RWA

Abel, founder and CEO of RWA Communications, is the publicist for Baldoni and Wayfarer.

"Previously awarded £9,600 a year, the grant represented less than 1% of our total operating costs as an independent charity, but it was the RWA's only public subsidy and important for securing grants from other funders," she said.

Holding more RWA will require banks to set aside more capital under the new standards.

"Intesa seems to be accelerating the RWA reduction," JPMorgan said.

Intesa said the fourth-quarter RWA reduction would actually contribute to shareholder value creation and distribution because upcoming regulatory changes meant the assets in question made no economic sense when comparing the operating income they produced with the cost of capital involved.