The Notebook: Symphony CEO Brad Levy on getting clear on Whatsapp, Revolut’s regulatory woes and using AI May 22, 2023 The Notebook is a daily column where interesting people say interesting things. Today, CEO of Symphony Brad Levy writes ahead of Symphony Innovate conference on 23 May. Message received: Time for UK banks to get clear on Whatsapp In the last year, multiple banks in the US have paid a high price for staff use [...]
‘Milestone in returning NatWest to full private ownership’ as government sells £1.26bn worth of shares May 22, 2023 The government has sold £1.26bn worth of its shares in NatWest as it continues to sell-off its stake in the bank it bailed out after the 2008 financial crisis. The shares, sold at 268.4p each, represent 4.95 per cent of NatWest’s share capital and takes it stake below 40 per cent. The Economic Secretary to [...]
Experts question surge in buybacks after record spree in 2022 May 22, 2023 Experts have raised questions about the spate of share buybacks undertaken by UK companies over the past year. Buybacks reached record levels globally in 2022 according to recent figures from Janus Henderson, rising 22 per cent year-on-year to hit $1.3trn. Buybacks were worth 94 per cent of dividends in 2022, compared to 52 per cent [...]
‘A lot riding on this’: Close Brothers looks to win round the City after bruising year May 21, 2023 Merchant banking group Close Brothers is hoping to win back the confidence of the City this week after a bruising few months in which legal lending division Novitas has delivered a hefty blow to profits.
‘I’m a bull on the UK’: Lazard chief backs London despite doom and gloom warnings May 21, 2023 The chief of financial advisory and asset management giant Lazard has said he is a “bull” on the UK despite warnings of the City’s decline on the international stage.
City regulators set for fresh scrutiny as ministers push post-Brexit reforms May 21, 2023 Ministers are looking to strengthen their oversight of financial regulators and boost accountability for decision-making as part of post-Brexit plans to rein in regulatory red tape and fuel the growth of the City.
UK and EU publish draft MOU to improve post-Brexit financial regulatory cooperation May 19, 2023 The UK and the EU’s top body have published the draft of a memorandum of understand, intended to improve post-Brexit regulatory cooperation on financial services. The draft agreement commits the two to “jointly endeavour to pursue a robust and ambitious bilateral regulatory cooperation in the area of financial services”. The MOU was heralded as a [...]
Klarna UK boss quits but predicts BNPL firm will “trailblaze” in payments and banking May 19, 2023 Klarna’s UK boss Alex Marsh announced today that he was stepping down having been at the firm for four and half years. Marsh, who joined Swedish buy-now pay-later (BNPL) firm Klarna in 2018, described his time at Klarna as “nothing short of phenomenal”. However, he said that a recent family tragedy has “brought home that [...]
Stocks on Wall Street rise despite hint Fed’s rate hikes may NOT be over May 19, 2023 Stocks rose again on Thursday after more companies reported better profits than expected, while yields climbed after a Federal Reserve official cautioned the end to its interest-rate hikes may not arrive as soon as Wall Street hoped. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent , adding to its rally from the day before as hopes [...]
Nationwide hands out £340m to customers as it reports 40 per cent profit boost from higher interest rates May 19, 2023 Nationwide’s profit jumped in 2023 as the building society became the latest firm to benefit from higher interest rates. The building society’s pretax profit climbed nearly 40 per cent to £2.2bn from £1.6bn last year despite a slight increase in costs. Nationwide’s net interest margin, the difference between what it pays out and receives in [...]