Bank of England orders lenders to strengthen reserves amid ‘deteriorating’ economy July 5, 2022 The Bank of England yesterday ordered lenders to fortify their defences in preparation for the looming economic downturn, warning the City against “excessive” cuts in lending to households and businesses. The central bank, which oversees Britain’s banking sector and the country’s monetary policy, doubled the proportion of money lenders need to keep in reserve to [...]
UK Finance chair Bob Wigley: We need to create ‘reasons for banks to be in London’ July 4, 2022 Bob Wigley, a seasoned City veteran, knows a thing or two about banking. He has chaired UK Finance, the British banking sector’s representative body, since its creation in 2017 by condensing several lobby groups into one. He was also instrumental in setting up TheCityUK, spent over a decade with investment banking giant Merrill Lynch and [...]
UK banks’ profits surge past French rivals for first time since before Brexit vote July 4, 2022 Profits at Britain’s banks have topped their French counterparts for the first time since before the Brexit vote, reveals a fresh study published today. The UK’s largest lenders posted pre-tax profits of $55.1bn (£45.6bn) last year, slightly higher than the $54.8bn (£45.3bn) registered by French banks, according to The Banker’s annual top 1,000 world bank [...]
Recruitment guru Paul Farrer warns employers half of all Brits are currently looking for a new job July 4, 2022 Sixty per cent of all workers are currently looking for a new job, with as many as just under half of them searching for a new role due to the cost of living crisis. That is the warning from Paul Farrer, the founder and chairman of recruitment giant Aspire. According to research carried out by [...]
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 [...]