Industry

RBS is set to announce the sale of 318 branches to Spain's Santander as the UK lender offloads the former Williams & Glyn's network.

HSBC reported profits doubled to £7bn for the first half of the year, with gains in every region apart from North America.

The cost of capital for companies with controversial environmental and human rights records should be higher than more ethical companies, says Aviva Investors.

The governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has declared a fiscal state of emergency as lawmakers stall on delivery of a state budget, now more than a month overdue.

The FSA plans to strengthen its Remuneration Code to encompass over 2,500 firms which will include setting firmer rules on bonus structures for key staff.

Mervyn King wants a new breed of regulators focused on public service and not huge banking-style pay packages when responsibility for financial regulation transfers from the FSA to the Bank of England in 2012.

Business secretary Vince Cable said banks should be 'very, very self-conscious' about how they reward staff and investors and refused to rule out a tax on bank profits.

The Treasury is proposing setting up separate compensation schemes and ending the current cross-subsidy between different classes of FSCS levy payers.

Lifemark, one of the life settlements groups behind Keydata, could be facing liquidation after US hedge fund CarVal pulled a $60m rescue offer, according to reports.

THE BIG INTERVIEW