The new management team at Northern Rock is looking into whether they can take legal action against the previous board that led the bank into such difficulties last year.
At the moment the matter is in the hands of lawyers acting on behalf of Northern Rock who are in the process of looking into the situation to determine what can be done. Only after their analysis is complete will there be any decision made on pursuing the matter through the courts.
Elsewhere at Northern Rock the bank is aiming to increase the debt collection part of its business by well over 100 percent as they plan for the financial difficulties that may face their customers in the future. There are currently around 170 people in this particular department though that number will be closer to 450 after the extra staff have been brought on board.
According to a recent Alliance and Leicester survey of 16 to 21 year olds in the UK, the ideal occupation would be a professional, and very famous, musician.
Over a thousand young people were surveyed to gain a better understanding of this valuable market segment, since the Alliance and Leicester current account is perfectly suited to the needs of young people. It seems that the youth of today aspire to be famous, seeing wealth come as part of the package.
As said, musician tops the list, followed by a role in the media, a socialite – which means no career at all most people over 21 would argue – and then fashion designer. As a top 4 it bears little resemblance to what is likely to be the reality for 99.9 percent of them, but it is always good to dream and maybe the Alliance and Leicester can help them manage their money so they can feel like they are rich.
One of the largest banks in Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is considering buying into Barclays Bank as they seek to raise GBP4 billion capital.
Sumitomo Mitsui is considering a 100 billion Yen investment, which would be around GBP500 million. Barclays also have serious interest from some other investors too and if everything goes as planned then the GBP4 billion needed will be achieved with money to spare.
An announcement is expected from Barclays Bank in the next week or so, though existing Barclays investors have to give their final approval before the deals can go ahead. Sumitomo Mitsui are certainly very keen on the deal since they have been finding it difficult to locate good investment opportunities in China.
