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 [...]
Banks welcome Chancellor’s revamp of coronavirus loan scheme April 3, 2020 A revamp of the coronavirus loan scheme for businesses has been welcomed by banks after they faced criticism for delays. The government has pledged to guarantee £330bn of loans but only £14bn has been lent so far. The coronavirus business interruption loan scheme means businesses with a turnover of up to £45m can apply for [...]
Nationwide U-turns on business banking debut over coronavirus April 3, 2020 Nationwide has abandoned plans to enter the business banking market, blaming coronavirus for making it commercially unviable. The building society will return a £50m grant from a pool of RBS cash to foster competititon among British banks as it scales back ambitions in the face of the outbreak. “The impact of Covid19, including assumption changes [...]
Chancellor shakes up coronavirus loan scheme after criticism of banks April 2, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak said tonight that he is extending a coronavirus loan scheme for small businesses and introducing a new loan scheme for businesses with revenue up to £500m. The Treasury also said it would ban lenders from requesting personal guarantees for loans under £250,000. And Sunak pledged “operational changes” to speed up lending approvals. [...]
Banks must engage with businesses on coronavirus loans or “be bypassed”, think tank says April 2, 2020 The UK’s banks must engage with businesses seeking coronavirus support measures or “be bypassed” by the government, a new paper has found, as pressure grows on lenders to do more to support struggling companies. The report, from think tank Policy Exchange, says that it is imperative that measures already announced by the government such as [...]
Standard Chartered boss says US and UK ‘too late’ with coronavirus lockdowns April 2, 2020 Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters today criticised the response of authorities in the UK and US to the coronavirus pandemic. Winters said the US and UK had acted “too late” with their measures to contain the virus. “I find it interesting to listen to the debate now that we in the West, or in the [...]
Calls grow for coronavirus loans rethink as almost half of UK firms see revenues sink April 2, 2020 Nearly half of all UK businesses have seen their revenue fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey has shown, amid calls for government to make it easier for struggling businesses to access loans critical to their survival. Office of National Statistics (ONS) data found 45 per cent of UK businesses saw revenues drop [...]