Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor, has confessed that the latest round of stimulus is not guaranteed to boost lending to SMEs. The ongoing lack of credit to SMEs has been a major concern for the Government as these companies are the key to job creation in the UK and are expected to be [...]
Banking giant Lloyds has today announced it will axe a further 570 jobs and outsource more than 560 positions. The banking giant, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, has now axed almost 27,000 jobs since its merger with HOBS, some of which were due to overlap following the merger. The latest round of job [...]
The Bank of Korea (BoK) has today opted to leave interest rates on hold at 2.25% – for the third consecutive month. The decision surprised many economists who had expected rates to be lifted to 2.5%. The central bank left interest rates at the record low 2% for 17 months following the global economic downturn [...]
The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, Eric Daniels, has announced he will retire next year. The announcement follows other leadership changes in major banks earlier this month. Barclays’ chief executive, John Varley, will be departing next year and will be replaced by Bob Diamond, currently president of Barclays Plc. In addition HSBC chairman, Stephen [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA), has announced a delay on its plans to reform the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) market. The City Watchdog said its consultation will be delayed by six weeks due to a heavy amount of criticism from the financial industry. Under a PPI policy, an agreed sum of money is paid out [...]
Fifty-six-year old Ben Bernanke has won a second term as chairman of US central bank, the Federal Reserve. The US Senate confirmed the appointment after it voted 77-23 in favour of Bernanke, whose current term ends on Sunday. At the time of his nomination last August, US President Barack Obama said: “Mr Bernanke had helped [...]
Over the weekend, it emerged that Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce a windfall tax on British banks in Wednesday‘s Pre-Budget Report. The measure is one of many being planned by Mr Darling to target high earners. Other measures include increasing the number of people liable to pay inheritance tax, as well as an [...]
The excessive bonus culture, a subject which has dominated the news this year, rears its head again after Chancellor Alistair Darling has responded to calls for a new commission to restrict bonus payments. Bank bonuses, in particular, have sparked public anger and have been the subject of heavy criticism since it is banks that are [...]
Shareholders in Lloyds Banking Group are set to grill the bank at today’s annual general meeting. Directors of the bank have faced criticism from shareholders following the hasty takeover of HBOS last autumn, which left the group 43% state-owned. The bank is expected to plunge into a loss this year, following the takeover of HBOS, [...]
Sir Victor Blank has announced he is to retire from the position as chairman at Lloyds Banking Group. Sir Victor’s shock resignation comes as he and chief executive, Eric Daniels, have faced criticism from shareholders following the hasty takeover of HBOS. According to Roger Lawson of the UK Shareholders’ Association: “Almost all of the shareholders [...]
Daniel Bouton, Société Générale’s chairman, has announced he will step down from the bank citing the “personal attacks” against him for his resignation. Mr Bouton, who is to stand down on 6 May, said the repeated attacks risk harming the bank and will depart to “protect the bank“. Mr Bouton has been criticised since the [...]
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has been heavily criticised by opposition MPs, housebuilders, estate agents and others, for comments made earlier this week about stamp duty. Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, Mr Darling said a suspension of the tax would be included among a range of measures he is considering to [...]
The new chairman of UBS has been criticised by Luqman Arnold, who runs the UK-based investment fund Olivant, and is the former chief executive of UBS. The Swiss investment bank has been the biggest casualty of the credit squeeze so far and its new chairman, Peter Kurer, has been subject to heavy criticism by Mr [...]
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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