Banking giant Barclays has today admitted that bonuses for its staff total just over £2 billion, despite the bank admitting these were “challenging markets”. It said it has set aside £1.5 billion to pay out in bonuses for its 25,000 staff so far this year and comes despite the bank’s investment unit, Barclays Capital, unveiling [...]
Research has revealed that the average FTSE 100 executive is earning 88 times that of the average full-time UK worker. The revelation comes despite the recession where companies have been forced to make major cutbacks. According to Incomes Data Services (IDS), in the year to June 2010, executives in FTSE 100 companies took home an [...]
Under new proposals being drawn up Europe’s top regulators, there are set to be new restrictions on bankers’ bonuses – which are being described as the biggest clampdown ever seen in the banking industry. The proposals are much harsher than regulations in the US, and if introduced, will result in an overhaul of pay policies [...]
Leading think tank, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), has unveiled City bankers will be in receipt of a bonus pot of £7.3 billion this year. The total is 4% lower than last year’s total and considerably lower than the £11 billion paid out at the height of the banking boom in 2007. [...]
Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has today warned banks over their excessive bonuses, suggesting the coalition Government will take very serious action if they “pay themselves unjustified bonuses”. Speaking to BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, Mr Clegg said: “Clearly, if the banks pay themselves unjustified bonuses, we reserve the right to take very serious action [...]
A report by accountancy firm Deloitte has revealed a slight fall in executive bonuses – at a time when some major companies have been facing backlash from their investors over the size of their remuneration packages. According to Deloitte, the average bonus for FTSE 250 executive directors is now 60% of salary – 10% lower [...]
British banks will unveil their first-half profits this week with the five biggest banks expected to reveal they are back in the black. Banking giant HSBC will kick off the reporting season tomorrow, with Lloyds Banking Group and Standard Chartered announcing their results on Wednesday, Barclays on Thursday and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on [...]
It has emerged that big bonuses are to be awarded to Home Office staff despite the new coalition Government’s public spending cuts. Speaking before the Commons home affairs committee, Damien Green, Immigration Minister, said the payments to senior officials would total almost £800,000 this year, compared to last year’s bonuses which totalled £1.4 million. In [...]
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 [...]
From January next year, restrictions on bankers’ bonuses will take effect, the European Parliament has announced today. Under the deal agreed by the EU members last month, cash bonuses will be capped at 30% of the total bonus. 60% of bonuses should be variable and for future payment only, with at least 40% having to [...]
The union which represents BT workers has announced a strike ballot has been scrapped due to a legal issue. The vote for strike action came as senior executives were awarded huge bonuses which angered staff. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it was balloting members in support of a 5% pay rise after what it [...]
Telecoms giant BT could be faced with industrial action after the union which represents BT workers has confirmed that a strike ballot will go ahead. The ballot will open on 18 June with the result is due on 5 July. The vote for strike action, which would be the first in 25 years, comes as [...]
Telecoms giant BT could be faced with industrial action after top bosses have been awarded huge bonuses, which has angered staff. The possible strike action, which would be the first in 25 years, comes as a 2% pay offer was rejected by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which is now planning to ballot its 60,000 [...]
The Pre-Election Budget has been delivered today by Chancellor Alistair Darling with items such as stamp duty changes confirmed. The Chancellor said stamp duty will be abolished on house purchases up to £250,000. The change, which will apply this year and next year, means 90% of first-time buyers will not pay the duty. Furthermore, Mr [...]
State-owned bank Northern Rock has today announced losses for the 2009 year fell to £258 million, compared with £1.36 billion in the previous year. Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank said it is awarding staff £14.9m in bonuses but Gary Hoffman, the chief executive of Northern Rock, is waiving his payout. Northern Rock said Mr [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 – [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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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