Nationwide races ahead of competitors with five per cent rates June 21, 2022 One of the UK’s biggest high street banks is offering savers a five per cent interest rate as competition among lenders to secure deposits heats up. Nationwide today has upped its rates on its FlexDirect account on balances up to £1,500 for the first year from two per cent, a more than double increase. The [...]
Bank of England drops mortgage market affordability test after less than a decade June 20, 2022 The Bank of England said this morning that its Financial Policy Committee will withdraw the so-called mortgage market affordability test. “Following its latest review of the mortgage market, the Financial Policy Committee has confirmed that it will withdraw its affordability test Recommendation,” the BoE said in a statement. This will come into effect from 1 [...]
UK watchdog met with BNP Paribas’ HR team over handling of sexual discrimination complaint June 20, 2022 FRENCH Bank BNP Paribas came under active scrutiny from the UK’s financial watchdog over its alleged mishandling of complaints from one of its brokers that she was subject to years of sexual discrimination and bullying at the firm’s London offices. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) held a series of meeting with senior members of [...]
Bonanza pay deal of up to £3.4m for new Nationwide chief executive June 19, 2022 The new boss of building society Nationwide could be awarded as much as £3.4m a year if she hits all targets. Debbie Crosbie is set to trouser a salary worth more than £1m while she will also be awarded up to £1.7m over seven years to cash out of pay deals at previous employer TSB. [...]
Saturday Read: The City still has a long way to go as women make up less than one in four of all promotions June 18, 2022 Women still make up less than a quarter of senior promotions within financial services businesses. Of the 5,815 senior level promotions and hires that took place in the financial services sector in the last year, just 1,365 were women, or 24 per cent, based on FCA data. Despite some progress being made over the previous [...]
Bank of England prepared for ‘aggressive’ action to tackle inflation, says top economist June 17, 2022 The Bank of England's chief economist said policymakers are ready to take “aggressive action” if there is further evidence that soaring inflation is becoming embedded in pricing by firms.
FCA urges lenders to ‘act now’ to protect consumers from cost of living crunch June 16, 2022 The UK’s top financial watchdog has written to UK lenders today urging them to “act now” to ensure they can protect consumers amidst a cost of living crunch this year.
Government announces overhaul of Consumer Credit Act to ‘keep pace with modern world’ June 16, 2022 The government has committed to a sweeping overhaul of the Consumer Credit Act today in a bid to modernise the framework for credit firms and shift more hands into the hands of regulators.
HSBC becomes Emma Raducanu’s eighth blue chip sponsor on eve of Wimbledon June 16, 2022 HSBC has become the latest blue chip brand to join British tennis star Emma Raducanu’s stable of sponsors. Raducanu, who shot to fame by winning the US Open in September, has agreed a four-year with the international banking group. “To partner with HSBC is so natural for me having grown up playing in the HSBC [...]
Banks boosted by looming BoE interest rate hike June 15, 2022 Strengthening bets on the Bank of England tomorrow hiking interest rates for the fifth meeting in a row boosted the UK’s biggest-listed banks today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index surged 1.2 per cent to 7,273.41 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, [...]