The City View podcast: The view from Luxembourg, with Nicolas Mackel June 17, 2020 In this episode, Christian gets the view from Luxembourg, which has established itself as a key European hub for financial services. Nicolas Mackel is CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, the body representing financial services in the country, and he shares his thoughts on how the sector should respond to the economic challenges of the pandemic; [...]
Activist investor Cerberus vows to continue push for change at Commerzbank June 16, 2020 Activist investor Cerberus has said it will use “alternative paths” to push for change at Commerzbank if the lender continues to resist calls to reform. Cerberus did not outline what paths it might take in a letter sent to the chair of Commerzbank’s supervisory board dated yesterday and seen by Reuters. One possibility is for [...]
City watchdog tells UK banks to prepare for coronavirus debt pile June 16, 2020 British banks must accelerate preparations for dealing with businesses unable to repay funds borrowed to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic, the financial regulator warned. Over 860,000 UK businesses have taken out state-backed loans worth over £38bn under three emergency credit programmes introduced by the government as lockdowns forced companies to shutter temporarily. Financial Conduct [...]
Dominic Raab hits out at HSBC over its support for Hong Kong security legislation June 15, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has lashed out at HSBC’s stance on proposed security legislation in Hong Kong, saying the government “will not sacrifice the people of Hong Kong over the altar of banker bonuses”. Raab said the UK had a “historic commitment to the people of Hong Kong to protect their autonomy and protect their [...]
Commerzbank set to cut more jobs and branches, says board member June 15, 2020 Commerzbank is set to announce “considerably” more branch closures and job cuts when it lays out its strategy review in August, a member of the German lender’s supervisory board said today. Stefan Wittmann, who represents labor on the supervisory board and is a trade union secretary at the Verdi union, also criticized a public campaign [...]
Metro Bank confirms talks to buy peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter June 15, 2020 Metro Bank has confirmed it is in exclusive talks to buy the owner of peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter, but said that discussions are at an early stage. The challenger bank said there was no certainty that it would reach an agreement with Money Market, following a Sky News report that the pair were in talks late [...]
Lloyds prepares to downsize UK office space June 14, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group is exploring options to reduce its property footprint, as more staff transition to home working. The bank’s people and property director Matt Sinnott told staff this week that while no closures were certain, Lloyds will be seeking to consolidate its presence to six strategic hubs across the UK. “In the longer term [...]
FCA fines Lloyds Banking Group £64m after mistreating mortgage customers in difficulty June 11, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group must pay a £64m fine for failing to treat over a quarter of a million mortgage customers in arrears fairly. Lloyds Bank, the Bank of Scotland and the latter’s subsidiary The Mortgage Business all failed to take struggling customers’ financial circumstances into account when arranging repayments. The banks’ systems and procedures meant [...]
Goldman Sachs to ‘reopen UK base on 15 June’ after lockdown eases June 11, 2020 Goldman Sachs is thought to be planning to reopen its mammoth London headquarters again on 15 June. The investment banking giant reportedly sent an email to staff, telling them that the £1bn space was being prepared for “a safe and effective transition back to office when the time is right.” In the email, seen by [...]
Bank of England set to reload bond-buying programme with £100bn June 10, 2020 The Bank of England is expected to announce a further £100bn for its bond-buying programme when it meets next week in order to limit the damage to the UK economy by the coronavirus crisis. The central bank has already spent the majority of the record £200bn expansion to its asset purchase programme which it made [...]