The Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB) final report has been published today and is recommending that UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking operations. According to the report, ring-fencing would protect banks from riskier investment banking divisions and would “make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble”. The ICB, which [...]
Banking giant HSBC has today announced plans to axe 3,000 jobs at its Asian headquarters in Hong Kong over the next three years. The reduction in headcount is part of an ongoing global cost-cutting plan after comes shortly after the bank said it would axe 30,000 jobs by 2013. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, [...]
Unions have vented their anger at directors today after a report found that the average annual bonus for a director in a FTSE 100 company has soared by 187% in the last decade. The findings were in a report by the High Pay Commission and discovered that top executives received a bonus worth 90% last [...]
Shares in financial institution NBNK has had its shares suspended on AIM after it confirmed it is in merger talks. The bank, which is run by Gary Hoffman who is the former chief executive of crisis-torn Northern Rock, was established a year ago to make acquisitions and is set to build a significant presence in [...]
Leading think tank, the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, believes the proposed ring-fencing of retail and investment banks will reduce economic growth. The think tank’s prediction comes just a week before the publication of the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB’s) final report on ring-fencing. The ICB, which was established in June 2010, is considering forms [...]
Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) lost 10% today after it emerged that the bank is being sued by America’s Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) over the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBSs). The FHFA was established in July 2008 when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had to be rescued which, at the time, [...]
Co-operative Group has reported a fall in first-half underlying profit to £230.8 million, down from £262.3 million a year earlier. The mutual has been hit by declining food sales in the face of strong competition, reduced government funding for prescriptions and a change in the income recognition policy on the sale of its funeral bonds. [...]
Barclays has improved its customer service, with new complaints down 9% in the first half of 2011, compared with the previous six-month period, to 251,563. However, in the general insurance and protection category, volumes increased 25% to 73,692 with payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints leading the surge. The bank expects PPI volumes to be even [...]
UK residents holding cash and investments with Swiss banks are to be taxed by Swiss authorities, with the money then handed over to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A deal has been agreed between governments whereby account holders can retain their anonymity but will be forced to make their contribution to the Treasury. HMRC expects [...]
Britain’s banks are warning that ring-fencing their retail activities, to protect against investment banking losses, could endanger the UK economy because of the cost involved. A ring-fencing proposal will form part of the Independent Commission on Banking’s (ICB’s) final report, due out in September. However, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), the proposed reform [...]
Swiss investment bank, UBS, has announced that it will be cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide as part of its latest cost reduction programme. Approximately 45% of the job losses will come from its investment banking business, 35% from wealth management and Swiss bank, 10% from global asset management, and 10% from the group’s wealth management Americas [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has barred some of its customers from using rival cash machines because the bank incurs a charge each time. The decision will affect almost a million people with basic bank accounts who do not have access to an overdraft or a cheque book. With immediate effect, they will only [...]
Banking giant HSBC has today announced it has disposed of its US credit card division to Capital One Financial, as part of a global strategic cost-cutting exercise. The announcement comes shortly after the bank said it would slash its underperforming US branch network by half and also announced it would axe 30,000 jobs globally in [...]
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that the riots will cause significant harm to British businesses as they count the costs of stolen and damaged goods. The weekend riots in London have already spread to other parts of the UK and the BRC warned that retailers of all sizes had suffered damage. Prime Minister [...]
The future of the cheque book remains uncertain again today after the charity, Age UK, said cheques could still “wither away”. Last month, it was announced that cheques would not be phased out after the Payments Council announced it would abolish them in 2018. The Council said it would keep cheques in place after criticism [...]
Provisional figures released today have revealed that the UK’s five biggest banks are on track to meet their lending targets under the Project Merlin deal. Under the agreement, Project Merlin, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander all committed to lend £190 billion to all businesses this year. Of this figure, around £76 [...]
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has today unveiled a loss of £1.4 billion for the six months to the end of June. The bank, which is 84% owned by the taxpayer, said its exposure to the Greek debt crisis and costs relating to the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) pushed it into a [...]
Banking giant Lloyds Banking Group has today said its first half profits were hit by costs relating to its mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The controversial insurance has been a hot topic for some time now and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) introduced a review of the insurance after millions of policies were mis-sold [...]
London-based emerging markets bank, Standard Chartered, has today posted half-year pre-tax profits of $3.6 billion (£2.2 billion) – a rise of 17% compared with the same period a year ago. The figures represented its ninth consecutive first half of record profits and beat expectations of $3.47 billion. The bank, which has a strong presence in [...]
Nationalised lender Northern Rock Plc has today unveiled its results for the half-year. The crisis-torn bank, which was the first victim of the credit crunch, said pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 June totalled £68.5 million, against a loss of £142.6 million in the same period a year ago. However, lending was lower [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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