FCA launches investigation into troubled subprime lender Amigo Loans June 1, 2020 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has opened an investigation into subprime lender Amigo Loans, the company said today. In a stock market update, Amigo said the FCA started an investigation on Friday into whether Amigo’s creditworthiness assessment process and its governance oversight of this was compliant with regulations. Amigo said the FCA investigation [...]
Profit nearly halves at Nationwide as it books expected coronavirus losses May 29, 2020 Building society Nationwide’s annual profit nearly halved it said today as it warned of rising loan losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. The lender also said it was abandoning some of its member benefit targets in response to the crisis. Nationwide booked a £101m hit from expected credit losses and said it will focus on [...]
Competition watchdog secures £47m in overdraft refunds from major banks May 28, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured £47m in refunds for consumers from banks which failed to properly warn them about overdraft charges in the last two years. Customers with personal current accounts must receive a text alert warning of fees before banks charge them for an unarranged overdraft. Today, the CMA announced that [...]
FCA warns banks and brokers over risks of home working May 27, 2020 The financial services watchdog today warned that banks and brokerages are facing increased risks around the handling of sensitive information due to the rise of home working as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In its weekly bulletin, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that “working from home arrangements may raise new, additional risks around [...]
Small businesses borrow £18bn in three weeks under Bounce Back Loan Scheme May 27, 2020 Small and medium-sized businesses have borrowed more than £18bn under the government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) in its first three weeks of operation. The BBLS was introduced by chancellor Rishi Sunk after criticism that the existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) was not being made accessible to many businesses by the banks administering [...]
Lloyds suspends job cuts until October amid coronavirus crisis May 22, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group said today it has suspended all job cuts until October to help employees through the coronavirus crisis. City A.M. revealed last month that staff already going through redundancy processes feared the bank would leave them jobless at the height of the pandemic. Lloyds had previously suspended all new job cuts, but those [...]
Close Brothers’ securities division helps to offset coronavirus impact May 22, 2020 A strong performance in Close Brothers Group’s securities division partially offset the impact of the coronavirus on the banking group in the third quarter. Winterflood Securities experienced a substantial increase in trading volumes since the coronavirus outbreak. The figures In Close Brothers’ banking division, the loan book reduced slightly in the third quarter. It decreased [...]
Lloyds hit by investor backlash over executive pay package May 21, 2020 Lloyds was left reeling from a shareholder revolt today after more than a third of investors voted against the bank’s pay policy for top executives. The investor backlash came after influential proxy adviser group ISS recommended voting against the changes to the policy amid concerns it will all but guarantee long-term bonuses. While the rebellion [...]
City calls for financial services not to be overlooked in Brexit trade deal May 21, 2020 City figures have this week called for the UK and EU not to overlook financial services in the final Brexit trade agreement. The UK published its draft Brexit trade agreement this week which called for the UK and EU for treatment “no less favourable than that it accords to its own like financial services and [...]
More than three quarters of RBS staff set to work from home until at least September May 21, 2020 More than 50,000 of RBS’ staff will continue to work from home until at least the end of September. The decision to keep more than three quarters of the bank’s workforce at home for the next four months was revealed in an internal memo, first reported by the Guardian. It will then be reviewed again [...]