Tuesday newspaper round-up: Banking regulations, FirstGroup, EY

The amount of CO2 production financed by Britain’s banks and asset managers is nearly double the UK’s annual carbon emissions, according to a new report. The study, published by environmental campaign groups Greenpeace and WWF, shows the City provided loans and investments for projects and companies that emitted 805m tonnes of CO2 in 2019. That is 1.8 times the UK’s own annual net emissions for the same year, which totalled 455m tonnes when discounting aviation and shipping, sectors that the UK government also does not include in its emissions calculations. - Guardian

The Bank of England will examine tightening banking regulations after the winding down of debt-laden Wyelands Bank, a lender majority-owned by troubled Liberty Steel boss Sanjeev Gupta. Appearing before MPs on the Treasury select committee on Monday, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said there could be lessons to be learned after Gupta took control of Wyelands. The bank subsequently made a series of loans to a network of companies controlled by his associates. - Guardian

Ministers are refusing to back a global overhaul of corporation tax championed by Joe Biden unless the White House supports their demands to crack down on US tech titans. President Biden is thought to have won round most major Western nations in his bid to impose a global minimum threshold for corporation tax, to prevent companies from sheltering profits offshore. - Telegraph

The US hedge fund leading the fight against FirstGroup's £3.3bn sale of its American divisions was initially willing to back the terms of the deal it now bitterly opposes, leaked documents show. Coast Capital Management, FirstGroup's largest shareholder, said it would support the sale of First Student and First Transit if four conditions were met in a letter on Apr 21, The Telegraph can reveal. - Telegraph

Most of EY’s 17,000 staff in Britain have been told to expect to work from home for at least two days a week after the pandemic. The Big Four accounting group is the latest large-scale office employer to announce a permanent shift towards hybrid working. KPMG, a rival, has told its UK staff that they will be expected to spend up to four days in the office every fortnight from June onwards. PWC, another leading accountancy firm, has told its 22,000 staff to expect to spend an average of two to three days a week in the office once restrictions are lifted. - The Times