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Monday 22nd of March 2010

Latest Banking News

The latest news from the banking sector:

March 7, 2010

Coventry Building Society in merger talks with Stroud & Swindon

by Kay Murchie
”Coventry
According to reports this weekend, Coventry Building Society is in merger talks with its smaller rival, the Stroud & Swindon. The talks follow a series of recent mergers between Britain’s building societies and, should a deal be successful, will bring more consolidation to the mutual sector. The news comes as Coventry, which is the country's third largest building society, ...



FSA grants licence to Metro Bank

by Kay Murchie
”FSA
City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has granted a banking licence to Metro Bank - which is set to become Britain's first new high street lender for more than a century. Metro Bank, which is backed by US billionaire and former Commerce Bank owner Vernon Hill, is planning to open two branches in central London in the next few months. Furthermore, ...



March 3, 2010

Standard Chartered profits surge 13%

by Kay Murchie
”Standard
London-based bank Standard Chartered today announced a rise in pre-tax profits - meeting analysts expectations. The bank, which has a strong presence in Asia, said pre-tax profits in 2009 were £3.4 billion ($5.15 billion), a rise of 13% on 2008 figures. Meanwhile, revenue was up 9% to £10.14 billion ($15.18 billion). However, while many other banks have opted not to take their multi-million pound bonuses ...



March 1, 2010

Consumer borrowing surges in January

by Kay Murchie
”Consumer
Figures from the Bank of England today revealed that British consumers borrowed £500 million in January through credit cards, loans and overdrafts, once repayments were taken into account - the highest level since November 2008. According to the Bank, the increase was almost double the £265 million rise seen in the previous month December, and comes after consumers had repaid more than they ...



HSBC posts fall in pre-tax profits

by Kay Murchie
HSBC posts fall in pre-tax profits
Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, has today said pre-tax profits fell to $7.07 billion (£4.6 billion) last year compared with $9.3 billion in the previous year. The banking giant said loan impairments charges and other credit provisions were $26.5 billion in 2009 - a rise of 9% compared with the previous year. Stephen Green, chairman of the bank, said that while the worst of ...



February 26, 2010

Lloyds posts £6.3bn annual loss

by Kay Murchie
”Lloyds
Lloyds Banking Group, which is 41% owned by the taxpayer, has today posted a full-year loss of £6.3 billion. Lloyds is the third major UK bank to report its 2009 results. Yesterday, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) posted a £3.6 billion loss, while last week, Barclays announced record profits of more than £11 billion - a 92% rise on the previous year. However, Lloyds’ ...



February 25, 2010

FSA examines complaint handling at RBS

by Kay Murchie
”FSA
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to investigate the way Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) deals with customers' complaints. The City Watchdog is to examine "certain aspects" of the way the bank deals with complaints but the bank has said it would fully co-operate. A spokeswoman for the FSA said: "We are looking at all of the major banking groups and are ...



Morgan Stanley chairman says bankers are overpaid

by Kay Murchie
Morgan Stanley chairman says bankers are overpaid
The controversial subject of bankers’ pay has reared its ugly head again today after the chairman of US banking giant, Morgan Stanley, John Mack, said investment bankers are overpaid. Sixty-five-year-old Mack, who recently stepped down as chief executive but remained chairman, has not taken a bonus for the past three years but received a salary of $800,000 last year. Mr Mack, ...



Ombudsman complaints continue to rise

by Kay Murchie
”Ombudsman
In its second six-monthly set of complaints data relating to individual financial firms, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has today said complaints rose by 18% in the second half of 2009. According to the FOS, it received 82,136 complaints between 1 July and 31 December 2009 - a rise of 12,295 compared with the first half of the year. Meanwhile, in the second ...



Brits start saving at age 25

by David Masters
Brits start saving at age 25
Most Brits don't get serious about putting money aside into a savings account until they reach age 25, according to a study by National Savings and Investments (NS&I). Research by the savings provider found more than a fifth (22%) of UK consumers don't start setting aside money until after their 30th birthday, while a further 13% fail to start saving until they ...



