The government’s purchase of Northern Rock in February 2008 and its recent sale of the bank to Virgin Money, is expected to result in a net profit of up to £11bn for UK taxpayers. According to UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI) which manages the Government’s stakes in banks bailed out by the state during the [...]
New bank NBNK is believed to be considering a bid for Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks after it was announced that the two banks will undergo a strategic review. The review, by parent company National Australia Bank, could lead to Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks being sold or floated on the stock market. NBNK has not confirmed [...]
Virgin Money, the new owner of Northern Rock, is to begin charging all new customers for current accounts, even if the account remains in credit. Virgin Money’s chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia “Most people know there is no such thing as free banking. “Banks have to cover the cost of free current accounts with hidden charges [...]
The government has announced the sale of Northern Rock to Virgin Money for £747m, representing a loss of £650m on the £1.4bn of public money it injected into the Newcastle-based bank. The chancellor, George Osborne said that the deal was “an important first step in getting the taxpayer out of the business of owning banks”. [...]
Nationalised lender Northern Rock Plc has today unveiled its results for the half-year. The crisis-torn bank, which was the first victim of the credit crunch, said pre-tax profits for the six months to 30 June totalled £68.5 million, against a loss of £142.6 million in the same period a year ago. However, lending was lower [...]
In his Mansion House speech this evening, Chancellor George Osborne is expected to confirm that banks will have to ring-fence their retail operations so they are protected from losses from investment banking. The Chancellor is also expected to suggest that banks will have to hold more capital – a recommendation of the Independent Commission on [...]
Crisis-torn Northern Rock has today announced it will reduce headcount by a further 680 as part of another restructure. According to the lender, which was nationalised in February 2008, the job losses are necessary as part of a cost-cutting exercise and would affect employees “at all grades across the company”. Less than 2,000 people will [...]
Crisis-torn Northern Rock has today unveiled an underlying loss of £232.4 million for the 2010 year for its so-called “good“ bank. Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank will pay more than £13 million in bonuses to its 4,000-strong workforce. The bonus comes despite executive chairman Ron Sandler describing the losses as “disappointing”. He comments: “2010 [...]
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the body established to compensate victims of banking failures, will now reimburse up to £85,000 per saver if a bank collapses, up from the £50,000 limit previously agreed. It is hoped the new limit, which is paid for by the UK financial services industry, will avert customer panic if [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined David Jones, Northern Rock’s former finance director, for the misreporting of mortgage arrears at the bank. The Watchdog has fined Mr Jones £320,000 and banned him from performing any function in relation to any regulated activity. The fine comes after former deputy chief executive, David Baker, and former [...]
Nationalised Northern Rock has announced it will axe a further 650 jobs by the end of the year as it prepares to return to the private sector. The reduction in headcount is part of the bank’s radical turnaround plan and comes just one week after it said it is to close its banking operation in [...]
Nationalised Northern Rock has today announced it is to close its banking operation in Guernsey on 2 September. The closure of Guernsey‘s activities, which come after a review of offshore operations, is the latest step in the bank’s turnaround plan. Its Guernsey operation was launched in February 1996 and it currently has some 6,000 customers, [...]
Savers with Northern Rock have today lost the 100% guarantee on their cash. The move, which was announced back in February, means the crisis-torn bank is back in line with its rivals but savers will still benefit from the £50,000 guarantee to all savers under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The 100% guarantee was [...]
Mortgage customers with two of the UK’s rescued banks are less than happy with the service they receive, according to new research from Which? Money. The 41% state-owned Lloyds Banking Group has the furthest to go: only 41% of Bank of Scotland borrowers surveyed expressed satisfaction, while the group’s Halifax unit impressed 44% of home [...]
Two former directors of crisis-torn Northern Rock have been fined and banned by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Former deputy chief executive, David Baker, has been fined more than half a million pounds by the FSA for misreporting mortgage arrears data and banned from working for an FSA-regulated firm. Furthermore, ex-credit director, Richard Barclay, has [...]
It has been announced today the ‘bad banks‘ of Northern Rock (NRAM) and Bradford and Bingley (B&B) are set to merge. The move is designed to cut costs and bring greater returns for the taxpayer. The UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body which was set up at the height of the financial crisis to oversee [...]
The Treasury has today announced savers with Northern Rock will lose the Government’s 100% guarantee on 24 May. The move means the crisis-torn bank is back in line with its rivals but savers will still benefit from the £50,000 guarantee to all savers under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The 100% guarantee was put [...]
Northern Rock, which was recently split into two divisions, is to continue its sponsorship of Newcastle United Football Club after signing a new four-year deal valued at between £1.5 million and £10 million. Rock has been the football club’s shirt sponsor since 2004 and the new deal will run from season 2010/11 to 2014. However, [...]
Richard Pym, the chairman who was appointed to stabilise Bradford & Bingley last year, is to oversee Northern Rock’s ‘bad bank’ operations. It was announced earlier this month that nationalised Northern Rock would be split into two, after receiving the necessary approval from the European Union (EU). New Years Day is the date that has [...]
It was recently confirmed that crisis-torn Northern Rock would be split into two, after receiving the necessary approval from the European Union (EU). 1 January 2010 is the date that has been agreed for the Rock to be split into two divisions – a “good bank” of profitable assets and “bad bank” of toxic debts. The [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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