Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, is set to embark on a €9 billion (£7.4 billion) rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet. Shares in the bank were down more than 5% in pre-market trade following the announcement. According to analysts, the cash call is set to be the first in a series of fundraisings by [...]
Virgin Money is to bring 200 jobs to Edinburgh, it has been announced today. The financial division of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group was granted a banking licence by city watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, earlier this year. The launch of the retail bank later comes at a time when consumers have lost confidence in [...]
Iceland’s Central Bank (Sedlabanki Islands) has slashed its key interest from 8% to 7%. While a cut was expected, it was not as much as economists had forecast after inflation eased and the country’s currency, the krona, strengthened. The central bank has aggressively cut interest rates after they hit a record high of 18% in [...]
The results of the European banking stress tests are to be published today. The stress tests were conducted to ease increasing anxiety over Europe’s finance sector. A total of 91 banks from across Europe have been tested and regulators have assessed whether banks are strong enough to cope with any future economic crises, or to [...]
Banks are being urged to show compassion when allocating bonuses this year – in light of the cost-cutting measures in the public and private sectors. Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, said banks need to be mindful during the forthcoming bonus season – at a time when pay restraints are being implemented across the [...]
Global stock markets were rocked yesterday with the news that euro zone banks may face funding difficulties after it was revealed that the European Central Bank (ECB) would not be offering 12-month loans. A year ago, the ECB was forced to offer European banks 12-month loans at low interest rates to help them survive the [...]
Brits are more likely to change their allegiance during the World Cup than to switch to a best buy bank account. Research by the Co-operative Bank found 31% of people plan to choose a new team to support if their favourite side is knocked out of the World Cup. This is compared to just 29% [...]
“Onerous clauses” on payment protection insurance (PPI) mean that borrowers unable to pay back their loans rarely receive an insurance payout, a finance expert has claimed. David Kuo, director of Motley Fool, said consumers are being duped into believing PPI will cover them if they have legitimate reasons for failing to make loan repayments. “Borrowers [...]
Eight Wall Street banks are facing an investigation following allegations that they provided misleading information to several ratings agencies in order to gain a better rating for mortgage securities. New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, has launched the investigation and the banks under scrutiny are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS AG, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche [...]
Over two million consumers complained to their bank during the second half of 2009, more than twice as many as during the first half of the year. Between July and December 2.65 million people made a complaint about a financial company, with 2.2 million of those directed at banks and building societies. The FSA said [...]
The credit crunch has resulted in a “dramatic jump” in the number of professional negligence claims brought against surveyors and estate agents, according to a City law firm. Research from Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) reveals that there were 25 commercial and residential High Court cases against estate agents or surveyors in 2009, compared with one [...]
Senior managers of the UK’s high street banks have been labelled a “disgrace” for failing to take customer complaints seriously. The Financial Services Consumer Panel (FSCP) said the way banks handle customer complaints is “lamentable”. The comments came after a review by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) found that senior staff in the majority of [...]
City Watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has criticised the UK’s largest High Street banks for the poor way they handled their customers’ complaints. Five of the banks, who have not been identified, have agreed to make “significant” changes to the way it handles complaints. However, two of the banks are being investigated further and [...]
Wall Street banking giant JPMorgan has today posted better-than-expected first quarter profits of $3.3 billion (£2.1 billion), compared with $702 million a year ago – when the world was gripped in the midst of the financial crisis. The results boosted bank stocks with the FTSE gaining 42 points to 5,804 – just a few points [...]
In yesterday’s Budget, Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled plans for rescued banks, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group, to lend more to businesses. In a legally binding agreement, RBS and Lloyds, which are 84% and 41% owned by the taxpayer respectively, were rescued at the height of the financial crisis but there have [...]
After a two-day policy board meeting, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) has elected to keep interest rates at 0.1%. Interest rates in the world’s second largest economy have been at the low level since December 2008 in a bid to fight off deflation. It is anticipated that the central Bank will leave rates at the [...]
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 [...]
Banks are increasingly tempting their current account holders with mortgage offers, as they seek to become “one-stop shops” in financial services. Research from financial products analyst, Defaqto, suggests the number of mortgage offers available exclusively to current account customers is on the rise. According to the firm, Abbey offers free valuations and cash back on [...]
Despite the doom and gloom in 2009, London’s FTSE added 22% over the course of the year – the biggest annual gain since 1997. Similar gains were seen in Europe with Germany’s Dax gaining 23% and France’s Cac added 22%. The FTSE 100 hit a low point in March 2009 of 3512 but ended 2009 [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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