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 [...]
Tesco ‘considering sale’ of Tesco Bank, according to reports February 20, 2023 Tesco is considering selling Tesco Bank, according to Sky News which has reported that the supermarket giant has started a review process for its banking arm. The review is at a very early stage, according to insiders, and may not lead to a formal sale process. A partial sale or joint venture may also be [...]
Concerns raised with EU’s new clearing regulations as it aims to lure market to bloc February 20, 2023 Experts have warned that financial institutions operating in the clearing market are likely to face increasing costs as the EU brings in new regulations to grow its domestic clearing market. Under proposals announced in December, central counterparty clearing houses (CCPs) – an institution that helps manage the risks that might arise if one counterparty defaults [...]