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 [...]
Icelandic President, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, has vetoed the repayment of a £2.3 billion loan to the UK Government. The debt relates to the collapse of Landsbanki which collapsed at the height of the banking crisis in autumn 2008 and 300,000 British savers saw their accounts frozen with the bank’s online Icesave brand. The Treasury stepped [...]
An ethical banking expert claimed this week that the mainstream banking sector has failed to show sufficient remorse for its role in the financial crisis. Charles Middleton, chief executive of the UK branch of ethical bank Triodos, said bank leaders have yet to take responsibility for their wrongdoings. Speaking ahead of a conference on ethical [...]
Eco-friendly bank Triodos posted a 50% rise in profit for the first half of this year. Net profit at the Dutch bank for the six months ending 30 June 2009 was €5.7 million, up from €3.7 million in the first half of 2008. Deposits at the bank increased 15%, growth which Triodos believes reflects disillusionment [...]
Dutch banks have signed up to a new code of conduct limiting executive bonuses to 100% of salary. Once the code comes into force, bankers’ salaries will have to be below the median for similar jobs, bonuses will have to be returned if a bank enters financial difficulty, and redundancy payments will be limited to [...]
High street banks are still more popular with consumers than non-bank brands offering financial products despite the banking crisis, new research has discovered. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of consumers polled in a Marketing Week commissioned study said they wouldn’t consider a financial product, such as a bank account, personal loan, or credit card, from outside the [...]
The turmoil in the stock markets continues this morning after shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) plummeted by over 35% to below the £1 mark. The bank is now worth just £16 billion, compared to £75 billion a year ago. RBS shares plunged to 95p, the lowest point since the recession of the early [...]
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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