RBS posts £3.6bn annual loss

by Kay Murchie
”RBS
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 84% state-owned, has today posted a full-year loss of £3.6 billion. RBS is the second major UK bank to report its 2009 results. Last week, Barclays announced record profits of more than £11 billion - a 92% rise on the previous year. However, RBS’ loss is not as bad as analysts were expecting, many had predicted losses ...



February 24, 2010

Government approves £1.3bn RBS bonuses

by Kay Murchie
”Government
The UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) has written to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to approve its £1.3 billion in bonuses to its investment bankers. The Treasury, through the UKFI, had the right to veto any bonus deal after the bank participated in the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) - one of the conditions of participating in the scheme was to hand ...



Northern Rock savers to lose 100% guarantee

by Kay Murchie
”Northern
The Treasury has today announced savers with Northern Rock will lose the Government’s 100% guarantee on 24 May. The move means the crisis-torn bank is back in line with its rivals but savers will still benefit from the £50,000 guarantee to all savers under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The 100% guarantee was put in place after Northern Rock collapsed ...



Skipton BS to merge with loss-making Chesham

by Kay Murchie
’Skipton
There is further evidence today of consolidation within the mutual sector after it has emerged that Skipton Building Society is to merge with loss-making rival Chesham. Skipton, which is Britain's fourth largest building society, took over Scarborough BS last summer. Skipton is regarded as one of the stronger building societies by the Financial Services Authority. A merger between Skipton and Chesham, ...



HSBC scraps big rise for its CEO

by Kay Murchie
”HSBC
According to reports, banking giant HSBC has bowed to shareholder pressure and abandoned plans to raise its chief executive's salary. The Financial Times said the bank had consulted shareholders on proposals to raise Michael Geoghegan's salary by 36% to £1.4 million ($2.2 million). The FT also reported that the bank had planned to up the salary of Finance Director, Douglas Flint, from ...



February 23, 2010

Wall Street bonuses surge 17% on year

by Kay Murchie
Wall Street bonuses surge 17% on year
Bonuses for Wall Street bankers grew by 17% to $20 billion (£13.2 billion) in 2009, according to figures from the New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The figures come at a time when US taxpayers are bailing out banks and Mr DiNapoli said: "For most Americans, these huge bonuses are a bitter pill and hard to comprehend." He added: "Taxpayers bailed ...



February 22, 2010

Lloyds chief exec to waive annual bonus

by Kay Murchie
”Lloyds
It has emerged today that Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, will waive his £2.3 million annual bonus. The move comes after Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, Stephen Hester, opted not to take his £1.6 million bonus. The decision by 49-year-old Hester came just one week after Barclays chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond both agreed to ...



Pressure mounts on Lloyds chief to waive bonus

by Kay Murchie
Pressure mounts on Lloyds chief to waive bonus
Over the weekend, it emerged that Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive, Stephen Hester, had opted not to take his £1.6 million bonus. The decision by 49-year-old Hester came just one week after Barclays chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond both agreed to sacrifice bonuses for the second year in a row, in light of the “intense ...



February 21, 2010

RBS CEO decides to waive £1.6m bonus

by Kay Murchie
”RBS
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive, Stephen Hester, has decided not to take his £1.6 million bonus, according to the BBC. The decision by the 49-year-old comes just a week after Barclays chief executive John Varley and president Bob Diamond both agreed to sacrifice bonuses for the second year in a row, in light of the “intense public interest and ...



February 19, 2010

Proposed Child Trust Fund cuts leave parents fuming

by David Masters
Proposed Child Trust Fund cuts leave parents fuming
Middle class parents are outraged at plans by the Conservative Party to limit Child Trust Funds (CTFs) to the poorest families if they win the next election. Research by Family Investments found that eight in ten parents do no support the plans, announced by shadow chancellor George Osbourne earlier this month. The study found that 96% of parents think CTFs are ...