Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been stripped of his knighthood for his role in the bank’s collapse during the 2008 credit crunch. The Queen formally approved the annulment of the honour yesterday, after it was decided Mr Goodwin’s award brought the honours system into disrepute. The [...]
Speaking to the BBC after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive announced his decision to forgo his bonus this year, the government has said that it will not block bonuses to the bank’s other executives. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester was awarded £963,000 in shares but following pressure from public opinion and MPs he [...]
National Savings & Investment is cutting the interest rate on its Direct Saver account from 1.75% to 1.5% with effect from today, because the account is too popular. Government-backed NS&I has already substantially exceeded its target to raise £2bn from savers in the 2011/12 financial year and now needs to slow the rate of deposits [...]
Consumer group Which? is calling for unfair overdraft charges to be stopped after finding that charges are too complicated and impossible to compare. Which? asked a number of volunteers to calculate how much an unauthorised overdraft would cost at RBS-NatWest, HSBC/First Direct, Lloyds, Barclays, Halifax, Nationwide and Santander. The volunteers, who included a maths PHD [...]
By 2015 bank customers will use digital banking more than they use branches according to ‘The New Digital Tipping Point’ report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The survey, of 3000 people in nine countries, suggests that customers are willing to pay up to £10 a month for online banking if they receive convenience and added-value services. These could [...]
The Post Office has strengthened its range of savings products with a reward saver account offering 3 per cent interest and a notice period of only 30 days. If savers make a withdrawal without giving 30 days notice, they will lose 30 days interest on the amount withdrawn. The interest rate includes a 1.25% bonus [...]
Credit unions which have previously had to restrict their services to a common group of members, such as residents of certain geographical area, will be able to expand under new legislation. While they were only allowed to offer services to individuals, changes to the Credit Unions Act means that they are now allowed to provide [...]
Virgin Money, the new owner of Northern Rock, is to begin charging all new customers for current accounts, even if the account remains in credit. Virgin Money’s chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia “Most people know there is no such thing as free banking. “Banks have to cover the cost of free current accounts with hidden charges [...]
Research by comparison site Moneyfacts has found that there is not one single savings account currently available that will completely protect taxpayers’ savings from the effects of tax and inflation. The latest figures show that inflation fell slightly in November, from 5.0 per cent to 4.8 per cent, on the Consumer Prices Index. This means [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is introducing new rules which will require banks and building societies to display clear signs at branches and on their websites, telling customers their savings are protected. The sign will tell savers: “Your deposits are protected up to £85,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK deposit protection scheme. [...]
The Co-operative Group has been named preferred bidder for 632 branches being sold by Lloyds Banking Group. The Co-op was in competition with NBNK for the branches which are being sold under European competition rules. It will now enter exclusive talks with Lloyds over the deal, which would expand its branch network to 947, giving [...]
The Financial Services Authority has released its report into the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008. The report finds that a combination of poor management decisions, inadequate monitoring by the FSA and the global systemic banking crisis, contributed to the bank’s failure. It highlights a number of key factors which led [...]
A study by Santander, one of the world’s largest banks, has revealed that people are funding Christmas this year by dipping into their savings. High unemployment, inflation at around 5 per cent and the threat of another recession are all putting pressure on people’s pockets and causing them to use their savings to pay for [...]
The AA has launched an online, instant-access account paying 3.2 per cent interest before tax, which is currently the highest rate available for people who need immediate access to their money. The account will offer some protection from the rising cost of living, without having to worry about tying up savings for a long period. [...]
Following the recent revelation that HSBC subsidiary NHFA mis-sold asset-backed investment products to elderly people in care, HSBC has promised to consider complaints dating back to before it took over NHFA in 2005. The decision means that HSBC could face thousands more potential claims for compensation, adding to the £30m compensation bill it already expects [...]
Barclays is tripling its potential daily charge for basic bank account customers if they have insufficient funds in their accounts to pay direct debit and standing orders. Consumer groups have warned that the change could increase the financial exclusion already experienced by the poorest people in society, with the risk of high charges discouraging them [...]
