Banks not ready for negative interest rates, says Natwest chairman October 15, 2020 British banks are not ready to implement negative interest rates, the chairman of Natwest said today. “We’re not completely ready for it,” Howard Davies said during an interview. “There would be technical issues and many contractual issues.” The chairman said he was not in favour of negative rates being introduced, telling Bloomberg Radio there was [...]
Beware the risk to economic stability if banks are asked to shoulder the full burden of Covid-19 October 15, 2020 The economic cost of Covid-19 has been — and will continue to be — immense. As the Bank of England publishes its surveys on bank liabilities and credit conditions today, it is a reminder that much of that cost will fall on the financial sector, and within that, on the larger banks. But how that [...]
EU watchdog proposes software capital relief to increase banks’ safety buffers October 14, 2020 The European banking watchdog has proposed allowing lenders to include the value of software investments in capital calculations, a move that could increase banks’ capital buffers by billions of euros. The European Banking Authority (EBA) said lenders will be allowed to “amortise” or taper the value of software for capital purposes over three years. Under [...]
Goldman Sachs profit surges, Bank of America and Wells Fargo hit by loss provisions October 14, 2020 Goldman Sachs has reported a dramatic increase in third-quarter profit as increased trading revenues boosted the investment bank, while consumer-focused peers Bank of America and Wells Fargo were hit by increased provisions for bad loans. Goldman Sachs boosted by spike in trading activity Goldman reported a 94 per cent increase in quarterly profit, beating estimates [...]
Andrew Bailey says Bank of England ‘not there yet’ on negative interest rates October 13, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has said the BoE is not yet in a position to decide whether it should cut interest rates in negative territory, as there is more work to be done on what effects they might have. It comes after the Bank sent a letter to lenders yesterday asking them about [...]
Trading surge boosts JP Morgan but Citigroup’s profit suffers October 13, 2020 JP Morgan’s third-quarter results beat analysts’ expectations as trading revenue was lifted by a recovery in global markets despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Its Wall Street rival Citigroup fared less well, however, with profit slipping 34 per cent despite credit costs stabilising. JP Morgan’s net income rose to $9.44bn (£7.25bn) from $9.1bn a year earlier. [...]
Amanda Staveley slashes £1.6bn claim against Barclays in half, High Court hears October 12, 2020 Financier Amanda Staveley has cut her £1.6bn damages claim against Barclays by more than half, the High Court heard. Staveley’s private equity firm, PCP Capital Partners, is claiming a loss of around £660m from the bank, according to PCP’s closing statement. Lawyers for Barclays said PCP was now claiming a maximum of £771m, down from [...]
Bank of England’s use of fast data under fire after weak GDP figures October 9, 2020 The Bank of England’s “reliance” on fast payments data that fed into upbeat predictions has come under fire after figures showed the UK economy performed much worse than expected in August. The Bank has repeatedly referred to data from its Chaps payment system, which reflects sales companies make through card purchases, during the coronavirus pandemic. [...]
HSBC to set aside $1 trillion in green financing, targets net zero emissions by 2050 October 9, 2020 HSBC will target net zero carbon emissions across its entire customer base by 2050 at the latest, and provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion in financing to help clients make the transition, its Chief Executive Noel Quinn has said. In the strongest statement by Europe’s biggest bank on climate change to date, its CEO [...]
London-based digital lender for the wealthy gets UK banking licence October 8, 2020 A London-based digital lender targeting Britain’s affluent savings market, has received a restricted banking licence from UK regulators. Monument, which is targeting professionals, entrepreneurs and investors with a net worth of £250,000 to £5m, received an “authorisation with restriction” licence this week. The fintech, which is planning to launch in 2021, said it will offer [...]