Whitbread share price tumbles on Barclays downgrade September 30, 2019 Whitbread suffered a fall in its share price this morning after Barclays downgraded the UK’s biggest hospitality company. The Premier Inn owner’s share price has tumbled five per cent during trading today after its rating was cut by Barclays, which moved its recommendation from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Equal Weight’. Read more: Markets mixed on US-China trade [...]
UK consumer credit growth slows to five-year low September 30, 2019 British customers increased their borrowing at the slowest rate since 2014 in August, official statistics showed today, in a sign that Brexit uncertainty is weighing on consumer confidence. Read more: Pound staggers as Bank of England hints at interest rate cut The annual growth rate of lending to British consumers continued to slow in August, [...]
Activist investors circling Metro Bank September 29, 2019 Activist investors are eyeing up Metro Bank after a failed bond offering and contemplating taking a stake or buying up parts of the business that could be profitable. Read more: Metro Bank shares plummet to record low after scrapping of bond issue US raider Elliott Advisors is one of a group of investors circling the [...]
Funding Circle investors face four month wait to withdraw cash September 28, 2019 Funding Circle is conducting an internal review after it was revealed investors are having to wait more than 16 weeks to withdraw cash. The peer-to-peer platform told The Times it was “exploring a range of options” to tackle the problem delaying investors from selling their loans in its secondary market. Funding Circle has around 80,000 [...]
Former Estonian regulator: Danish authorities did not take Danske Bank concerns seriously September 27, 2019 The former head of Estonia’s financial regulator has hit out at Danish authorities for not taking concerns about Danske Bank seriously, ahead of what is thought to be history’s biggest ever money-laundering scandal. Raul Malmstein criticised his counterparts in Denmark for not spotting the extent of the problem. Authorities have since identified around €200bn (£178bn) [...]
Bank of England could cut interest rates if Brexit uncertainty persists, says MPC member September 27, 2019 The Bank of England may need to cut interest rates even if a no-deal Brexit is avoided, according to a member of the monetary policy committee (MPC), which sets the rates. Michael Saunders has said that the Bank may have to cut rates if the “slow puncture” effect on the economy from Brexit uncertainty persists. [...]
How can online-only banks win over cautious consumers? September 27, 2019 The direction of travel for banking is clear – we’re moving away from highstreets and onto smartphones. But tech should not outpace consumer confidence, and lessons on how to do that can be drawn from the payments industry. This week Which? reported that a third of UK bank branches have closed in the last five [...]
Woman who spent £16m in Harrods will not be extradited to Azerbaijan September 26, 2019 A judge ruled today that a woman who spent £16m in Harrods and was the target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) will not be extradited to Azerbaijan. Zamira Hajiyeva, whose banker husband is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, faced extradition to Azerbaijan to stand trial on multiple fraud charges. [...]
Workers in the City of London broke half a million in 2018 September 26, 2019 The number of workers employed in the City of London broke half a million last year, according to new data. Office of National Statistics data released today showed there were 507,000 workers in the City of London last year, up from 495,000 in 2017. Catherine Mcguinness, policy chair at the City of London Corporation, said: [...]
Dutch bank ABN Amro probed under terror financing rules September 26, 2019 Prosecutors in the Netherlands have opened a investigation into Dutch bank ABN Amro over potential money laundering or financing of terrorism. The bank said it was informed of the decision yesterday. “ABN Amro will cooperate fully with the investigation,” it said. Read more: Former head of Danske Bank in Estonia found dead Prosecutors told Reuters [...]