UBS posts best profits since before financial crisis at £5.6bn February 1, 2022 Swiss lender UBS has registered its best profits since before the financial crisis. The bank, which specialises in managing the money of the world’s richest, booked a $7.5bn (£5.6bn) for the whole of 2022, its best take since 2006, it announced today. UBS’s global wealth management was the bank’s bright spot, generating $563m (£419m) in [...]
Former Which? boss in line for top FCA job February 1, 2022 The former boss of consumer group Which? is in line to take over as interim chairman of the Financial Conduct Authority in a sign that a permanent appointment is still some way off.
Downing street launches charm offensive to woo Klarna into London listing February 1, 2022 Downing Street is attempting to woo buy-now pay-later giant Klarna into a London-listing over fears that high-growth firms may snub the city for New York, according to reports.
Pension savers may lose thousands of pounds if they do not move ‘older pots’ February 1, 2022 If pension savers do not move older pots into ones offering better value for money, they could be thousands of pounds worse off, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned this morning. Many working-age people have pension pots that they are no longer actively contributing to – and there are concerns that these pots could provide [...]
Virgin Money reports steady growth despite mortgage and business lending slowdown February 1, 2022 Virgin Money has reported steady growth in the first three months of its financial year as both lending activity and deposits from existing customers saw an uptick. Deposits from existing customers rose 1.2 per cent to hit £31bn, despite overall deposits sliding two per cent to £65bn in the quarter. Unsecured lending from the group [...]
Editorial: The activists are a welcome sign of faith in the City’s future January 31, 2022 The City is not always portrayed well in the wider media, but a certain kind of Square Mile institution was rather effectively deployed at the beginning of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. The Crimson Permanent Assurance, a “once proud family firm fallen on hard times,” fights back against its new ownership by the Very [...]
Even at seven times their income, single homebuyers are priced out of the market by £24,000 January 31, 2022 Despite many lenders relaxing their loan to income criteria, the average UK homebuyer is still priced out of the market unless purchasing with a partner. The current average loan to value, or the multiple of salary that a lender will loan to a buyer, has increased from 3.87 to 4.12 in the last ten years [...]
Bank of England bigwig urges firms to be ‘cautious’ about crypto January 31, 2022 A senior official at the Bank of England has urged institutional investors to be "cautious" in their approach to crypto assets.
Credit Suisse to force bankers to repay some of bonuses if they exit within three years January 28, 2022 Investment bank Credit Suisse has told staff they will be forced to repay some of their bonuses if they exit the company within three years. According to The Telegraph newspaper, bankers were told today about plans for a new system for bonuses. It comes after the company’s chairman Sir Antonio Horta-Osorio was forced to step [...]
Exclusive: Brexit financial services regulation bonfire set to be in next Queen’s Speech January 28, 2022 An overhaul of the UK’s financial services regulation is set to be included in the next Queen’s Speech as the government speeds up its push to make the City more competitive post-Brexit. Chancellor Rishi Sunak gave an update to the cabinet on Tuesday about the UK’s plans to shed EU rules for financial services, with [...]