Feb172017

News story: UK Government proposes new approach to boost banking competition and resolve RBS’ State aid commitments

HM Government
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The proposal, put forward by HM Treasury with the agreement of RBS, has been designed to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) access and benefit from greater choice in the banking services available to them.

As part of the State aid commitments agreed with the European Commission in 2009 and updated in 2014, RBS undertook to carry out five major divestments. Four have been successfully implemented. In line with its commitments, HM Treasury and RBS have put significant effort into achieving the fifth divestment, that of Williams and Glyn, which has to-date been unsuccessful mainly due to external factors. If adopted, this new plan would replace the need for the fifth divestment and would finally remedy the distortion in the UK’s business banking market which flowed from the provision of state support, with greater speed and certainty than a divestment.

HM Treasury has been in constructive contact with the European Commission in recent months and HM Treasury will now seek formal amendment to RBS’s State aid commitments. The Commissioner responsible for EU competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, plans to propose to the College of Commissioners in the coming weeks to open proceedings in order to gather evidence on the new plan. HM Treasury will carry out a market testing exercise in parallel. The opening of proceedings does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

The proposed package of measures includes:

  • a fund, administered by an independent body, that eligible challenger banks can access to increase their business banking capabilities
  • funding for eligible challenger banks to help them incentivise SMEs to switch their accounts from RBS paid in the form of “dowries” to challenger banks to use to incentivise switching
  • RBS granting business customers of eligible challenger banks access to its branch network for cash and cheque handling, to support the measures above
  • an independent fund to invest in fintech to support the business banking of the future

An HMT spokesperson said:

RBS must deliver on its remaining State aid commitments and this new plan represents the most effective way of delivering the pro-competition objectives behind them.

This new plan provides a clear blueprint to increase competition in the UK’s business banking market, and would help RBS resolve one of its most significant legacy issues which has held back the sale of the taxpayers’ stake.

The estimated upfront cost of the proposed package to RBS is expected to be in the region of £750m. In keeping with the original commitments, the other large incumbent banks (HSBC, Lloyds, and Barclays) would not be eligible to benefit from the proposal. Further details, including precise eligibility criteria for challenger banks, will be announced in due course.

Feb172017

Central African Republic: UN mission reinforces presence in restive Bambari

UN – Top News Stories
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17 February 2017 – Amid ongoing rebel activity in and around Bambari in strife-torn Central African Republic, the United Nations mission – known as MINUSCA – said today that it has reinforced its presence in the city with the arrival of additional troops, including a quick reaction unit and Special Forces.

This reinforcement makes it possible to better protect Bambari and its inhabitants, as, for the time being, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission is the only legitimate authority mandated by the Government to control the city. As Mission chief Parfait Onanga-Anyanga recalled: “Bambari should not belong to armed groups.”

In a news release, the Mission stressed that the FPRC (Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de Centrafrique)’s coalition and UPC (Mouvement pour l’Unité et la Paix en Centrafrique) represent a threat for civilian populations and that UN peacekeepers will respond in case of violence.

However, discussions are ongoing and a UN civilian-military delegation will soon meet with the leader of one of the armed groups. The MINUSCA stressed that Bambari “must be free of armed groups in the coming days.”

And the UN Mission today also welcomed the nomination of Toussaint Muntazini Mukimapa as Special Prosecutor to the CAR’s Special Criminal Court.

Clashes between the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian, plunged the country of 4.5 million people into civil conflict in 2013. According to the UN, more more than half the population is in dire need of assistance. Despite significant progress and successful elections, CAR has remained in the grip of instability and sporadic unrest.

In December 2016, the Mission supported a new dialogue between 11 of the 14 armed groups, as part of an ongoing effort to disarm the factions.

Feb172017

The Government is failing to provide British businesses with the much needed certainty they need – Rebecca Long-Bailey

Labour
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Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary,
commenting on reports of a proposed takeover of Unilever by Kraft, said:

“The Government is failing to provide British businesses with the
much needed certainty they need.

“With Sterling depreciating against the Dollar and the Euro since
last summer, unwelcome takeover bids aimed at buying UK business assets could
well increase.

“This makes the need for a proper industrial strategy all the more
important. At the moment all we are getting from this failing Tory Government
is more of the same, mismanagement and uncertainty.”

Feb172017

Chinese oncologists research cancer genes

East Asia
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One hundred and fifty-two oncologists from across China formed a working group on Friday to identify genetic faults that can increase the risk of cancer.

The group plans to set up a national database of patients who might have developed cancer because of faulty genes.

They will then compile the country’s first clinical guidelines on hereditary cancer and assess the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapies designed to destroy certain types of the faulty genes.

Beijing Cancer Hospital President Ji Jiafu said breast, ovarian and gastric cancer patients tend to have strong family history of the disease, but more research needs to be done.

He said people with faulty genes are more likely to develop cancer at a younger age and do not necessarily show early signs of illness. The identification of these genes may help people born with higher cancer risks detect cell mutation at an earlier stage.

Early intervention is vital in curing certain types of cancer, most notably glandular and breast cancer, and is helpful in improving quality of life for patients with most other types of cancer.

Latest statistics from national tumor register center shows that 271 in every 100,000 people develop cancer in China. In 2013 alone, 2.2 million Chinese died of cancer. Lung, liver and gastric cancer were the top three killers.

Feb172017

One million Ukrainian children now need aid as number doubles over past year – UNICEF

UN – Top News Stories
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17 February 2017 – As the volatile conflict in eastern Ukraine enters its fourth year, one million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance &#8211 nearly double the number this time last year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported today.

&#8220This is an invisible emergency &#8211 a crisis most of the world has forgotten,&#8221 said UNICEF’s Representative in Ukraine, Giovanna Barberis, in a news release.

&#8220Children in eastern Ukraine have been living under the constant threat of unpredictable fighting and shelling for the past three years. Their schools have been destroyed, they have been forced from their homes and their access to basic commodities like heat and water has been cut off,&#8221 she stated.

The release attributed the increase &#8211 an additional 420,000 girls and boys &#8211 to the continued fighting and the steady deterioration of life in eastern Ukraine, where some 1.7 million people have been internally displaced, and many families have lost their incomes, social benefits and access to healthcare, while the price of living has sharply risen.

Hundreds of daily ceasefire violations put children’s physical safety and psychological well-being at risk. The situation is particularly grave for the approximately 200,000 girls and boys living within 15 kilometres on each side of the ‘contact line’ in eastern Ukraine, a line which divides government and non-government controlled areas where fighting is most severe.

RELATED: Thousands of children out of school as classrooms shelled in eastern Ukraine &#8211 UNICEF

In this zone, 19,000 children face constant danger from landmines and other unexploded ordinance and 12,000 children live in communities shelled at least once a month. Thousands of children are regularly forced to take refuge in improvised bomb shelters.

Teachers, psychologists and parents report signs of severe psychosocial distress among children including nightmares, aggression, social withdrawal and panic triggered by loud noises.

More than 740 schools &#8211 one in five in eastern Ukraine – have been damaged or destroyed.

UNICEF once again calls for all sides to immediately recommit to the ceasefire signed in Minsk in August 2015 and to respect international humanitarian law, including allowing unrestricted humanitarian access.

UNICEF is appealing for $31.3 million to provide health and nutrition support, education, clean water, hygiene and sanitation as well as protection for children and families affected by the conflict. So far, about 10 per cent of the appeal has been funded.