Nationwide U-turns on business banking debut over coronavirus April 3, 2020 Nationwide has abandoned plans to enter the business banking market, blaming coronavirus for making it commercially unviable. The building society will return a £50m grant from a pool of RBS cash to foster competititon among British banks as it scales back ambitions in the face of the outbreak. “The impact of Covid19, including assumption changes [...]
Chancellor shakes up coronavirus loan scheme after criticism of banks April 2, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak said tonight that he is extending a coronavirus loan scheme for small businesses and introducing a new loan scheme for businesses with revenue up to £500m. The Treasury also said it would ban lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000. And Sunak pledged “operational changes” to speed up lending approvals. [...]
Banks must engage with businesses on coronavirus loans or “be bypassed”, think tank says April 2, 2020 The UK’s banks must engage with businesses seeking coronavirus support measures or “be bypassed” by the government, a new paper has found, as pressure grows on lenders to do more to support struggling companies. The report, from think tank Policy Exchange, says that it is imperative that measures already announced by the government such as [...]
Standard Chartered boss says US and UK ‘too late’ with coronavirus lockdowns April 2, 2020 Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters today criticised the response of authorities in the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic. Winters said the US and UK had acted “too late” with their measures to contain the virus. “I find it interesting to listen to the debate now that we in the West, or in the [...]
Calls grow for coronavirus loans rethink as almost half of UK firms see revenues sink April 2, 2020 Nearly half of all UK businesses have seen their revenue fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey has shown, amid calls for government to make it easier for struggling businesses to access loans critical to their survival. Office of National Statistics (ONS) data found 45 per cent of UK businesses saw revenues drop [...]
The impact of coronavirus on dividends April 2, 2020 | City Talk As UK banks temporarily suspend all dividend payments, we discuss the effect coronavirus could have on a vital source of income for investors. What’s happening to dividends? The coronavirus crisis and oil price war are having a profound impact on economic growth and the cash position of companies. Many businesses in the most affected sectors [...]
Treasury set to overhaul coronavirus loan scheme to avoid insolvencies April 1, 2020 The chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly set to overhaul the government’s emergency coronavirus loan scheme over concerns that small and medium sized businesses may go bust before they can access the funds. Sky News reported Sunak is set to announce that the requirement for banks to assess whether companies are eligible for other funding products [...]
Nationwide further tightens criteria for new mortgages as coronavirus crisis bites April 1, 2020 Building society Nationwide has further tightened its lending criteria, excluding bonus, overtime and commission as income it recognises for new mortgage applications. The move follows its decision yesterday to withdraw its offering for low deposit borrowers. Nationwide yesterday withdrew mortgages above 75 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) from its online and broker channels and restricted them [...]
Coronavirus: Banks must ‘repay the favour’ to taxpayer after 2008 crash April 1, 2020 Business secretary Alok Sharma has made a plea for banks to make more loans available for businesses during the coronavirus crisis. Speaking at today’s daily press briefing, Sharma said banks were bailed out by the taxpayers in 2008 and that they must “repay the favour”. Small and medium businesses (SMEs) struggling with the fallout from [...]
Coronavirus: UK bank shares take a hit after dividend suspension April 1, 2020 Investors have pummelled UK banks today, sending the FTSE 350 banks index tumbling after lenders suspended dividend payments amid the coronavirus crisis. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Chartered and Santander all halted payouts yesterday following pressure from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Traders have today responded by selling the [...]