Britain’s data watchdog has fined the construction group Interserve (LON:IRV) £4.4m after a cyber-attack that enabled hackers to steal the personal and financial information of up to 113,000 employees. The attack occurred when Interserve ran an outsourcing business and was designated a “strategic supplier to the government with clients including the Ministry of Defence”. Bank account details, national insurance numbers, ethnic origin, sexual orientation and religion were among the personal information compromised. – Guardian
Rishi Sunak is set to become prime minister after Boris Johnson dropped out of the race to be the next Conservative Party leader. In a 300-word statement issued on Sunday night, Mr Johnson said he had concluded that even if he could win the contest, he did not have enough support among Tory MPs to govern. – Telegraph
Central banks and regulators should loosen rules relating to collateral demands after the UK’s pension fund crisis to prevent further blow-ups in the financial sector, a leading ratings agency has warned. Paul Watters, head of European credit research at S&P Global, told The Times that regulators should aim to make it easier for pension funds, hedge funds and other market participants that use leverage to raise cash quickly in times of financial stress. – The Times
Investment bankers in the City of London are bracing themselves for swingeing jobs cuts this week when the new boss of Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) sets out his plan to revive the troubled group. Ulrich Körner, who took charge at the beginning of August, will reveal his strategy on Thursday. The group has already warned that it will involve shrinking the troubled investment bank and entail job losses that are expected to include roles in London, where Credit Suisse has a big investment banking presence and employs about 5,500 staff overall. – The Times