\section{Treasury appoints two women to Bank's watchdog}
\textbf{By Holly Williams}

Two of the UK's most prominent women in banking have been appointed to the Bank of England's influential watchdog. Former Virgin Money boss Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has been named as an incoming external member of the Bank's Financial Policy Committee (FPC), just days after being recognised in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.

The Treasury also announced that Banking Standards Board chairwoman Dame Colette Bowe will join the FPC on its eight members' committee. The Bank previously came under fire for missing its own targets on gender diversity last year; it appointed two men to senior roles, including Sir Dave Ramsden on the Monetary Policy Committee.

Treasury revealed that 20 of the 42 applications for the FPC roles were women, with five women and three men reaching the final shortlist. Chancellor Philip Hammond said the Financial Policy Committee's importance to the protection and resilience of our economy cannot be overstated, which is why we have some of the finest talent in finance on it.

``The insight and experience that Dame Colette and Dame Jayne-Anne bring will be valuable assets to the committee's vital work.''

The Bank of England Governor Mark Carney added further praise for the new FPC hires. He said Dame Colette – also a former chairwoman of the consumer regulator – would bring strong experience and embedded better standards of conduct across the banking sector.

\begin{figure}
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\caption{Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia joins the Bank's Financial Policy Committee.}
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Dame Jayne-Anne will take up her role in June for the FPC's second quarter round of meetings, with Dame Colette taking up her post in time for the third quarter round. It comes after the ex-Virgin Money chief executive clashed with the Treasury over diversity and the need to encourage women in the finance industry; she was also appointed a CBE in 2014.

\section{DNO raises Faroe stake in takeover approach}
\textbf{By Rasmus}

Norwegian energy firm DNO has warned takeover target Faroe Petroleum that it will not give up its pursuit of the North Sea oil producer.

DNO, which is pushing for a £608m hostile takeover of Faroe, gave investors further details of its move yesterday, triggering a mandatory offer by taking its own stake in Faroe to more than 30 per cent.

In doing so, chairman Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani said: ``DNO is not going away. Even if DNO's offer lapses or is allowed to lapse, DNO is not going away. For too long, shareholders have given the Faroe board directors a free pass.''

Faroe said DNO's 152p-per-share offer was ``opportunistic'' and substantially undervalues the company. It declined DNO's attacks on Faroe's exploration record and its implied criticism of the technical team. Faroe shares rose 4.9 per cent to 153p yesterday.

To succeed in its pursuit, DNO requires more than 50 per cent of investors to back the deal. Given it now owns more than 30 per cent of Faroe itself, the Norwegian firm has overall support from 43.1 per cent of the investor base.

Earlier this week, Faroe hired advisory experts at Gaffney, Cline \& Associates to come up with their own valuation of the company, which concluded that its assets are valued in the range of £862m to £1.1bn.

\section{The 30 Second Briefing: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank}

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\caption{One Hyde Park development in London.}
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\subsection{Is this the UK's most valuable bank branch?}
Bank branches are being shut by the hundreds across the country, but at one of London's most exclusive addresses – Hyde Park – they are still very much in demand. It is understood that a European investor has bought Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's prestigious branch at 8--10 Hyde Park for £27.5m in a deal known as a ``sale and leaseback''.

\subsection{How did the deal come about?}
The undisclosed buyer paid the cash to a private Kuwaiti vendor for the ADIB branch at 10 Knightsbridge, next door to Rolex's store and McLaren's supercar showroom. The new owner will get nearly £900,000 a year in rent from the investment and confidence underpinned London despite Brexit uncertainties. One Hyde Park (pictured), created by the tycoon Candy brothers, is London's most expensive private development.

\subsection{What is the bank?}
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the second-largest Islamic lender in the United Arab Emirates, was founded in 1997. It opened its first UK branch in 2012 to target wealthy Gulf clients in Europe. Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, joined Prince Andrew in opening the ADIB branch.

\subsection{How does it differ from a typical high street bank?}
The principle behind Islamic finance is not to make money from money. Therefore, Sharia-compliant banks are not allowed to pay or charge interest. Instead, they make money by focusing on business, rental and trade activities to generate profits.