British Business Bank appoints new interim chief executive June 10, 2020 The British Business Bank has announced the appointment of Catherine Lewis La Torre as its interim chief executive. Lewis La Torre will take over from current boss Keith Morgan on 1 September, the lender said. She is currently chief executive of the bank’s two commercial subsidiaries, British Patient Capital and British Business Investments, which she [...]
Mike Pompeo slams HSBC for ‘corporate kowtow’ to China June 10, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has criticised HSBC for backing China’s moves to limit Hong Kong’s autonomy, accusing the British bank of a “corporate kowtow” to Beijing. Pompeo said the US stood ready to help Britain with alternatives after Beijing reportedly threatened to punish HSBC and break commitments to build nuclear power plants in [...]
Goldman Sachs digital brand Marcus pauses applications for savings account June 9, 2020 Goldman Sachs is reportedly pausing new applications for its digital bank’s online savings account, from Wednesday, after a surge in deposits pushed it close to regulatory limits during the pandemic. Executives at the bank are taking steps to manage the growth of the British arm of Marcus, according to Reuters. Marcus has attracted around £21bn [...]
BoE’s Cunliffe anticipates ‘great deal of pain’ for financial sector June 9, 2020 The initial shock of the pandemic to the financial system may have passed but another abrupt repricing of risk is possible, according to the Bank of England’s (BoE) deputy governor. “The first phase – the initial shock and adjustment to a far more challenging economic outlook in the near term – has passed,” Sir Jon [...]
Coronavirus business loan borrowing nears £35bn but CBILS approval rate languishes June 9, 2020 British businesses have borrowed almost £35bn under the government’s three emergency coronavirus credit programmes, but the approval rate for coronavirus business interruption loans (CBILS) remains just over 50 per cent. The bounce back loan scheme, which supports small businesses with 100 per cent state-backed loans, continued to see the strongest demand, according to new figures [...]
Barclays squares up for latest legal battle as £1.5bn Staveley suit hits High Court June 8, 2020 Financier Amanda Staveley’s private equity firm today told the High Court it had received a “substantially worse” deal than Qatar when its syndicate invested billions of pounds in Barclays during the financial crisis in 2008, as it launched a civil case against the bank. PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages of up to £1.5bn for [...]
Amigo Loans cancels dividend over £35m complaints hit as sale falls through June 8, 2020 Amigo Loans has said talks with a buyer have fallen through “given the current market environment”, as it warned of a £35m hit from a backlog of customer complaints. The loan provider revealed last week that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is investigating it over its creditworthiness assessment process and oversight. Amigo reached a voluntary [...]
HSBC warns of reprisals in China if UK bans Huawei equipment June 7, 2020 HSBC has reportedly warned Downing Street against a ban on Huawei in 5G telecoms networks, in a further escalation of tensions between Britain and China. The bank’s chairman Mark Tucker made private representations to the Prime Minister’s advisers, according to the Sunday Telegraph. HSBC reportedly claimed it could face reprisals in China if Huawei was [...]
HSBC and Standard Chartered slammed for supporting China’s Hong Kong security law June 4, 2020 HSBC and Standard Chartered have today been critcised for their support of China’s new security law for Hong Kong. HSBC’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Peter Wong signed a petition backing the law, the bank said. HSBC said in a statement: “We respect and support laws and regulations that will enable Hong Kong to recover and rebuild [...]
Bank of England asks banks for pandemic loan loss estimates June 4, 2020 The Bank of England has asked banks to provide information on their likely loan losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, its deputy governor Sam Woods said today. The Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority will gather the data ahead of banks’ second quarter earnings to compare the timing and amount of losses with those it modelled last [...]