Sunday Papers: Osborne in last-ditch talks to split top banks

Top stories

• The Sunday Telegraph: George Osborne is locked in last-ditch negotiations this weekend over plans for new powers to split up Britain's leading banks if proposals to "ring-fence" retail and investment divisions are deemed not to have worked.
• The Independent on Sunday: Royal Bank of Scotland chairman Sir Philip Hampton has moved to calm investor fears over chief executive Stephen Hester's future, privately pledging that the 52-year-old will stay in charge well into 2014.
• The Sunday Telegraph: Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, has written to the Justice Secretary demanding the ballooning costs of false payment protection insurance claims are shared by the claims management companies that are often behind them.
• The Sunday Telegraph: The Royal Bank of Scotland plans to float the 316 branches it failed to sell to Santander after a lack of strong interest from trade bidders.

Business and economics

• The Sunday Telegraph: Prudential chief Tidjane Thiam has warned incoming Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney, that Britain is at risk of fresh financial turmoil unless Mr Carney halts quantitative easing.
• The Independent on Sunday: Sports Direct will step up its challenge to Decathlon's European dominance when it opens its first Spanish store in April.
• The Sunday Telegraph: BP is expected to report a 22% fall in underlying profits this week as its fourth-quarter earnings suffer from the ending of the Russian joint venture TNK-BP.
• The Sunday Telegraph: The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has issued a televised denial or corruption allegations that are threatening to engulf his government and destablise the eurozone.
• The Sunday Telegraph: Chancellor George Osborne has insisted that any fines imposed on the Royal Bank of Scotland over the Libor scandal must be met from bankers' bonuses.

Share tips, comment and bids

• The Sunday Telegraph: WM Morrison Supermarkets has bought a collection of Jessops stores as it steps up its fightback following a slump in Christmas sales.
• The Sunday Telegraph: The new Governor of the Bank of England arrives in the UK this week. He should take care not to upstage the resident of Number 11.
• The Sunday Telegraph (Comment): As markets bet against the pound, 2013 could be a tipping point for the currency.
• The Sunday Telegraph (Comment): History shows currency disputes can escalate from rhetorical spats into disastrously counter-productive economic conflict.
• The Observer (Editorial): The growing wealth gap is unsustainable - the ever-increasing many who are struggling cannot support a structure that favours a tiny number of the very rich.
• The Observer: Brewer SABMiller is just one of the consumer goods giants accused of using tax treaties in the Netherlands to shift profits around the world and avoid millions in tax.
• The Independent on Sunday (Comment): If Jenkins wants our trust, he needs to say sorry.
• The Independent on Sunday (Comment): For economies in the so-called advanced world the challenge is to adapt and thrive.