Coronavirus: Ratings agencies see demand surge as firms try for BoE cash March 31, 2020 Ratings agencies have reported a surge in demand from UK companies as firms try to secure credit ratings that would let them access the Bank of England’s coronavirus bond-buying scheme. However, a significant number of firms expressing interest do not qualify for the money, agencies said. S&P Global Ratings said it has received around 30 [...]
Standard Chartered to freeze staff and cut bonuses to weather crisis March 30, 2020 Ftse 100 bank Standard Chartered has told staff it is freezing hiring for two months and said it is likely to cut bonuses, as it grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Asia and Africa-focused bank said it would also re-prioritise discretionary investment for the time being, the company said in a memo [...]
Co-ordinated stimulus package recognises the critical role of banking to support the economy March 30, 2020 | City Talk A consistent message from financial regulators post 2008 was that the next financial crisis would look different. Few would have predicted a global health pandemic, coupled with an oil price war, would dramatically curtail economic activity. Yet while banking was not the cause of this crisis, regulators, politicians and the industry itself have quickly moved [...]
Coronavirus: Bank of England extends emergency liquidity measure March 30, 2020 The Bank of England said today it would extend an emergency liquidity measure, the three-month Contingent Term Repo Facility (CTRF), to run until the end of April and it would also hold a one-month CTRF operation each week until 1 May. The Bank reactivated the facility last week as part of its attempts to keep [...]
UBS sticks with planned dividend despite global calls for payout freeze March 30, 2020 UBS intends to pay its 2019 dividend as planned, the Swiss banking giant said today, despite guidance from Swiss authorities and international banking groups to limit payouts due to the catastrophic economic impact of coronavirus. The bank’s proposed dividend of $0.73 (59p) in cash per share is an increase of almost six per cent on [...]
UK banks likely to review dividends amid coronavirus crisis March 30, 2020 British banks are likely to want to review their dividend plans for this year given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, an industry body said today, as lenders come under increasing pressure to scrap dividends. “Given current uncertainties and the importance of finance providers being able to play their vital role in [...]
Barclays outlines new climate policy amid mounting pressure from activists March 30, 2020 Barclays said it plans to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and will only provide financing to projects aligned with the Paris Agreement climate goals. The London-based bank said it will table a resolution on its new climate policy for shareholders to vote on at its annual general meeting (AGM) in [...]
Jefferies Group finance chief dies of coronavirus complications March 29, 2020 Investment bank Jefferies Group said today that its chief financial officer had died from coronavirus complications. Peg Broadbent, 56, was based in New York but grew up in London and qualified as an accountant in the UK with PwC. Chief executive Rich Handler and president Brian Friedman said: “We are heartbroken and grieve that our [...]
New FCA boss to hold crisis coronavirus meeting with banks March 29, 2020 The interim boss of the City watchdog is set to hold crisis talks tomorrow with the Bank of England and the heads of the high street banks to try and plot a course through the economic chaos triggered by coronavirus. Chris Woolard said he wanted the industry to work out how to protect people unable [...]
Virgin Money delays branch closures in face of coronavirus March 29, 2020 Challenger bank Virgin Money is reviewing plans to close branches as lenders focus on mitigating the impact of the coronavirus. Hundreds of jobs earmarked for redundancy could also now be put on hold as the bank pauses branch closure plans, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Read more: Lloyds suspends 780 planned job cuts amid coronavirus [...]