In the City

When HSBC bought the UK unit of Silicon Valley Bank over one frantic March weekend, the chief executive of the bank’s UK arm at the time, Erin Platts, was surprised. Having spent almost 20 years with SVB, she wasn’t expecting such a swift end for the lender. But afterwards, she found herself surprised by how positive the outcome was for her and her team. She joins this week’s In the City podcast to discuss her outlook for the City’s technology scene as it vies for AI startups. Also in the episode, Merritt speaks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and reporter Aisha Gani gives context to the London Week hype. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The AI revolution is fast unfolding all across Wall Street. Even as banks in recent months have laid off thousands of workers and instituted hiring freezes, they nevertheless continue to pour money into artificial intelligence. But what are these financial institutions hoping to get out of their investment? On this week’s episode of In the City, Olson is joined by Alexandra Mousavizadeh, co-founder and chief executive of consultancy Evident. Together, they break down the financial industry’s growing interest in the technology and its likely impact on productivity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

London’s economy is in trouble. Just ask a taxi driver—or their boss. Liam Griffin is chief executive of Addison Lee, a London-based private hire cab and courier company. On this episode of In the City, he explains how his company’s performance is a reflection of the City’s economic health. Plus, reporter Helen Chandler-Wilde unpacks London's traffic problem. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With In the City hosts David Merritt and Francine Lacqua in Doha for the annual Qatar Economic Forum, this week’s podcast focuses on the growing influence of the Middle East—and whether it will come at the expense of Western financial hubs. Bloomberg reporter Dinesh Nair joins. He says the Middle East is currently the only region that can “call the shots on big transactions.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guy Hands is, perhaps unsurprisingly, bearish on the UK. The famous financier and chairman of private equity firm Terra Firma says Britain is in a “sort of geriatric decline,” with its post-Brexit business outlook and investment case getting worse every day. Hands tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua on this week’s episode of In the City that if the UK maintains its weakened relationship with the European Union, it’s destined to be poorer on a relative basis than the bloc.  Hands, who backed the Remain side in 2016, recently said he’d stop making donations to the Conservatives after the government rejected the possibility of a closer trade deal with the EU. Now he supports Labour because they seem “marginally better.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Confederation of British Industry is fighting for survival. Known for a half-century as the voice of almost 200,000 UK companies and having the ear of the government, the CBI is now in crisis. In this week’s In the City, reporter Sabah Meddings explores how a 300-employee organization that spoke out against sexual harassment is now unraveling as police investigate allegations of sexual assault.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a new investment playbook being used by central banks, one that spells opportunity for those who know the rules. This according to Alex Brazier, deputy head of BlackRock’s Investment Institute, who tells In the City that—for investors who can get granular in volatile markets—there’s money to made.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

British entrepreneur Nick Candy is best known for working alongside his brother Christian to create One Hyde Park, a residential development in London’s exclusive Knightsbridge district and home to some of the world’s richest people. When sales opened in 2007, the building was smashing world per-square-foot price records. In this week’s episode of In the City, Candy tells David Merritt and Francine Lacqua that his next project in Dubai will beat those records. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The luxury industry is booming. Just look at the latest figures from LVMH and Hermes. Or as Harrods Managing Director Michael Ward says in this week’s episode of In the City, observe the foot traffic in his storied London department store. While mid-market labels are feeling the squeeze, super-brands like Chanel and Dior are thriving, Ward explains. “The great thing about the luxury industry is it’s price insensitive,” he says. “The rich get richer, and that’s the world.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of the recent headlines out of Paris focus on strikes and protests. But underneath the heaps of rubbish that were piled up on the city’s streets (and possibly again soon), is an increasingly important hub for global finance. In recent months, we’ve seen big banks like Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and Citigroup expand their presence in the French capital, ushering in a new reality for the landscape of European banking.   Francine Lacqua and David Merritt discuss Paris’s growing appeal with reporter Alexandre Rajbhandari and editor Tom Metcalf, and unpack the challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron’s pro-business agenda with Paris Bureau Chief Alan Katz. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.