Michael Spencer, chief executive of broking giant Icap, today tried to reassure investors that he did not see the global probes into Libor-fixing as a major issue for his group.
He pointed out: “Icap has nothing to do with the setting of Libor. It does not supply data and is not a bank.”
He added that the actual level of Libor, whether rigged or not, had no commercial effect on the broking firm.
Icap suspended two traders earlier this year but would give no details on why it did so. It said it was co-operating with authorities on both sides of the Atlantic.
At today’s shareholder meeting, Spencer said revenues in the first quarter were down 9%, reflecting the eurozone crisis and the loss of trading days during the Jubilee weekend. Voice broking has been particularly hard hit.
That means that brokers’ bonuses will be lower this year, probably down by more than the 9% fall in revenues as commissions drop.
Spencer said he expects trading to remain subdued particularly through the Olympics and US Presidential election.
He said cost cutting, which has included around 65 job cuts, would produce annualised savings of at least £50 million by the end of the current financial year with an even higher one pencilled in for the following year.
For the full year Icap is forecasting pre-tax profits of between £335 million and £365 million, which compares with the £354 million it made last year.
