SMEs turn to digital banks amid frustration with high street lending February 5, 2021 Small businesses have lost confidence in Britain’s biggest banks and are increasingly tempted to move across to digital challengers. New research from payment specialist Marqeta reveals 84 per cent of the UK’s SMEs are frustrated with their current banking experience with nine in ten calling for lenders to offer more digital services. High street lenders [...]
Deutsche Bank delivers first profit in six years after trading boom February 4, 2021 Deutsche Bank has recorded a net profit for the first time since 2014, helped by an increase in its fixed-income trading revenue. The German lender reported a net profit of €113m for 2020 after racking up nearly €6bn of net losses the previous year. It was helped by a 17 per cent rise in fixed-income [...]
Millions of NatWest customers to see Visa debit card switch to Mastercard February 4, 2021 Millions of NatWest customers will see their debit cards switch as the British bank plans to start using Mastercard over Visa, despite Mastercard’s plans to hike EU fees. NatWest has become the latest bank to adopt Mastercard, which has prior agreements with Santander UK, HSBC’s First Direct and Monzo. The move will divert around 16m [...]
TSB boss Debbie Crosbie’s salary falls to £1.17m after ‘challenging’ year February 3, 2021 TSB chief executive Debbie Crosbie banked a cool £1.17m last year but it marked a fall on the previous year as the high street bank nursed a hefty loss. This week TSB reported a £204.6m annual loss, nearly twice as big as the £105.4m loss it suffered in 2018 after its IT meltdown. The bank [...]
Regulator grants challenger lender Cashplus a full banking licence February 3, 2021 Digital challenger bank Cashplus has become the latest London-based fintech to secure a full UK banking licence. Following the Prudential Regulation Authority’s approval, Cashplus is the UK’s newest licensed bank despite being founded in 2005 and serving more than 1.6m small business customers. Like its digital peers, Cashplus offers current accounts for UK SMEs, currently [...]
Santander records biggest loss ever as pandemic bites and profits plunge February 3, 2021 Santander recorded its first ever annual loss today, as €1.14bn restructuring costs overshadowed positive core banking results in the fourth quarter. Net profit plunged 90 per cent to €277m in the quarter versus the same period a year earlier, below the €411m average forecast from analysts polled by Reuters. The annual net loss was €8.77bn [...]
Paykey launches trading functionality to compete with ‘wild west’ app market February 2, 2021 The Gamestop frenzy last week not only showed the power of retail investors but the popularity and risks associated with free trading apps. Robinhood, which promises no user fees, faced backlash from investors after sharp swings in the value of stocks meant it was forced to restrict trading. It has sparked debate over whether these [...]
Metro Bank snaps up £384m RateSetter portfolio of loans February 2, 2021 Metro Bank has today announced the purchase of £384m in loans to increase its exposure to unsecured personal lending. The purchase has come from peer-to-peer investors through the RateSetter platform. Commenting on the acquisition, Daniel Frumkin, Metro Bank’s CEO, said: “The addition of this portfolio to our loan book is a further step towards growing our [...]
George Osborne takes up full-time banking role at Robey Warshaw February 1, 2021 George Osborne is joining boutique investment bank Robey Warshaw, as he shuns a portfolio of wide-ranging roles to become a full-time mergers and acquisitions banker. The former chancellor will step down from his current roles as editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard and a senior advisor to Blackrock at the end of March, taking up a [...]
TSB reports losses as pandemic prompts lending surge February 1, 2021 TSB’s full-year financial performance was dented by the coronavirus pandemic as lending rose sharply, the bank announced today. Statutory loss before tax was £204.6m in 2020, compared to a £46m profit in 2019. The losses largely reflects the adoption of government measures in response to Covid-19, as well as unemployment rates and reduced customer spending. [...]