Your road map to the Isa universe: Make the most of your tax-free allowance March 10, 2020 There are just 27 days to go before the tax year ends on 5 April. For savers and investors, that means there are only a few weeks left to make use of their Individual Savings Account (Isa) allowance. Introduced in 1999, Isas allow people to invest up to £20,000 into savings each tax year, and [...]
Oaknorth Bank doubles profits but reports a slowdown in growth March 9, 2020 Oaknorth Bank nearly doubled its profits last year, but reported a slowdown in growth. The five-year-old challenger bank reported a 95 per cent jump in pre tax profit to £65.9m, up from £33.9m in 2018. Oaknorth said it had kickstarted efforts to broaden its customer base outside of its core market of London and the [...]
Natwest unveils £5bn coronavirus support package for small businesses March 9, 2020 Natwest today said it will pledge £5bn of funding to support small and medium-sized businesses across the UK amid disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The bank, which recently rebranded from RBS, said the cash injection will mark an extension of its existing growth funding package, which is designed to help companies that have been [...]
Financial Conduct Authority ups vetting of senior bankers March 9, 2020 The number of interviews the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has held to vet staff proposed for senior roles at financial services firms jumped 27 per cent to 233 in 2018. FCA data provided to employment law firm Fox & Partners showed the number had risen from 183 the previous year. The law firm said the [...]
Can interest rate cuts help economies deal with coronavirus? March 8, 2020 Last Tuesday, the coronavirus outbreak drove the US Federal Reserve to do something it hadn’t done since the 2008 financial crisis: slash interest rates in an emergency move. Fed chair Jay Powell said rate-setters had “come to the view that it is time for us to act in the support of the economy”. The economic [...]
Serious Fraud Office looking at Lloyds Bank and KPMG claims March 8, 2020 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is reportedly examining allegations that Lloyds Banking Group and KPMG drove a property group into administration by saddling it with fees. Fraud office investigators have been interviewing witnesses over claims the Angel Group was deliberately driven into liquidation, the Telegraph reported. According to the report, the SFO has not launched [...]
Meet the influential women building the future of Britain March 6, 2020 | City Talk With International Women’s Day on the horizon, we celebrate some of the UK’s most influential women, and how their contributions are shaping the future of the nation. It’s been over a month since the UK entered the transitional period between leaving the EU and confirming a final deal with Europe. Although the pound has remained [...]
Coronavirus: Societe Generale latest firm to send staff home March 6, 2020 Yet more banks are taking measures to protect against the spread of coronavirus, with Societe Generale the latest London bank to send people home today. A source told Reuters that more than 50 of its staff were working from home today as the French lender said it had put in place travel restrictions, rotation of [...]
Bob Diamond appoints ex-Barclays colleague Rich Ricci to lead Panmure Gordon March 6, 2020 Bob Diamond has hired his former right-hand man from his time at Barclays to head up loss-making stockbroker Panmure Gordon. Diamond appointed Rich Ricci as chief executive of London-based Panmure, which he acquired two years ago. The former Barclays boss will be reunited with 56-year-old American investment banker Ricci, who ran the old Barclays capital [...]
JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon undergoes emergency heart surgery March 6, 2020 JP Morgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon is recovering from emergency heart surgery, the bank said. The 63-year-old experienced a tear in his heart’s main artery which was caught early and treated successfully, JP Morgan said in a publicly-released internal memo. Dimon is “awake, alert, and recovering well” after the surgery yesterday morning, the memo [...]