Fury as Pru chief moonlights on bank board - papers

The Prudential chief executive Tidjane Thiam was under fire from shareholders last night after taking on a second high-profile job while trying to steer the insurer through a record takeover deal.

The Times reports Mr Thiam's decision to become a non-executive director at Société Générale, the French banking giant, sparked surprise and anger among leading Pru shareholders. They branded the move unacceptable and a disgrace.

Five big investors said that they were dismayed by the timing of Mr Thiam's nomination, which comes as he battles to convince the City to back a transforming $35.5bn (£23 bn) acquisition in Asia, paid for by the biggest rights issue in British history.

"Not only is it an utterly extraordinary thing to do, it's incredibly arrogant," one top-ten Prudential shareholder said last night. "He has only just inherited the chief executive's job and he has already taken on this huge task of doubling the size of the company. That transaction has yet to get investors on board. Doing this and doing it now just does not make sense." See story...

Four banks face trial over derivatives deals

Four banks were charged with fraud on Wednesday for their roles in a €1.7bn ($2.3bn) financing package for the Italian city of Milan in a case that will fuel the global debate about the use of complex derivatives.

The Financial Times reports UBS, JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and Germany's Depfa will face trial in Milan after a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence for them to face criminal charges of aggravated fraud for their role in devising a swaps package for the city's 2005 bond issue.

The case comes amid claims that investment banks helped Greece to fudge its national debt figures through the use of derivatives in order to qualify for membership of the euro. See story...