According to press reports this evening, banking giant Lloyds is to pay the Government a fee of £2.5 billion to avoid the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS). For some time now, there have been reports that Lloyds Banking Group has been exploring ways to avoid the scheme, which insures against losses arising from toxic assets. [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has today confirmed it is considering a rights issue, in order to repair its balance sheet which was battered following the takeover of rival HBOS, as well as avoiding participating in the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS). There has been speculation that the bank, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, has [...]
Bus and train operator National Express has confirmed that talks over a possible tie-up with rival bus and rail group Stagecoach have ended. In a statement yesterday, the company said: “The board has concluded it is unlikely that a combination with Stagecoach could be successfully executed in 2009, even if appropriate terms could be agreed.” [...]
Lloyds Banking Group is reported to be embarking on a massive fundraising scheme, in order to repair its balance sheet which was battered following the takeover of rival HBOS, as well as avoiding participating in the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS) . The bank, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, is understood to be [...]
Bus and train operator National Express has today issued a profit warning and is to proceed with a £350 million rights issue within weeks to strengthen its balance sheet as it struggles under a mountain of debt totalling almost £1 billion. Analysts say the rights issue will be completed before Christmas. Meanwhile, the company said [...]
Stagecoach has approached rival National Express with a £1.7 billion offer after a Spanish-led consortium withdrew its £765 million offer last week for the rail and bus group. Stagecoach, the operator of South West Trains and East Midlands Trains, has made a new all-share offer for its rival, following the withdrawal of the Spanish-led consortium, [...]
In order to avoid participating in the Government’s Asset Protection Scheme (APS), Lloyds Banking Group is looking at ways to raise cash with one option being tapping investors for £15 billion – which would be the biggest ever rights issue in UK corporate history. The banking giant, which is 43% owned by the taxpayer, is [...]
Wolseley, which is the world’s largest supplier of plumbing and heating equipment, has today posted an annual loss due to the ongoing problems in the housing market. The company, which owns Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK, slumped to a pre-tax loss of £766 million for the year to 31 July, compared with [...]
According to The Sunday Telegraph, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has asked PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct an inquiry into the board of directors at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with regard to the £12 billion rights issue carried out last year. The investigation will examine the bank’s risk management process and establish whether the stock [...]
HSBC, which is Europe’s largest bank, said shareholders have bought 96.6% of the new shares offered in its £12.5 billion rights issue – the largest ever held in Britain. The shares were offered at £2.54 each – a heavily discounted price from Friday’s close of £4.35 each. The remaining shares are expected to be sold [...]
HSBC, which is set to announce full-year profits this week, is expected to reveal plans for a £12 billion rights issue – the largest ever held in Britain. The bank, which is Europe’s largest, is expected to disclose a 22% fall in 2008 profits. Last August, it revealed a 28% fall in half-year profits despite [...]
Due to the small take-up of its £15 billion share offer by investors, the Government is to own 57.9% of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). This was widely expected as shares in the bank were trading below the 65.5p offer price announced last month. Last week, shareholders voted by 99% in favour to take the [...]
Spanish bank, Santander, has raised eyebrows today by announcing a €7.2 billion (£5.9 billion) rights issue. The bank, which recently acquired Alliance & Leicester, said the heavily discounted rights issue will allow it to strengthen its capital and provide an investment opportunity for its shareholders. However, just last week the bank insisted it had no [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has today announced an 8% fall in operating profits and stated that the economic slowdown will affect its financial results for the final quarter of the year. Furthermore, the bank has announced further write-downs on credit assets totalling £206 million, on top of the £5.9 billion it reported in the [...]
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is planning to shore up its balance sheet by raising 990 billion yen (£6.85 billion, $10.5 billion) by issuing new shares. Japan’s largest bank is to issue common stock of 600 billion yen and 390 billion yen of preferred shares. The news came after Japan’s Nikkei index closed 6% down – [...]
Troubled buy-to-let lender, Bradford & Bingley (B&B), confirmed last week that 27.8% of its new shares, which were on offer at 55p each, have been taken up by investors. This left underwriters, Citigroup and UBS, to place the remaining 597 million new shares, worth £328.3 million, by last Friday. However, the underwriters were left holding [...]
Troubled buy-to-let lender, Bradford & Bingley (B&B), has confirmed that 27.8% of its new shares, which were on offer at 55p each, have been taken up by investors. Consequently, underwriters, Citigroup and UBS will have to place the remaining 597 million new shares, worth £328.3 million, by Friday. Citigroup and UBS are being supported by [...]
Britain’s second-largest bank, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has today posted a first-half pre-tax loss of £691 million – its first loss in 40 years and the second-biggest loss in UK banking history. Lloyds TSB holds the record for the first-biggest loss when it posted a £715 million loss in 1989, primarily due to difficulties [...]
There has been a flurry of British banks reporting results and last week saw Alliance & Leicester announce that half-year profits have nearly been wiped out after taking a £209 million hit on risky assets and higher funding costs. In addition, other banks to reveal significant falls in profits include Lloyds TSB and HBOS, who [...]
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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