New audit watchdog: FRC set to confirm CEO will move from London to Birmingham March 31, 2023 The CEO of the newly former audit watchdog will be based in Birmingham - a more than hour long train journey away from the country’s auditors, City A.M. understands.
Four day week, recession fears, Brexit and banking: The top five business news stories on City A.M. March 31, 2023 This week started off with markets trying to settle themselves after the chaos in the banking sector, so attention turned to work itself and the idea of a four-day week made for one of the most read stories online. Along with that story here are the four others that were the top five read business [...]
Is the future of banking online only? NatWest and Lloyds to axe 81 branches, taking this year’s total to 213. Here’s a list of closures: March 31, 2023 Two of the UK’s biggest banking groups have announced plans to make big cuts to their branch networks this year, cutting more than 80 sites from around the country. Lloyds Group and NatWest Group have said that the sites in England, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man will close between July and November this [...]
Tightening SME lending rules ‘deeply irresponsible’: Business groups hit out at regulator’s plans March 30, 2023 Increasing capital requirements on SME lending will stifle economic growth and depress the UK’s small business sector, business groups have warned. Under proposals being considered by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as part of the Basel 3.1 regulations, favourable treatment for SME lending will be removed. Removing the preferential treatment, known as the SME Supporting [...]
Arbuthnot profit leaps after rate hikes but bank backs ‘conservative’ model as UK prospects ‘not clear’ March 30, 2023 Arbuthnot Latham saw its profit surge with rising interest rates boosting its coffers, as the lender sought to distance itself from recent difficulties in the banking sector. Pretax profit in 2022 lept to £20m, up from just £4.6m last year as net interest income grew by over £30m. The boutique bank said this increase [...]
Mark Austin interview: The City needs a culture change – we have to celebrate success March 30, 2023 The City of London is at an “inflection point” reckons the man who wrote last year’s capital raising review – but a year on, with Arm gone and others plotting New York floats, there remains much to do You’d be forgiven for thinking the Square Mile is in rather dire straits at the moment. Firms [...]
Credit Suisse continued enabling tax evasion after 2014 settlement with DoJ, US Senate finds March 29, 2023 Credit Suisse violated a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice as it continued to help wealthy Americans to avoid paying tax, a Senate investigation has alleged. The probe, which took two years to complete, accused the lender – which will shortly be taken over by UBS – of committing “major violations” following its [...]
‘Sink or swim’: Delayed update leaves UK’s £4bn open banking sector in limbo at critical moment March 29, 2023 The UK’s £4bn open banking sector faces a “sink or swim moment” as the industry awaits a crucial update on the future of the industry in the coming weeks, a lobby group has warned. Open banking, which was first rolled out by regulators in 2017 to force dominant high street lenders to open up their [...]
UK banks still ‘resilient’ but BoE warns of ‘urgent need’ to address less regulated areas of finance sector March 29, 2023 UK banks are “resilient” despite global banking turmoil, the Bank of England said today, but warned there was an “urgent need” for further rules in the less tightly regulated market-based finance sector. Amidst volatility in the financial sector following Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and the emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, the Bank reaffirmed [...]
JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon to be deposed in Epstein case, plaintiffs’ lawyer says March 29, 2023 JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon will be interviewed under oath in connection with the bank’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender and a former client, a lawyer involved in the litigation said on Tuesday. The deposition is expected to occur in early May, according to Brad Edwards, a lawyer representing women who [...]