Wednesday newspaper round-up: Pensions, banking reforms, Credit Suisse

(Sharecast News) - The former chief executive of the housebuilder Persimmon who landed one of the biggest bonuses in British corporate history has set up a new venture with his wife. Jeff Fairburn, who was ousted from Persimmon after protests at his bumper £82m bonus in 2018, has set up an investment company with his wife, Jayne, the Guardian can reveal. - Guardian Jeremy Hunt's pensions tax break for the highest 1% of savers in Britain stands to benefit almost as many bankers as doctors, an economist has said, as the government insisted the budget giveaway was designed to cut NHS waiting lists. On a day of renewed pressure over the £1bn giveaway, Rishi Sunak argued that scrapping the tax-free lifetime allowance on pensions would encourage more doctors to stay in employment rather than taking retirement. - Guardian

Jeremy Hunt has committed to banking reforms intended to make the City of London more competitive, despite fears that looser regulation will introduce yet more risk to a fragile financial system. A Treasury source confirmed that plans to slash red tape - dubbed "Big Bang 2.0" to draw parallels with Margaret Thatcher's overhaul of the Square Mile - will be brought forward unchanged in the wake of the rescues of Credit Suisse and the UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). - Telegraph

Second-hand electric car prices are tumbling amid a glut of stock as drivers trade their cars in. The average price of a pre-owned electric vehicle has fallen by 13pc over the last year to £33,060, AutoTrader found. - Telegraph

Bosses at the Dubai company behind P&O Ferries have shared more than £15 million after the sacking of hundreds of UK-based crew last year. DP World paid directors and key managers $18.9 million (£15.5 million), including bonuses, up from $17.8 million in 2021, its annual report shows. - The Times

The Swiss government has ordered Credit Suisse to freeze the payment of deferred bonuses to its bankers, in a fresh blow to staff following the troubled lender's forced sale to rival UBS. The Federal Council said the temporary suspension applied to "already granted but deferred variable remuneration for the financial years up to 2022". - The Times