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 [...]
Bank of America (BoA) has today reported its first quarter earnings, rising 0.7% to $2.83 billion (£1.83 billion) from $2.81 billion a year ago, boosted by record sales and trading activity at its investment bank, as well as its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. However, the bank posted a $2.1 billion loss in its home mortgage [...]
US banking giant, Bank of America (BoA), has been sued by the New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, for defrauding investors and the Government over its takeover of Merrill Lynch. BoA, and two of its senior executives, Ken Lewis and Joseph Price, have been accused of “enormous fraud” on taxpayers and shareholders over the takeover [...]
US banking giant Citigroup has today announced a worse-than-expected fourth quarter net loss of $8.29 billion (£5.6 billion) and said it plans to split the firm into two separate businesses to restore profitability. The bank’s net loss for the last quarter of 2008 works out at $1.72 per share, far worse than most analysts’ forecasts [...]
Emergency funding of $20 billion (£13.4 billion) has been provided to Bank of America after it shares plummeted 17.5% yesterday amid speculation that the bank might be nationalised. In return for the cash injection, the bank must adhere to strict restrictions on senior management pay. Bank of America has been one of the strongest in [...]
A survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this week revealed that financial services companies are suffering record falls in profits. As a result, the CBI said job losses in the financial sector will rise sharply during the first quarter of 2009. The prediction has so far rang true after British banking giant Barclays [...]
Last month, Merrill Lynch was quickly sold to Bank of America following the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The deal is expected to be finalised at the end of the year, however, around 500 jobs are said to be at risk as a result. Merrill’s chief executive, John Thain, said the job losses could be made [...]
A new financial giant has been created as Bank of America confirmed it is to buy Merrill Lynch in a deal worth $50 billion (£28 billion), subject to the approval of shareholders and regulators. The deal will result in the new financial services giant involved in everything ranging from fixed-income trading to stock underwriting to [...]
The world’s largest stockbroker, Merrill Lynch, has announced it is to axe 4,000 jobs worldwide with up to 400 of its 4,500 London staff facing redundancy. The job cuts are as a result of poor risk management for Merrill’s over-exposure to bad sub-prime mortgage debt. Merrill also announced heavy losses from the first quarter of [...]
US investment banks, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, are to announce further sub-prime write-downs totalling $15 billion (£7.6 billion). Citigroup is expected to take a $10 billion hit to its accounts which will take the bank to a first-quarter loss of nearly $3 billion. Many analysts believe Citigroup’s write-downs could reach as high as $12 billion. [...]
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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