Revolut set to secure UK banking licence within weeks after releasing late accounts February 26, 2023 The digital bank is on track to clear a major hurdle to receiving formal recognition from regulators this week when it releases its long overdue financial accounts for 2021.
Norwegian billionaire fails to overturn conviction for lying to UK court in £285m Deutsche Bank dispute February 26, 2023 Norwegian billionaire Alexander Vik has failed to overturn a conviction for lying to a UK court during a £285m dispute with Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank first sued the magnate’s company, Sebastian Holdings, back in 2009 over a series of loss-making foreign exchange deals, and the court has since ordered the firm to pay $243m (£203m) [...]
HSBC doubles down on homeworking as Lloyd’s of London pushes for return to City HQ February 26, 2023 HSBC’s and Lloyd’s rival plans for the futures of their London headquarters have revealed a growing split in attitudes towards the long-term prospects of working from home. Lloyd’s of London is reportedly in talks to extend the lease on its iconic City headquarters as it works to bring staff back into the office in resisting [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on a wave of bank results, Elon Musk, and a holiday read February 22, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, on bank results, Elon Musk and an unputdownable holiday read Bank on it? With UK banks currently reporting earnings, key themes so far have been rising interest rates, growing credit loss provisions, share buybacks, volatile financial [...]
Lloyds Bank: Shares fall after bumping up ‘bad loan’ recession provisions February 22, 2023 Lloyds Bank reported that higher interest rates offset the money set aside to cope with loan defaults during the final quarter of 2022, but disappointed the market with yet more conservative guidance on net interest margin for 2023. Lloyds recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn during the quarter, in line with company-compiled consensus and over [...]
Analysis: Has HSBC’s Noel Quinn done enough to ward off Ping An’s split campaign? February 21, 2023 HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn said today that “international connectivity remains our greatest strength.” It was clear he was attempting to ward off shareholder Ping An’s ongoing campaign to spin out HSBC’s Asian business, which makes the majority of the bank’s profit. Quinn was speaking after the lender announced its results for the final quarter of [...]
Credit Suisse shares plunge to fresh lows as chair faces investigation February 21, 2023 Shares in beleaguered lender Credit Suisse plunged to fresh lows today after it was revealed that chair Axel Lehmann is under investigation from Swiss regulators over potentially misleading claims made to the media last year.
Co-op front runner in race to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan book, according to reports February 21, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has tabled an offer for Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan portfolio being, according to reports by Sky News. The Co-operative bank is among a number of parties understood to have tabled a bid for the supermarket bank’s loan book . An insider cited by Sky News said the Co-operative “appeared to be the [...]
Let the payouts commence: As HSBC profits top £4.3bn, banking giant looks likely to appease Asian shareholders February 21, 2023 HSBC promised large payouts in 2023 to appease activist shareholder Ping An after comfortably beating market expectations in the final quarter of 2022. HSBC’s pretax profit for the final quarter nearly doubled to $5.2bn (4.3bn), beating market expectations of $5bn. This brought the bank’s total profit for 2022 to $17.5bn, seven per cent lower than [...]
London leads the way: SME confidence rebounds to nine month high after 50,000 firms folded last year February 21, 2023 Confidence among small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) continues to grow across the UK, with London leading the way, new data out today showed. 60 per cent of respondents in the capital expect their revenue to grow this quarter while they intend to make 12 new hires this quarter, according to Barclays SME Barometer. London is [...]