Treasury tells banks to boost coronavirus lending after rule change July 30, 2020 The Treasury has told banks they should be lending more to struggling companies through the main coronavirus loan scheme after changes to EU state aid rules come into effect today. European Union rules had meant some viable British firms with significant debts or that were growing and spending fast were classed as “undertakings in difficulty”. [...]
Barclays urges staff back to the office as HSBC eyes September return July 29, 2020 Barclays boss Jes Staley has indicated he wants employees to return to the office, as HSBC reportedly tells its staff they can work in Canary Wharf from September. Speaking to Bloomberg TV today, Staley said: “It is important to get people back together in physical concentrations.” He has previously said big city offices “may be [...]
Coronavirus pushes Santander to €11bn loss July 29, 2020 Santander suffered a record loss of €11bn (£10bn) in its latest half-year, it revealed today, as coronavirus provisions tanked its bottom line. The figures A massive €12.6bn impairment relating to coronavirus meant Santander swung to a €10.8bn loss for the first half of 2020. Underlying profit before tax halved to €3.8bn year on year. And [...]
Deutsche Bank boosted by bond trading amid pandemic July 29, 2020 Deutsche Bank reported its biggest surge in fixed income trading revenue in eight years amid the coronavirus crisis. The figures Deutsche Bank reported pre-tax profit of €158m compared to a pre-tax loss of €946m in the second quarter of 2019. It also reported net profit of €61m compared to a net loss of €3.1bn in [...]
Barclays braces for pandemic blow with extra £1.6bn cushion July 29, 2020 Barclays has set aside £1.6bn to insulate itself against further loan losses in the coronavirus-hit second quarter of 2020, it revealed today, a higher sum than analysts expected. Bank forecasts had pointed to a £1.42bn total but the £1.6bn figure for April to June brings Barclays’ total provisions to £3.7bn. That sum could reach £5.79bn [...]
HSBC to ‘at least double’ black employees in its upper ranks July 28, 2020 HSBC has reportedly told staff it will “at least double” the number of black employees in its upper ranks but said it will have to collect the data first. In an internal memo first seen by the Guardian, chief executive Noel Quinn admitted that the bank’s failure to publish data on ethnicity had created a [...]
Bank of England could extend bank dividends suspension July 28, 2020 The Bank of England will weigh up whether its request that banks do not pay out dividends or buy back their own shares should be extended beyond the end of the year, it said today. It came as the European Central Bank (ECB) extended its recommendation that banks do not pay dividends until January 2021. [...]
Virgin Money reports dip in customer demand due to coronavirus July 28, 2020 Virgin Money has reported a dip in customer lending in the third quarter as demand for mortgages and personal loans fell due to the pandemic. However, the lender said it had not yet seen a spike in credit losses linked to coronavirus. The figures Virgin Money reported a 2.7 per cent drop in personal lending [...]
Deutsche Bank to end global business activities in coal mining by 2025 July 27, 2020 Deutsche Bank has revamped its approach to fossil fuels, saying it will end global business activities related to coal mining by 2025 at the latest. The new fossils fuel policy applies to financing as well as capital market transactions. The policy trails announcements made earlier this year in which the lender committed to new sustainability [...]
Natwest closes SME accounts after coronavirus loan applications July 27, 2020 Natwest has closed the accounts of some small business customers who applied for the government’s coronavirus loans to help them through the pandemic, leaving them unable to access their money. A number of customers contacted the Guardian to complain that their accounts had either been suspended or closed without any explanation after they put in [...]