Brexit: City of London lobby slams EU for damaging confidence in UK financial services sector December 9, 2020 The City of London’s most influential lobby group has hit out at the EU for politicising decisions on the UK’s financial services sector’s access to Europe post-Brexit. The CityUK chief executive Miles Celic told a Westminster committee today that Brussels has created uncertainty for Square Mile firms through the “regrettable politiicsation” of the equivalence assessment [...]
Citigroup appoints first female head of Middle East and North Africa operations December 8, 2020 Citigroup has appointed Elissar Farah Antonios as the first woman to head the bank’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) operations. MENA is Citi’s fastest growing region in its emerging markets portfolio and contributes 30 per cent of the bank’s net income in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Antonios joined Citigroup in 2005 as [...]
Challenger bank Revolut broke even in November December 8, 2020 Revolut broke even last month in the latest indication that the challenger bank is bouncing back from the worst of the pandemic. It is an encouraging sign for the digital bank which tripled its losses to £106.5m, in figures released in August. It came despite a rise in its customer base during the first lockdown [...]
Mind the gap: Study shows savers are 94% worse off than investors December 8, 2020 A substantial investment gap has opened up between those who opted to save and those who decided to invest over the last 10 years. According to a survey by online investment platform Charles Stanley Direct, those who save in cash accounts are on average 94 per cent worse off than their counterparts. For example, £10,000 [...]
UK consumers question sustainability of challenger banks December 7, 2020 UK consumers are worried about the long-term survival of digital challenger banks, according to a new report. Accenture’s Global Banking Study reveals 45 per cent of consumers believed that neobanks would exist in 12 months’ time. Additionally, just a tenth placed “a lot” of trust in the fintechs to look after their data, compared to [...]
Revolut expands business offering with digital payments service December 4, 2020 Challenger bank Revolut is bolstering its business offering as it moves into merchant acquiring allowing businesses to accept online card payments. Revolut’s chief executive Nik Storonsky announced, at this year’s Web Summit, that its business segment had launched an acquiring solution, which will allow businesses in 13 European countries to accept card payments online directly [...]
EU regulator extends repayment holidays amid second wave December 2, 2020 The European banking regulator is allowing banks to grant a new round of loan repayment holidays amid a second wave of infections. The European Banking Authority (EBA) has today announced that guidance on legislative and non-legislative moratoria that expired on 30 September is being reactivated until March 31 2021. “The role of banks to ensure [...]
Barclays issues scam warning to SMEs ahead of Brexit December 2, 2020 A surge in business scams this year has triggered Barclays to issue a scam warning ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period. The high street bank has today issued a warning to UK SMEs to remain vigilant as the transition period ends, as thousands of businesses fall victim to sophisticated scam tactics. New [...]
Unicredit shares drop after chief executive steps down December 1, 2020 Shares in Unicredit fell nearly eight per cent on the open following the announcement that its chief executive would step down after a disagreement over strategy. On Monday the Italian bank announced its chief executive Jean Pierre Mustier would step down at the end of his mandate in April. In a statement Mustier said it [...]
Outgoing Lloyds Bank CEO to be made Credit Suisse chairman December 1, 2020 Credit Suisse has named outgoing Lloyds Banking Group chief executive officer António Horta-Osório as its next chairman. The change will bring the nearly decade-long tenure of outgoing chairman Urs Rohner to a close. “António Horta-Osório shall succeed Urs Rohner who will step down in 2021 as previously announced upon reaching the statutory term of 12 [...]