UBS posts profits of £1.4bn as banking giant reaps rewards of cost cutting and a reported client exodus from rival Credit Suisse January 31, 2023 UBS beat analysts’ profit estimates as a drop in expenses and a significant influx of new assets helped offset a fall in revenue. UBS’s profits rose 23 per cent to $1.7bn (£1.4bn) in the fourth quarter of the year, ahead of an estimated $1.3bn. Net interest income at the Swiss lender fell year-on-year compared to [...]
Banks struggle with digital transition as new data shows 10 per cent of customer records are duplicated January 30, 2023 Major banks are struggling to manage their digital records as new data shows that around ten per cent of customer records are duplicated. Quantexa, a data analytics firm, asked 356 IT and data experts working in the UK, USA and Canada how many customer records were duplicated in their respective sectors. In the banking industry, [...]
Persimmon and Barratt to sign Gove’s cladding contract as others stall for time January 30, 2023 A handful of developers plan to sign the government contract to fix buildings affected by cladding and other fire risks in the coming weeks. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove gave developers a six-week deadline to commit to more than £2bn of repairs to fix the issues in buildings taller than 11 metres. This comes on [...]
Later life lending: Livemore secures £250m from Citi as it aims to hit £1bn in mortgage lending January 30, 2023 Livemore, a later life mortgage specialist, has secured a credit facility of up to £250m from Wall Street lender Citi as it seeks to hit £1bn in mortgage lending. “We are thrilled to receive this credit facility from Citi, which will support our growth and expanded product offering, so we can continue to serve the [...]
FCA to take swift action against firms flouting consumer duty rules, lawyers warn January 29, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority is expected to take swift action against firms that fail to comply with new rules to protect savers and retail investors, City lawyers have warned. The City watchdog announced a major overhaul to consumer regulation last summer in the new Consumer Duty, which is set to shift greater onus onto companies [...]
Fleet Street site amongst a host of Barclays bank branch closures January 28, 2023 Barclays has announced the closure of 15 branches across the country, meaning over 100 banks are slated to shut down so far this year. The bank is set to close 14 branches across England and one in Wales from late April to the first few days on May. Sites in London, Gosport, Bridgwater and St [...]
Week in Review January 27, 2023 | City Talk Well, we’re at the end of another exciting week of trading with the Dollar flat, stocks higher, oil slightly relatively subdued and treasuries lower. Interesting week as yields push higher and the S&P looks set for a gain, which recently has not been the expected outcome of that sequence of events. After a positive end [...]
Experts question whether Morgan Stanley’s $1m Whatsapp spot fines will work January 26, 2023 Morgan Stanley has hit some of its bankers with heavy fines for conducting official business on Whatsapp, the Financial Times reported today. But experts have questioned whether dishing out penalties to the bank’s staff really solves the problem of keeping bank’s internal communications in line with financial regulators’ expectations. Depending on the seriousness of the [...]
Bank dealmaking slumped to a five year low in 2022 – will it rebound this year? January 26, 2023 Mergers and acquisitions involving Europe’s top lenders slumped to their lowest level in five years last year as aggressive moves by central banks spooked dealmakers, new research has revealed.
NatWest to shutter two London branches in latest round of closures taking UK total to 66 January 26, 2023 Natwest will close a further 23 branches between April and June this year, including two in London, as the shuttering of its presence on Britain’s high streets picks up pace. The closures add to the 43 branches Natwest has already confirmed will be closing in 2023. Only two of the branches – Clapham High Street [...]