UK Infrastructure Bank kicks off with £5bn war chest as first loan investments are handed out July 1, 2022 The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed this morning that the new UK Infrastructure Bank has a pipeline of future deals worth £5bn. A report by the NAO said the state-owned bank, which was set up last June to support economic growth in regional sectors across the UK, has already started handing out investment despite some [...]
‘Principle driven’ approach is slowing down regulators, Revolut boss says June 30, 2022 The boss of fintech giant Revolut said UK regulators were bogged down by a “principle driven” approach today as he called for a stricter “rules-based” model to be adopted by watchdogs. Speaking at the CityUK summit today, Nikolay Storonsky said the firm had chosen to set up shop in the UK in 2015 due to [...]
Barclays fights cost of living crisis with £1,200 pay rise for 35,000 employees June 30, 2022 Barclays is giving 35,000 of its UK-based staff a £1,200 pay rise to tackle the cost of living. The banking giant will provide this salary increase to customer-facing, branch, and junior support workers from 1 August. “Barclays will continue to monitor the economic situation globally and consider our approach to pay in each country in [...]
Brexit: City minister says UK changes to EU financial services rules is not ‘race to the bottom’ June 30, 2022 The UK’s changes to the EU’s catalogue of financial services rules will not become a “race to the bottom”, City minister John Glen has vowed. Glen today said the government had “an unshakeable abiding interest in a prosperous Europe” and that “it is time to put to bed” the notion that the EU will have [...]
Scammers make off with £1.3bn amid surge in sophisticated fraud June 29, 2022 Scammers made off with over £1.3bn last year after a surge in sophisticated fraud schemes targeting UK bank customers, new data has revealed. Around £730.4m was taken via unauthorised fraud schemes, in which the holder does not provide authorisation, but authorised push payment (APP) fraud rose significantly to £583.2m losses, a new report by industry [...]
Twitter storm after Halifax Bank announces staff can wear badges with pronouns on June 29, 2022 Halifax Bank has caused a social media storm after announcing its employees will have the option to include pronouns on name badges. Twitter users reacted furiously after the bank shared an image on social media showing a staff member’s badge, including ‘she/her/hers” and “Pronouns matter. #ItsAPeopleThing”. The post has had more than 5.5k replies so [...]
Subprime lender Amigo Loans launches new loan product after learning from ‘mistakes of the past’ June 28, 2022 Payday lender Amigo Loans has said it has “learnt the lesson from the past” ahead of the launch of a new guarantor loan product for “underserved” customers. The Bournemouth firm is set to offer customers two new loan products after it was blocked from trading by the UK’s financial watchdog in March 2020. The new [...]
Russia defaults on international debts after being cut out of financial system by Western sanctions June 28, 2022 Russia yesterday defaulted on its international debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution after being unable to pay its creditors due to the impacts of Western sanctions. Ratings agency Moody’s yesterday said Russia’s failure to make payments on two Eurobonds worth $100m officially constitutes a default after its extended deadline to make the [...]
Credit Suisse becomes first Swiss bank to be convicted in Switzerland’s own courts June 27, 2022 Credit Suisse has become the first of Switzerland’s domestic banks to be convicted of a corporate crime in any of the country’s own courts, after a judge today found the Zurich financier guilty of failing to prevent laundering of Bulgarian drug money. A court in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona fined the bank 2m [...]
City exclusive: Fear and uncertainty present opportunities in credit markets, argues fund grandee June 27, 2022 War in Europe, a supply-chain squeeze, and the shift to monetary tightening have created fresh uncertainty in credit markets. Irrational exuberance seems to have been replaced by irrational pessimism. And, as a result, the market has become far more opportunistic. According to City insider and fund manager Daniel Dolan, portfolio manager of the iMGP US [...]