Elon’s twitter, record borrowing and Zoom stocks: City A.M.’s Business Quiz of the Year (Part 1) December 18, 2020 It’s been a… strange year. But there have been some lighter, albeit somewhat baffling, moments in the business world. See if you can remember the highs and lows of 2020, from Barclays behaving badly to the aftermath of Carlos Ghosn’s daring escape – and look out for part 2 before the end of the year.
Lloyds axes staff bonuses despite return to profitability December 18, 2020 Lloyds Bank is set to scrap bonuses for all of its employees after it saw profits plunge due to the pandemic. The bank returned to profit in the third quarter reporting a pre-tax profit of £1bn, well ahead of the average £588m forecasted by analysts. But its pre-tax profit for the first nine months of [...]
US trade chief believes next WTO director-general should have ‘real experience’ December 18, 2020 The US trade chief Robert Lighthizer has implied that the process to find the next World Health Organisation (WTO) director-general should be re-opened. In Lighthizer’s first ever international interview, he told the BBC on Wednesday that the next WTO director-general should be ”someone with real experience in Trade.” Lighthizer goes on to say that the [...]
FCA cancels £205,000 of bonuses after LCF scandal report December 17, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has cancelled £205,000 worth of executive bonuses after a damning report found the watchdog had failed to properly regulate a collapsed firm. But FCA employees implicated in the report are now facing calls to pay back bonuses for previous years after an investigation found “significant gaps and weaknesses” in the [...]
FCA failed to properly regulate London Capital & Finance, inquiry finds December 17, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog did not effectively supervise and regulate mini-bond scandal company London Capital & Finance (LCF) before it collapsed last year, an independent investigation has found. The inquiry singles out Andrew Bailey, who was the Financial Conduct Authority’s boss at the time, and who is now Governor of the Bank of England. LCF [...]
Working capital for the capital: an interview with Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s SME London regional director, Paul Evans December 16, 2020 | Sponsored BBLS. CBILS. Furlough. Lockdown. ‘You’re on mute…’. Just some of the acronyms, words and expressions that have dominated 2020. “A very unusual year in every context” is how Paul Evans, Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s long-serving SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) London regional director, reflects on an unprecedented 12 months. Evans has been with Lloyds Bank [...]
Curve and Plaid team up to bring open banking to UK customers December 16, 2020 Curve, a smart banking platform, has joined forces with Plaid, an open finance data network, to help people manage their money.
Barclays fined £26m for mistreatment of customers in arrears December 15, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog has fined Barclays £26m for failures in its treatment of customers who fell into financial difficulties. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that Barclays had mistreated some retail and small business customers who fell into arrears between April 2014 and December 2018. Read more: Parlez-vous Français? Paris’ finance sector gets ready [...]
EU banks losing appetite for exposure to Brexit Britain December 12, 2020 Banks in the European Union may be losing their appetite for exposure to Britain, the EU’s banking watchdog said yesterday. There are concerns in the bloc that a no-deal Brexit, which is looking increasingly likely, could disrupt financial markets. Britain will stop having full access to the EU after 31 December, and many banks in [...]
Lloyds pay black staff 20 per cent less than their white peers December 11, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group revealed that black staff at the company receive 20 per cent less pay than their colleagues.