Exclusive: Pro-democracy activist Nathan Law labels HSBC a ‘cheerleader’ for Chinese Communist Party July 27, 2022 HSBC is “cheerleading” for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) campaign to strip away Hong Kongers’ human rights, Nathan Law, a pro-democracy activist, told City A.M. today. Law, a former member of Hong Kong’s parliament, accused Britain’s largest lender of putting profits ahead of taking a stand against Beijing eroding the city’s citizens’ freedoms through the [...]
Mining firms dish out dividends as UK shareholders pocket £37bn July 27, 2022 UK shareholders revelled in £37bn worth of dividends in the second quarter of the year as mining firms, banks and oil giants put bumper profits back in the pockets of investors.
Lloyds profits top City’s expectation on higher interest rates July 27, 2022 Higher interest rates have lifted Britain’s largest mortgage lender Lloyds’s profits above the City’s expectations. Net interest income, the difference between what a bank charges borrowers and pays depositors, surged 13 per cent over the first six months of the year to £6.1n, Lloyds said today. That boost hoisted the lender’s pre-tax profits to £3.66bn, [...]
Provident Financial’s growth-as-expected prompts City firm to issue interim dividend July 27, 2022 Provident Financial announced solid growth in line with market expectations for the first half of the year and is set to recommend an interim dividend of 5p per share. The specialist banking group’s continuing profit before tax was at £54.3m compared to £63.5m in the first half of 2021 which the company said showed growth [...]
British Business Bank pumps £30m into early-stage venture fund amid investment slowdown July 27, 2022 The state-backed British Business Bank revealed it had pumped £30m into a new early-stage venture fund today as it looks to fill a funding gap for small firms amid a major investment slowdown this year.
Virgin Money announces plans to take UK’s fast-growing ‘buy now, pay later market’ by storm July 26, 2022 Virgin Money said this afternoon the bank plans to enter the buy now, pay later (BNPL) market later this year. With an offering called Virgin Money Slyce, Virgin Money is set to launch a new BNPL credit card product. Any spend over £30 can be spread across three, six, nine or 12-month repayment plans. Paying [...]
UBS profits drop below expectations July 26, 2022 A sharp fall in profits at UBS’s investment banking division caused by charges to deal with the fall out of the collapse of Bill Hwang’s Archegos Capital and tumbling global stock markets has raided the Swiss lender’s bottom line. UBS profits sank around $100m (£83m) over the last year to $2.1bn (£1.7bn), it announced today, [...]
Monzo ‘repeatedly failed customers’ by not sharing data, competition watchdog says July 26, 2022 The competition watchdog has accused Monzo of “repeatedly” failing its customers today after it found the digital lender had failed to share transaction data with people closing down their accounts.
4,500 TSB staff to be given £1,000 payment to weather cost-of-living crisis July 25, 2022 Around 4,500 staff at TSB are to be given a £1,000 payment after the high street lender became the latest firm to announce payouts to help employees weather the cost-of-living crisis. The payment will be made to all staff at the bank earning £35,000 or less and will be made in two stages – one [...]
Week ahead: Banks to report amid high inflation and interest rate fears July 25, 2022 Customer behaviour and cost control are set to be top of the in-tray for the major banks as they update investors over the next week. Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest are all set to update the markets in a bumper week for the sector. Although priorities will vary slightly, there will be significant focus on whether [...]