banks

FIVE THINGS

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has called on banks and building societies to improve their work to detect and combat investment fraud.

UK banks including RBS, Barclays and HSBC are set to be downgraded by Moody's this evening, it has emerged.

The government has confirmed its plans to force banks to ring-fence their retail operations, as well as other measures recommended by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB).

A single regulator responsible for the oversight of banks across all 27 European Union countries could come into place as early as January 2013, according to reports.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is telling banks, building societies and credit unions to publicise more prominently the guarantee schemes which apply to their customers' deposits.

CONDENSED

Spain has taken a 45% stake in Bankia, the country's third largest bank, following another day of sharp falls in the country's equity markets and gains in its bond yields.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the world faces a credit crunch similar to that of 2008/09 as the euro crisis forces banks to cut their balance sheets.

Government body UK Financial Investments is in talks to sell £10bn worth of RBS shares to a consortium of investors led by Sheikh Mansour, the owner of Manchester City Football Club.