Thursday newspaper round-up: Lloyds Banking Group, Microsoft, car finance crisis

The former cryptocurrency executive Nishad Singh, who once shared a $35m Bahamas penthouse with the FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was spared prison time by a judge on Wednesday for his role in the theft by his imprisoned former boss of about $8bn in customer funds from the now bankrupt exchange. The United States district judge Lewis Kaplan imposed the sentence during a hearing in Manhattan federal court. – Guardian

Lloyds Banking Group has scrapped commission payments across its £15bn motor finance arm after a landmark ruling on car loan misselling, as industry and Treasury officials hold urgent talks amid fears of contagion across the wider financial sector. The moves follow last week’s court of appeal judgment, which agreed that consumers could not have consented to loans that involved “secret” commission payments to brokers and car dealers. – Guardian

Microsoft’s costly investment in artificial intelligence technology is paying off, with quarterly sales surpassing Wall Street expectations to grow 16 per cent to $65.6 billion. Revenue from Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing business, a significant source of growth in recent years, rose 33 per cent in the fiscal first quarter, ahead of estimates of 32 per cent. – The Times

One of the most senior former regulators in Britain has blamed the Financial Conduct Authority for the crisis shaking the motor finance industry, saying the lack of clarity in its rulebook was to blame. Sir Howard Davies, the former chairman of the FCA’s predecessor body, the Financial Services Authority, said he was disappointed by the role of the FCA, adding that the crisis “has caused a lot of anxiety”. – The Times

Former business secretary Lord Mandelson has resigned from the board of a start-up bank founded by a Labour Party donor. In a boardroom clear-out, The Bank of London said Lord Mandelson, Wade Davis and Anthony Watson, the group’s founder, had all stepped down as directors. The bank’s chairman, Carlyle Group chief executive Harvey Schwartz, will also leave. – Telegraph