FCA introduces credit card and loan freeze to help consumers through coronavirus April 9, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a package of measures today to help customers with credit cards and loans during the coronavirus lockdown. The City watchdog said the measures would help provide temporary financial relief to people with commonly used consumer credit products. Firms are expected to offer customers a temporary payment freeze on loans [...]
Bank of England to finance government borrowing during coronavirus crisis April 9, 2020 The Bank of England has agreed to temporarily finance government borrowing during the coronavirus crisis, a measure last used extensively during the financial crisis. The UK government normally borrows money via the issues of bonds to the market. The measure announced today gives the government more flexibility in raising cash quickly. “As a temporary measure, [...]
British bank bosses give up bonuses amid coronavirus crisis April 8, 2020 Top bosses at British banks including Natwest and Lloyds have taken salary cuts and ditched bonuses worth millions of pounds as consumers and businesses suffer the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Natwest chief executive Alison Rose will donate a quarter of her remaining salary for 2020 — set at £2.2m per year — to a [...]
Coronavirus loan scheme risks ‘wall of redundancies and defaults’ say critics April 7, 2020 The failure of the coronavirus loan programme to help struggling small and medium-sized businesses risks triggering a “wall of redundancies and defaults” say critics.
Exclusive: Just 2,000 UK firms given coronavirus business loans April 7, 2020 Just 2,022 loans have been made to the UK’s small and medium-sized firms through the government’s coronavirus business lending scheme. There have been around 300,000 enquiries so far, meaning a paltry 0.65 per cent have resulted in coronavirus business loans. The latest figures, which were compiled by industry body UK Finance but obtained independently by [...]
Shore Capital’s capital markets division drives increase in revenue April 7, 2020 Shore Capital enjoyed a successful year with revenues up 22 per cent in 2019, driven by a strong year for its capital markets business. Total revenue grew to exceed £50m while adjusted pre-tax profits grew more than 60 per cent to £6.6m. Statutory pre-tax profits fell from £4.1m in 2018 to £0.3m in 2019, in [...]
Lloyds staff complain their offices are not clean enough amid covid-19 crisis April 7, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group staff have reportedly complained their bank branches are not clean enough as the banking industry struggles with a rush of businesses looking for funding amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Telegraph cited a survey by trade union BTU which found 56 per cent of Lloyds staff not working from home thought their office [...]
JP Morgan mulls historic dividend suspension amid ‘bad’ coronavirus recession April 6, 2020 JP Morgan Chase’s boss Jamie Dimon has said the Wall Street giant could suspend its dividend for the first time in history and that he foresees a “bad recession” for the US economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. Dimon also warned shareholders in his annual letter that the bank’s profit will be down “meaningfully in 2020”. [...]
Coronavirus: Banks ‘not stepping up to the plate’ in battle to protect business April 6, 2020 The London Chamber of Commerce has added its voice to calls for the UK’s banks to do more to help British businesses, saying lenders “are simply not stepping up to the plate” in the battle against coronavirus. Over the last week there have been major concerns that despite a hefty package of schemes implemented by [...]
HSBC Hong Kong shareholders mull legal action after dividend halted April 6, 2020 HSBC shareholders in Hong Kong are considering legal action and calling for a meeting with the bank’s management after it scrapped its dividend last week. HSBC and the UK’s other leading banks announced last Wednesday that they were cancelling their dividends after pressure from the Bank of England to conserve cash. Some of HSBC’s Hong [...]