Headhunters have warned that staff at some of Europe’s largest banks are threatening to quit over bonus rules and other regulations. The bonus review, the threat of big banks being broken up, as well as the growing pay divide between Europe and the US, is expected to bring a mass exodus of staff. However, new [...]
Bank of America Merrill Lynch and PNC Financial Services are to reduce their stakes in BlackRock – the world’s largest money manager. Bank of America will dispose of 42 million shares via a secondary offering worth more than $7 billion (£4.35 billion). Bank of America has been exploring ways to offload the stake as it [...]
Spanish banking giant, Santander, has today reported a fall in third quarter profits, due to changes on bad loan provisions. The bank, which is the euro zone’s largest, said third quarter profits fell 13% to €2.1 billion (£1.8 billion) as provisions for bad loans hampered results. Before the changes to one-off provisions, which were put [...]
Germany’s largest lender, Deutsche Bank, today announced a loss for the third quarter, owing to its take over of retail bank, Postbank. The bank reported a net loss of €1.2 billion (£1.05 billion), compared with a €1.39 billion profit in the same period last year. However, the figures still beat forecast of a €1.48 billion [...]
Banking giant Barclays is understood to be exploring a number of options that would boost its capital reserves, in order to meet new Basel III regulations. The Basel III rules recently agreed banks need to look to capitalise around 7% and Barclays is rumoured to be issuing a special bond that would enable it boost [...]
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 [...]
Despite speculation that banking giant HSBC would consider moving its UK headquarters, outgoing chairman, Stephen Green, has confirmed the bank will stay in London. The bank, which is Europe’s biggest, has a significant presence in Asia, which has led many to believe the bank would one day move its headquarters to Hong Kong. “Our policy [...]
London-based emerging markets bank, Standard Chartered, is looking to free itself from stricter regulations in Britain by considering relocating to the Far East. The bank, which already has a strong presence in the Far East, said relocation “is something we do look at but we have no plans to move.” According to The Times newspaper, [...]
A report has revealed around 100,000 finance jobs have been lost since the onset of the credit crisis three years ago. On the third anniversary of the run on Northern Rock, there have been significant job losses within the sector. The Unite union said that little had changed to improve the regulatory regime in order [...]
A set of tough pay regulations are to be introduced which will see UK banks forced to publish the number of employees earning more than £1 million per year. The Walker Review, published by Sir David Walker, is also proposing to provide the Financial Services Authority (FSA) the authority to curb any pay deals in [...]
At last week’s G20 summit, the world’s leading nations agreed to “tough new regulations”. Following the summit, which took place in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday, US President Barack Obama announced that in order to prevent another financial crisis: “We have agreed tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer [...]
Today has seen the introduction of new rules governing Home Information Packs (Hips). From 6th April house sellers in England and Wales must have a Hip in place before marketing a property. Previously vendors could offer their homes for sale without a pack, providing arrangements were in place for one to be available within 28 [...]
New regulations aimed at preventing inflated property valuations have come into force this week. The measures are aimed at protecting mortgage lenders who have in the past become the victim of deliberately inflated valuations. In the case of new build city centre flats and apartments, prices have plummeted in the past year because of a [...]
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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