too. “While this is good news, unfortunately, RMT members who work for train operating companies are not being given the same chance to bring their dispute to an end. That’s because the RMT has refused
to put the Rail Delivery Group’s very similar offer to a vote, denying these members the pay rise they deserve,” he said. Hospitality businesses, which have been hit hard by train disruption, will breathe a sigh of relief. It is estimated action has cost the sector several billion pounds.
INSIDE TECH REDUNDANCIES CONTINUE IN DROVES P4 SHOULD PENSION FUNDS TAKE THE BLAME? P6 SOUTH LONDON’S NEW VERTICAL FARM P8 MARKETS P13 SPORT P19-P20