SME loans fall by £14bn in last year with more pain on the way April 24, 2023 Outstanding bank loans to small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK fell by £14bn in the year to March with concerns that this figure could fall further due to March’s banking turmoil and mooted regulatory changes. In the year to March, outstanding bank loans fell to £195bn from £209bn according to Bank of [...]
Standard Chartered, Barclays, Natwest kick off UK bank earnings this week with interest income back in focus April 24, 2023 Profit looks set to increase at the UK’s largest lenders as they line up to report first quarter earnings over the coming two weeks. The FTSE banking giants have seen relative stability over the last few weeks following the extreme volatility in March, but this stability means investors will refocus their attention on other major [...]
HSBC shareholders should not vote for Asia spinoff plan, warns advisory group ISS April 23, 2023 HSBC investors should vote against a resolution by the bank’s biggest shareholder Ping An, shareholder advisory group ISS said. Ping An are calling on HSBC to consider strategic options – including a spinoff of its Asia business. The proposal, over which the bank and the Chinese insurer have been arguing since last November, “lacks detailed rationale”, ISS [...]
HSBC faces more shareholder pressure as Pirc urges investors to vote against re-election of Noel Quinn April 23, 2023 HSBC faces yet more trouble at its upcoming AGM as shareholder advisory firm Pirc urges shareholders to vote against the re-election of chair Noel Quinn, according to a report in the Mail on Sunday. Justifying the recommendation, the investment advisory firm highlighted the bank’s alleged links to Hong Kong human rights abuses. Pirc said: “While [...]
BNY Mellon warns staff could face ‘corrective action’ if they don’t return to office April 23, 2023 BNY Mellon has warned employees they may face “correction action” if they do not return to the office, a move that has been met with a mixed reception from the bank’s staff, according to the Sunday Times. In a message entitled ‘Working Together’ sent to employees on 30 March, senior executive vice president Roman Regelman [...]
FTSE 100 live: London’s blue chip index ends the week on a positive, but subdued note April 21, 2023 The FTSE 100 ended a quiet week with another subdued session on Friday, but it managed to eke out a small gain and kept above 7,900 points. Shares in the top index in London gained 11.52 points, rising by 0.2 per cent to 7,914.13. It came despite heavy losses for the country’s biggest mining companies. [...]
Bank of America at odds with Lloyd’s over state-backed cyberattack exemption April 20, 2023 Bank of America has reportedly raised concerns with Lloyd’s of London about a move to exempt “state-backed” cyberattacks from standard insurance policies. Bank of America highlighted its concerns with the policy in a series of meetings between Lloyd’s and its biggest clients, the Financial Times reported. Marsh, the world’s biggest broker, is also understood to [...]
HSBC boss hopes ‘brave’ last-minute call to buy Silicon Valley Bank UK pays off April 20, 2023 HSBC’s UK boss Ian Stuart today defended the bank’s decision to buy Silicon Valley Bank UK, arguing the bank needed to be “brave”.
‘We need a new rulebook’ because ‘times have completely changed’, Blackrock’s Wei Li says April 20, 2023 The global economy has entered a “new regime” as a series of major changes transform the global economy, Blackrock’s global chief investment strategist said. Speaking at TheCityUK’s international conference, Wei Li said “the times have completely changed and we need a new playbook.” Li suggested the global economy is being affected by a series of [...]
FCA will ‘keep its eyes’ on banks’ Q1 results for evidence of savings rate profiteering April 20, 2023 Savers are facing a rising “loyalty penalty” from high street banks, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned. Customers banking with the UK’s big name lenders are likely to earn less competitive interest rates on their savings over time, while new savers are given more attractive offers, the City watchdog told MPs today. “Harm” from [...]