City lobby calls for technology boost for financial services sector in Budget February 25, 2021 The UK’s major financial services lobby group has urged Rishi Sunak to speed up the country’s rollout of full fibre broadband in next week’s Budget to ensure the City’s tech infrastructure does not fall behind other major finance centres. TheCityUK said the “existing speed and availability of key infrastructure in the UK, such as broadband, [...]
European bank giants plot payment network to rival Visa and Mastercard February 24, 2021 Members of the European Payments Initiative (EPI), a project launched with the help of 22 banks, said today that a pan-European payment network can be in place by 2025, making the continent “master of its own destiny.” The 22 banks, which include names such as Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and ING, are shareholders in the EPI [...]
Metro Bank losses widen as it takes £124m hit from Covid, sending shares lower February 24, 2021 Metro Bank loss widens as it takes £124m hit from Covid pandemic
The highs and lows of Antonio Horta-Osorio’s decade at Lloyds February 24, 2021 The return to dividend payouts announced today is a strong legacy for the outgoing Lloyds boss, who oversaw the successful turnaround of a bank left reeling from the financial crisis. Antonio Horta-Osorio will step down at the end of April, with finance chief William Chalmers set to take over temporarily before HSBC banker Charlie Nunn [...]
Pound soars to pre-pandemic heights against euro amid vaccine rollout February 24, 2021 Pound soars to pre-pandemic heights against euro amid vaccine rollout
Lloyds to slash office space as it resumes dividend despite 72 per cent profit drop February 24, 2021 Lloyds resumes dividend despite 72 per cent profit drop as it unveils wealth drive
GameStop fiasco: EU regulators to probe zero-commission stock trading February 23, 2021 Steven Maijoor, the chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, confirmed today his regulatory body is looking into zero-commission trading. Addressing the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament earlier today, Maijoor warned about the “gamification” of investing and stated that trading strategies designed to secure the price of a financial [...]
NatWest issues €1bn affordable housing bond in ESG push February 23, 2021 NatWest Group is issuing a €1bn affordable housing bond, the first of any kind issued by a UK bank. The proceeds of the bond will be allocated to non-profit housing associations which provide access to affordable housing. The selected associations provide affordable rent, supported housing and shared property schemes. They own around 150,000 units of [...]
HSBC results: Shift to Asia, office space slashed, dividend returns February 23, 2021 HSBC today said it plans to nearly halve its office space globally as part of a radical overhaul that will see the lender shift its focus to Asia. The bank will pump roughly $6bn (£4.3bn) into the region over the next five years, focusing mainly on its wealth management business in greater China as well [...]
Lloyds and HSBC: What to expect in next week’s earnings February 19, 2021 This week Barclays and Natwest announced a return to dividend payments but laid bare the extent of the pandemic on earnings. Barclays reported a 30 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £3.1bn for 2020, while Natwest reported a pre-tax loss of £351m for the year. Next week it will be Lloyds and HSBC’s turn [...]