German parliament electing Olaf Scholz as chancellor marks Angela Merkel’s last day as leader of Europe’s largest economy December 8, 2021 Germany’s parliament has opened a new era for the European Union’s most populous nation after Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure by electing Olaf Scholz as the country’s ninth post-war chancellor. Scholz’s government takes office with high hopes of modernising Germany and combating climate change, but faces the immediate challenge of handling the country’s toughest phase yet [...]
Visa rolls out crypto advisory service for banks and retailers December 8, 2021 Visa has today launched a global crypto advisory service for banks and merchants, as digital currencies gain traction. The world’s largest payment processor will educate financial institutions, which are keen to attract and retain customers, about cryptocurrencies as demand for such services has rocketed. Their new offering is also aimed at merchants exploring non-fungible tokens, [...]
Exclusive: Libor trader Tom Hayes has appeal request quashed December 7, 2021 Disgraced trader Tom Hayes who was jailed for rigging the inter bank lending rate has had an appeal request rejected.
Zopa pulls out of P2P consumer lending as it blames cowboy firms for ‘damaging customer trust’ December 7, 2021 Peer-to-peer giant Zopa has started to inform customers it is closing down its P2P consumer investment division, transferring its loan portfolio to its relatively new bank unit. In an email to customers, Natasha Wear, peer-to-peer CEO at Zopa, wrote that “after 16 years of peer-to-peer consumer investments at Zopa, we’ve taken the difficult decision to [...]
Paragon Banking Group reports record full year profits on lending surge December 7, 2021 Challenger bank Paragon Banking Group has reported “outstanding” full year performance as lending volumes across the business swelled above pre-pandemic levels. “We have delivered an outstanding performance in 2021, which is testament to the strength of our operating model, the quality of our customer base and the capability and adaptability of our people,” chief executive [...]
London Stock Exchange shares jump on news it will acquire Quantile for £274m December 6, 2021 Shares in London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) rose 1.3 per cent this morning, after the bourse said it has agreed to buy Quantile Group, in a bid to strengthen the risk management solutions it offers traders. In a statement released today, the UK’s stock exchange said it would pay as much as £274m for Quantile, [...]
Blackrock and Vanguard rake in billions: Omicron variant makes Moderna and Pfizer shareholders more than $10bn December 6, 2021 Big pharma executives and shareholders saw their wealth skyrocket in the week after the Omicron variant was discovered, with eight top Pfizer and Moderna shareholders making a combined $10.3bn. Campaigners have accused pharma executives of “making a killing from a crisis they helped to create”, blaming “grotesque” levels of vaccine inequality for creating the conditions [...]
Global banking bigwigs slapped with millions in fines for FX rigging December 2, 2021 Some of the world’s largest banks were today slapped with millions of pounds in fines for their role in rigging foreign exchange markets. HSBC, Barclays, Credit Suisse and NatWest were each reprimanded by the European Commission for having employees on their books that created a cartel that spiked currency markets. HSBC was hit with the [...]
WTO countries ink deal to cut red tape for services firms December 2, 2021 The UK is one of 67 countries to sign up to a new World Trade Organisation (WTO) pact to cut red tape around licensing and qualifications for services firms. The deal – signed by countries like the UK, US, China, Russia, Japan, Germany, France and Canada – aims to increase transparency and efficiency for services [...]
HSBC boss warns costs will soar if Brexit fragments European financial market December 2, 2021 The boss of the UK’s largest bank has warned banks and their clients will have to swallow higher costs if Brexit fragments the European financial market. Speaking at the Financial Times’s Global Banking Summit, Noel Quinn, chief executive of HSBC, said there is a real “risk of fragmentation increasing costs” in the banking sector. Several [...]