Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio to step down next year July 6, 2020 Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio will step down in 2021 after a decade at the helm, the bank said this morning. The lender also announced the appointment of industry veteran Robin Budenberg as its new chairman, who will take over from Lord Norman Blackwell next year. Read more: FCA puts UK banks on notice on [...]
European politicians reject banking regulator candidate for a second time July 3, 2020 A panel of European Union politicians has rejected the candidate for executive director of the bloc’s banking regulator for the second time, in a bid to attract more women to top EU jobs. The European Parliament’s economic affairs committee voted by 24 to 23 to recommend that the full parliament rejects Francois-Louis Michaud as the [...]
HSBC to invest further in China amid row over support for Hong Kong law July 3, 2020 HSBC has announced plans to make new investments in its wealth management and insurance operations in mainland China, after coming under fire for backing the controversial new security law in Hong Kong. The UK-based lender has been criticised by investors and politicians over its support for the new National Security Law in Hong Kong, which [...]
RBS chairman calls on Bank of England to lift dividend curbs July 3, 2020 The chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has called on the Bank of England to lift curbs on dividends by the autumn to make lenders more attractive to investors. The BoE had told lenders in March to scrap buybacks and dividends until the end of 2020 to bolster their finances in the face of [...]
Brexit: UK vows to complete City of London assessments in two weeks July 2, 2020 The government has vowed to hand over paperwork to ensure the City of London maintains post-Brexit EU access within the next two weeks, after missing the initial deadline. The UK was supposed to hand over 28 regulatory equivalence assessments by Monday for the EU to assess if it would allow access to Britain’s financial services [...]
EU banks take on Visa and Mastercard with ‘truly European’ payments system July 2, 2020 Some 16 banks from across the EU have said that they expect to have a “truly European” payments system up and running in 2022, to help digitise a region in which half of all retail payments are made in cash. European Union policymakers and central bankers have long sought to develop a home grown rival [...]
Downing Street still upbeat about gaining post-Brexit EU access for City of London July 1, 2020 Downing Street is still confident it can secure post-Brexit access to EU markets for the City of London as it blames Brussels for missing a key deadline in negotiations. The UK missed yesterday’s deadline to hand in 28 regulatory equivalency assessments to the EU relating to Britain’s financial services industry. Brussels must use these documents [...]
Don’t sacrifice Hong Kong for bankers’ bonuses, Raab tells HSBC July 1, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab today criticised HSBC and other British banks for supporting China’s controversial new security law in Hong Kong, saying the rights of its citizens should not be sacrificed for bankers’ bonuses. HSBC and fellow Asia-focused lender Standard Chartered have come under fire from politicians in the UK and US after the banks [...]
Bank of England to review climate impact of corporate bond-buying after crisis July 1, 2020 The Bank of England will look at introducing climate change considerations when deciding which corporate bonds it buys, governor Andrew Bailey said today. The central bank had been targeted by climate change protesters who have been calling and emailing it this week to demand a change in the way it helps companies survive the Covid-19 [...]
FCA extends credit card payment freeze until October July 1, 2020 A credit card payments freeze could be extended for another three months for customers still suffering from the economic impact of coronavirus, the financial watchdog said today. After imposing a three-month pause on repayments for those struggling amid the fallout of the pandemic on the economy, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said firms must [...]