Booming mortgage lending swings Co-op Bank back to profit February 24, 2022 A sharp rebound in mortgage lending amid a rampant UK housing market swung Co-operative Bank back to profit last year, the bank announced today. A near three-fold increase in net mortgage lending pushed profits at Co-op Bank to over £30m, up from a £103.7m loss in 2020. An ultra-low interest rate environment stoked demand in [...]
Lloyds Bank’s profits in the lift as lender’s mortgage book surges to £293bn February 24, 2022 Lloyds Banking Group has become the latest lending giant to post a bumper annual profit haul after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK’s economic recovery. The group has reported pre-tax profits surging to £6.9bn in 2021, up from £1.2bn the previous year after releasing Covid loan loss provisions thanks to the UK [...]
City banks launch record recruitment drive February 24, 2022 The City banking jobs market is booming as lenders rush to reverse jobs cuts launched during the pandemic, reveals fresh figures published today. The UK’s top banks are looking to hire nearly 3,000 new candidates, according to research by recruiter Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft. A shortage of skilled workers is intensifying competition between City banks [...]
Southampton FC launches its own Bitcoin Hunt as English football dabbles in crypto February 23, 2022 Southampton Football Club has teamed up with Sportsbet.io to launch its first ever Bitcoin Hunt competition. Launching ahead of the game on Friday, it will give Southampton fans the chance to win a Bitcoin, which has this year been worth between £25,000, with a current price of £28,600. The competition is also set to extend [...]
Exclusive: Most UK businesses failing to offer employees workplace pension support February 23, 2022 Most British businesses do not offer their employees adequate support in understanding their workplace pension plans, according to the results of a survey shared exclusively with City A.M. In a poll of 365 decision makers from financial services company Mintago, 60 per cent said they do not believe their businesses provide sufficient support to employees [...]
Co-operative Bank calls in top bankers to explore takeover bids February 23, 2022 The Co-Operative Bank has called in top investment bankers as it begins eyeing up potential acquisition targets and exploring a move to consolidate the UK’s mid-size banking market.
Barclays freezes ex-boss Staley’s bonus until Epstein dispute resolution February 23, 2022 Barclays has frozen all scheduled bonus payments to its former boss Jes Staley until a dispute between he and Britain’s financial regulators over the way he characterised his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is resolved. The high street lender said today all bonus payments, which amount to around 70 per cent of Staley’s total [...]
Johnson says UK preparing to ban Russia from issuing state bonds in London February 23, 2022 Boris Johnson has said he is preparing to ban Moscow from issuing sovereign bonds in the UK and bar Russian companies from raising money in the City of London if Vladimir Putin makes further military incursions in Ukraine. The Prime Minister today waved away calls that the UK’s set of sanctions yesterday in response to [...]
City exclusive: London court issues arrest warrant for high-profile venture capitalist Julie Meyer February 23, 2022 The High Court has issued an arrest warrant for Julie Meyer, the founder and CEO of Swiss investment fund Viva Investment Partners (VIP), after she failed to attend a court hearing last week. The decision to issue a warrant for Meyer’s arrest comes after the High Court this month handed the high-profile businesswoman a [...]
Champagne in Canary Wharf as Barclays profits more than double to £8.4bn but Jes Staley’s bonus suspended February 23, 2022 Barclays has revealed pre-tax profits soared to £8.4bn in 2021 as it released cash set aside for pandemic loan losses and notched up record investment banking earnings. The banking giant more than doubled profits from £3.1bn in 2020 thanks to the release of £700m in bad debt provisions, compared with £4.8bn set aside for Covid [...]