News Tag: bank
March 16, 2010
Consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), has today revealed UK banks may soon be offering customers the ability to opt out of unarranged overdraft facilities.
Should the procedure be put in place, it would mean consumers would avoid hefty fees if they slipped into the red.
The announcement comes as the OFT took legal action against banks regarding unauthorised overdraft ...
Consumers to benefit from overdraft opt-out
by Kay Murchie
January 15, 2010
Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan has kicked off the reporting season with a bang by posting fourth quarter profits of $3.28 billion (£2 billion) compared with $702 million a year ago - at the height of the financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the bank reported full-year profits of $11.7 billion, or $2.26 per share, on record revenue of $108.6 billion. ...
JPMorgan Chase kicks off reporting season with a bang
by Kay Murchie
November 20, 2009
Supermarket giant Tesco has taken the next step in its quest to become a bank by signing up Fiserv.
US-based Fiserv provides information management and electronic commerce systems to the financial services industry.
Tesco said Fiserv will assist it in becoming a full-service bank by providing account information and banking transactions for Tesco Bank customers.
John Bower, managing director, ...
Tesco takes next step in banking as it selects Fiserv
by Kay Murchie
November 13, 2009
Santander is attempting to lure new customers into opening a premium current account with an introductory special offer.
New customers opening a Premier 50 Current Account at Alliance & Leicester or a Reward Bank Account at Abbey will pay account fees of just £5 per month for the first three months.
After this introductory period, the monthly payment will rise to the standard rate of ...
Santander discounts premium accounts
by David Masters
October 27, 2009
According to the European Central Bank (ECB), bank lending to companies within the euro zone declined for the first time ever in September, sparking fears that weak lending could hind a recovery within the economy.
The euro zone, which comprises 16 countries, is still officially in recession and the fall in lending comes at a time when European ...
Euro zone lending falls for first time on record
by Kay Murchie
September 1, 2009
The topic of bank bonuses continues to hit the headlines with Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggesting a possible cap on bonuses within the banking industry, and indicating that bonuses should be based on long-term success.
The PM added that banks should be able to "claw back" bonuses if the bank later performed poorly.
Mr Brown was speaking to the Financial Times ...
PM adds to bank bonus debate
by Kay Murchie
March 9, 2009
Sir Richard Branson is looking to obtain a licence for his Virgin Group in a bid to become a High Street bank and return to the mortgage market.
The billionaire entrepreneur told The Times: “We are going to get back into the mortgage business and we will become a bank either by acquisition or by getting our own banking ...
Virgin Group seeks licence to become High Street bank
by Kay Murchie
February 19, 2009
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics today have revealed that national debt could be pushed up by as much as £1.5 trillion, following the bailouts of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds TSB.
Billions of pounds were injected into the two banks last autumn to prevent them from collapse. Furthermore, both Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley ...
Bank bailouts push national debt up by £1.5tn
by Kay Murchie
January 27, 2009
Despite the bad news surrounding the economy this week, bank shares have recovered today following two weeks of heavy falls in the sector.
Following decent increases yesterday, shares in Barclays were up 12% to 99p earlier today, following a 73% surge yesterday. Shares in the bank closed today at 89p.
However, shares in Barclays are still below the 98p level they ...
Bank shares recover, sterling rises against dollar
by Kay Murchie
January 18, 2009
Bank shares on Friday took a battering amid speculation that more financial institutions will have to be rescued by the Government.
Barclays stock was down 25% to its lowest level since 1993, while Royal Bank of Scotland lost 13%, the latter is 57.9% owned by the Government.
Last week alone, Lloyds TSB saw its shares lose 30% in value as it ...
Further bank rescue as shares take a battering
by Kay Murchie
January 7, 2009
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has admitted that 2009 will be a difficult year because the UK is far from through the recession.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Darling updated an earlier prediction that the downturn would run its course by the middle of the year.
He said the forecast was based on evidence available at the ...
Chancellor warns recession is far from over
by Gill Montia
December 11, 2008
The Government is reported to be considering a range of new measures that could free up lending.
When the banks were bailed out with £50 billion of taxpayer cash in October, ministers made it clear that they expected the UK's High Street banks to restore lending to businesses and individuals.
Business Secretary, Peter Mandelson, has since threatened banks with legal action if they fail ...
Government may guarantee banks’ lending
by Gill Montia
October 10, 2008
The announcement earlier this week of the £500 billion Government package of support for UK banks, plus a 0.5% cut in the Bank of England's base rate, has met with disappointing results in the mortgage market.
According to financial website, Moneyfacts.co.uk, home loan providers have continued to withdraw products with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, leaving the number of deals that do ...
Mortgage providers uninspired by £500bn rescue plan
by Gill Montia
October 9, 2008
As yesterday morning's speaker on BBC Radio 4's "Thought for the Day" urged a bleary-eyed nation to consider in its prayers the plight of bankers, whose lives may be torn apart by the credit crisis, and bear in mind their efforts in support of charity, a new day of financial turmoil was about to break.
Initial reports of a £50 billion rescue ...
Do pray for us Mr Darling
by Gill Montia
September 17, 2008
According to reports from Robert Peston at the BBC, both Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) and Lloyds TSB (LLOY) are in advanced talks on a merger.
The news comes as HBOS shares show extraordinary volatility in London trading, so far trading anywhere between 88 pence and 214 pence per share according to Google Finance.
HBOS shares have already suffered a steep decline ...
HBOS and Lloyds TSB in merger talks
by Brian Turner
September 12, 2008
The one-stop account tracing website, mylostaccount.org.uk, has been up and running since January, since when over 140,000 people have searched for funds that may be lying in forgotten accounts.
The site brings together account search facilities from the British Bankers’ Association, the Building Societies Association and National Savings and Investments (NS&I).
The launch of the new facility is being seen ...
Ease the squeeze by searching for a lost account
by Gill Montia
