Friday newspaper round-up: PPI, RBS, EU

There are “serious risks” of further mis-selling scandals erupting in the financial services industry and stronger action is needed to tackle problems with the culture of firms, MPs have warned. The public accounts committee (PAC) also said it was a “failure of the system of regulation and redress” that claims management firms have made up to £5bn from PPI (payment protection insurance) payouts – the equivalent of £1 in every £4 recuperated. - The Guardian

Tens of thousands of jobs could be lost in Edinburgh’s prestigious financial sector if Britain leaves the European Union, the UK city minister has warned ahead of a visit to the capital today. Harriett Baldwin will say that Edinburgh-based financial giants such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life can trade across the EU without the “cost complexity” that firms outside the UK face. - The Scotsman

Sir John Major will tell those leading the campaign for Britain to leave the EU that they risk morphing into Ukip through their heavy emphasis on immigration. In a speech on Friday that will be seen as a thinly veiled criticism of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and other senior Tory leave supporters, the former prime minister will accuse the anti-EU camp of crossing the line with its arguments in a way that risks dividing communities. - The Guardian

Dong Energy set out plans for a summer stock market flotation yesterday, as it pressed ahead with a big expansion of its offshore wind energy business in Britain.Dong, the world’s biggest investor in offshore wind projects, said that it would list at least 15 per cent of its shares on the Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange this summer in a flotation that could value the Danish company at up to £10bn. That would represent the country’s biggest IPO. - The Times

Bill Gates has his own 19-seat private jet and family holidays are held on a 134m yacht powered by eight diesel engines. But yesterday it emerged that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had sold its holding in BP in the latest move to divest its fossil fuel assets. The world’s biggest health charity sold its $187 million stake in the British oil giant at the end of last year, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. - The Times

A plan to overcome the £500m pensions deficit that is proving a massive hurdle to the sale of Tata’s UK steel business is set to fail, according to a leading pensions expert. Changes the Government is reported to be considering "drive a coach and horses through a fundamental principle” of pension schemes, according to John Ralfe, who is also advising a government inquiry into BHS, the Pension Protection Fund and the Pensions Regulator. - The Daily Telegraph

The European Parliament has voted by an overwhelming majority to deny China the coveted prize of market economy status, warning that it would leave Europe’s battered industries vulnerable to a devastating flood of subsidized Chinese goods. The protest marks the latest retreat from globalisation and unfettered trade by Europe, and comes as support crumbles both for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US and for the Mercosur deal with South American sates. - The Daily Telegraph