Tuesday Papers: Leading UK banks prepare to accept tax guidelines - money news

Financial Times

* The UK’s biggest banks are preparing to sign up to a code of conduct on tax avoidance after the government increased the pressure on institutions that have so far ignored calls to agree to voluntary guidelines.

* Guy Hands’ lawsuit against Citigroup over his Terra Firma private equity group’s £4.2bn buy-out of EMI has kicked off with clashing accounts of the deal.

* Canadian Miner, Ivanhoe Mines, unveiled plans on Monday to raise up to $1 billion through a rights offering.

* Bonuses for the fourth quarter for BP staff will be based solely on how employees perform in terms of safety and risk management, Bob Dudley, the UK oil group’s new chief executive, has told staff.

* Beazley will approach shareholders in Hardy Underwriting, its rival Lloyd’s of London insurer, in the hope it can persuade them that it can make a valuable offer for the smaller company.

* Greece’s EFG Eurobank raised €300 million of funding from the interbank market using long-term government bonds as collateral.

* Citigroup sought to allay investors’ fears over the US mortgage crisis, saying it had not uncovered any irregularities in its foreclosure process.

* South Korea, holder of the world’s fifth-biggest foreign exchange reserves, is considering buying gold to diversify its dollar-heavy portfolio.

The Times

* Barclays has made an aggressive move to capture a bigger slice of the mortgage market with an eye-catching new deal aimed at poaching customers enjoying low rates with their existing lender.

The Guardian