The pound plunged yesterday with UK stocks after the nation voted for a Brexit.

Less than three weeks before the UK votes on its membership in the EU, the country’s equity investors are much less worried about the outcome than their colleagues trading currencies.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Former HSBC Holdings chief executive Michael Geoghegan is among 250 business leaders backing the push for the UK to leave the European Union.

HSBC Holdings is discovering that the oil crash extends far beyond the deserts of the Gulf, the plains of west Texas, and the shale fields of North Dakota. Even Petroceltic, the small energy company in Dublin, can inflict pain.

Banking behemoths, led by HSBC Holdings and JPMorgan Chase & Co, now know the cost they will have to shoulder so the global financial system does not have another Lehman moment.

The crisis at soccer’s global governing body continues to spread as authorities in Germany and Switzerland target banks and national sport associations for financial transactions linked to Fifa.

Herve Falciani, whose data leak spawned global investigations into how HSBC Holdings allegedly helped clients avoid taxes, won’t appear in person to defend himself against charges of violating bank secrecy laws and risk arrest.

Divided global bank regulators are preparing for a showdown on rules intended to make sure taxpayers will not be on the hook when one of the world’s biggest lenders fails.

Britain’s largest banks are urging the UK Treasury to start a formal review of taxes on the industry, amid concern HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered could move overseas to avoid a levy on balance sheets.

Greek bank deposits plunged to their lowest level in 10 years in February as a political standoff between the government and the country’s creditors raised the prospect of a possible euro exit.

Europe’s biggest banks face restrictions on lending to hedge funds in a key MEP’s proposed amendments to a bank-structure bill now making its way through the legislature.

Conversations at Davos typically focus on the thousands of wealthy and powerful folk who trek to the Alps every January for the World Economic Forum.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group suspended bonuses of 18 traders as part of a review of foreign-exchange business in the wake of a $634m (€521.25m) fine.

Hong Kong’s business conditions in October worsened the most in more than three years in part because of continuing pro-democracy protests, according to the compilers of an economic benchmark.

HSBC Holdings has set aside some $378m (€302m) for a potential settlement with Britain’s financial watchdog for alleged manipulation of currency markets.

The commercial court is being asked to permit transfer of the international life assurance business of Dublin-based HSBC Life (Europe) Ltd — HLE — to another HSBC company in Malta.

Barclays, trying to stanch an exodus of senior dealmakers, posted a bigger- than-estimated drop in first-quarter profit as a fall in revenue from trading bonds, currencies, and commodities cut earnings from the investment bank by 49%.

BETTER-than-expected business sentiment data from Germany failed to halt falls on international stock markets yesterday but helped slow their declines.

ALLIED Irish Banks, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, has a market value bigger than UBS and Barclays, even after its third bailout by the Government.

BARCLAYS, Britain’s second-largest bank by assets, is eliminating about 3,000 jobs this year as second-quarter investment banking profit fell by more than 25%.

London: HSBC Holdings executives faced investor anger yesterday over lacklustre returns and high executive pay, prompting chairman Douglas Flint to admit performance had been disappointing.

BANKS may save about £10 billion (€11.38bn) in capital and other costs under proposals being considered by the Britain’s Independent Commission on Banking aimed at securing the financia lsystem against the collapse of a single lender, a person with knowledge of the plans said.

British banks allowed two Nigerian politicians on corruption charges to deposit millions in illicit money overseas largely without questions, a report claims today.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index hit four digits again today.

AIB was among the European banking stocks least favoured by analysts at UBS as it predicted a dreadful year for earnings in 2009.

BANKS tend to be big employers. For instance, most of the largest private sector employers in Europe are banks — HSBC Holdings, BNP Paribas, Royal Bank of Scotland, Credit Suisse.

Wall Street sold off sharply today as concerns about a weakening credit market wiped out US investors' enthusiasm about strong retails sales during the holiday weekend.

Wall Street seesawed through an erratic session today, trying to stabilise but ultimately finishing near its lows of the day amid worries about mortgage defaults, a strengthening yen and tumbling stock markets abroad.

The London market experienced a slight rally in afternoon trading today as the FTSE 100 Index clawed back some of the session’s earlier losses.

BRITAIN and France, the second and third-biggest European economies, racked up record trade deficits last year as an appreciation in the euro and the pound curbed export growth.

BRITISH stocks fell for the first time in six days after HSBC Holdings said it will increase loan-loss provisions and Unilever reported sales that missed analysts’ estimates.

A Macau bank accused by US officials of helping North Korea handle counterfeit money has said it relied on the New York operations of banking group HSBC to check large deposits of US currency from North Korean customers, a newspaper reported today.

Mobile phone giant Vodafone rung the changes in its boardroom today by naming HSBC boss Sir John Bond as its chairman elect.

Britain's HSBC bank has replaced current chairman John Bond after he called time on 45 years at the UK’s second largest company.

HSBC Holdings, the world’s No 2 bank by market value, increased second-half profit by 58% after the $15.5 billion purchase of Household International.

John Bond, chairman of HSBC Holdings has declined to comment on reports in the British press on Sunday that the bank is in merger talks with Deutsche Bank AG.

DIRECTORS at Canary Wharf Group, the builder of London’s second financial district, are moving closer to reaching a decision on whether to sell the company.

HSBC Holdings, BT Group, Aviva and other companies who have cut costs by moving some jobs out of Britain will face an inquiry by lawmakers, according to trade union officials.