Santander has joined with Moneysupermarket.com to add an extra sweetener to a deal designed to tempt people to switch their bank account. Anyone who switches their main current account to Santander’s Preferred Current Account via the Moneysupermarket.com price comparison site, could receive £30 in Amazon vouchers as well a £300 cashback reward. However, customers who [...]
The Post Office has extended its promise to match the Bank of England Base Rate percentage changes on its savings products, until 1 January 2013. The promise, which was originally planned to run until 31 March 2012, covers the Post Office’s Instant Saver, Reward Saver, Cash ISA and Easy Saver accounts. The Post Office has [...]
The Treasury has announced plans to change ISA top-up rules to help strengthen consumer confidence in the security of the product. Currently, ISA investors who lose their savings due to the collapse of a financial firm are unable to refill their annual allowance. Any savings lost as a result of a firm failing are still [...]
HSBC subsidiary NHFA, which offered advice on financial provision for people in long-term care, has been fined £10.5m by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). NHFA was found to have mis-sold asset-backed investment products to 87 per cent of 2,485 elderly people or their representatives, who bought the products to fund care costs. The products were [...]
3.19% five-year fixed mortgage launched
Chelsea Building Society has launched a five-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.19 per cent. The deal is available on a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) of 70% with a fee of £1,495. The building society’s product manager Jemma Smith said the product “is the lowest five-year fixed-rate mortgage ever to come to the market which is great for [...]
Fewer people declared bankrupt in 2011
The number of people declared insolvent in 2011 in England and Wales declined to 119,850, the lowest level for three years and a fall of 11.3 per cent from a record high in 2010. There was a sharp decline at the end of 2011, when personal insolvencies fell by 5.6% compared with the last three [...]
Government finds land for 80,000 homes
The Government launches its NewBuy mortgage guarantee scheme in March, which will help house buyers by underwriting 95% mortgages on new-build properties up to £500,000 in value. The scheme depends on having sufficient sites available to house builders and housing minister Grant Shapps revealed today that sufficient land for 80,000 properties has already been identified. [...]
Volcanic ash insurance claims to go ahead
Travellers whose flights were disrupted by the Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010 can now go ahead with insurance claims. Following the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in April and May 2010, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ruled that the resulting volcanic ash cloud, which led to airspace being closed, could be considered a “poor weather [...]
The UK economy needs a fiscal boost of £10 billion to £20 billion in order to avoid another recession, a leading think tank said today. In its annual Green Budget, The Institute for Fiscal Studies calls for Chancellor George Osborne to include a short-term fiscal stimulus in his budget. This would buffer the UK economy [...]
Former RBS chief executive loses knighthood
Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has been stripped of his knighthood for his role in the bank’s collapse during the 2008 credit crunch. The Queen formally approved the annulment of the honour yesterday, after it was decided Mr Goodwin’s award brought the honours system into disrepute. The [...]
ABI calls for action on flood insurance
The Association of British Insurers has warned that time is running out to ensure that UK home owners in areas at risk of flooding can afford to insure their properties in the future. A voluntary flood agreement between the government and the insurance industry expires in June 2013. Under the current agreement, which started in [...]
Personal debt falls by £377 million
Economic uncertainty and the threat of another recession is causing consumers to take charge of their finances and cut back on debt according to the latest figures from the Bank of England. Personal debt, excluding mortgages, fell by £377 million in December, the biggest fall since records began. Howard Archer an economist at Global Insight [...]
Downing Street won’t micro-manage bonuses
Speaking to the BBC after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s chief executive announced his decision to forgo his bonus this year, the government has said that it will not block bonuses to the bank’s other executives. RBS chief executive Stephen Hester was awarded £963,000 in shares but following pressure from public opinion and MPs he [...]
House prices fell 1.3% last year
The latest figures from the Land Registry show that house prices fell by 1.3 per cent in England and Wales in 2011, with the average property costing £160,384 in December. Prices remained stable at the end of the year, with no change between November and December 2011. The only place in England and Wales where [...]
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