Wednesday newspaper round-up: Hammond, Debenhams, RBS, Beaufort Securities

Philip Hammond will insist on Wednesday that Britain can overcome EU opposition and include financial services in a post-Brexit free trade deal. The chancellor is expected to use a speech in the City to challenge the idea – voiced strongly by France’s finance minister on Tuesday – that financial services have never been included in trade deals because of their complexity and the risks to stability. – Guardian

In the latest sign of retailers battening down the hatches Debenhams is considering renting space in its flagship London department store to a hot desking firm. The retailer is in talks to rent floor space to flexible-office provider WeWork, as it looks to scale back its high street presence. - Guardian

The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed a settlement of $500m (£360m) with the state of New York for selling mortgage-backed securities ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. The settlement comprises of $100m in cash, with the remaining $400m to go towards consumer relief for communities and homeowners. This will include putting funds into construction projects to allow for more affordable housing to be built. – Telegraph

Procter & Gamble is stepping up efforts to "take back control" from advertising agencies by investing more in internal analytics programmes – a move which will spell further trouble for ad giants WPP and Publicis. The chief brand officer of the American consumer goods giant, Marc Pritchard, told the ISBA conference that companies had "relinquished too much control" in their bid to expand into digital advertising, "chasing shiny objects, overwhelmed by big data, and ceding power to algorithms". He said this had resulted in "wasteful mass blasting". – Telegraph

The administrator to Beaufort Securities, the failed City broker, has warned that it could take “many months” to return cash to investors. PWC confirmed that it expected to make substantial returns to clients after costs and that it had ringfenced £50 million in segregated client money accounts, alongside freezing close to £800 million in client assets. Nigel Rackham, joint administrator, said that the process of returning the money was unlikely to begin before mid-April. – The Times

Melrose Industries is facing fierce pressure to reveal legally binding commitments to protect jobs and invest in research and development if it succeeds in its hostile takeover of GKN, the aerospace and automotive group. In a gruelling hearing yesterday, Simon Peckham, chief executive of Melrose, was forced to make concessions as the buyout group’s commitment and track record for growing British businesses was questioned by MPs on the business, energy and industrial strategy committee. – The Times