Morgan Stanley caps off earnings season with record profit January 16, 2020 Morgan Stanley’s profit jumped almost 50 per cent in the final quarter of 2019, its results showed today, pushing the lender’s yearly earnings to a record high. The last of the Wall Street giants to report its fourth-quarter earnings, Morgan Stanley also achieved record revenue in 2019 as its bond-trading arm prospered. Profit rose 46 [...]
FSCS says it is ‘too early to predict’ London Capital & Finance compensation levels January 16, 2020 The financial services lifeboat said today it was “too early to predict” how much it would have to pay out in compensation to investors in collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF). Last week, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said it would protect 159 LCF bondholders who switched from stocks and shares ISAs [...]
55-year-old ex-Citigroup banker who was called ‘old’ by his boss wins age case January 15, 2020 A former Citigroup investment banker has won an age discrimination case after his boss said “you are old and set in your ways”. The Employment Tribunal Court found that Niels Kirk, a managing director of energy banking, had been unfairly dismissed following the comments by his boss, Manolo Falco. The tribunal concluded that Kirk, who [...]
Why a Bank of England interest rate cut looks increasingly likely January 15, 2020 Just a week ago, investors rated the chances that the Bank of England would cut interest rates at about five per cent. Today, they think there is a 60 per cent chance that the main rate will be lowered from 0.75 per cent, according to CME Group’s tool which analyses futures prices. So what has [...]
IBM takes control of TSB’s IT after digital meltdown January 15, 2020 TSB today handed control of its IT systems to tech giant IBM in a deal to overhaul its banking platforms as the bank attempts to escape the shadow of a disastrous digital meltdown. Spanish bank Banco Sabadell, which has owned TSB since 2015, hired IBM for €1bn (£856m), according to Reuters. Read more: TSB Bank [...]
Bank of America profit slips but beats expectations January 15, 2020 Bank of America’s (BoA) profit fell four per cent in today’s fourth quarter results, with the firm announcing $7bn (£5.4bn) in net income, down from $7.3bn in the same quarter last year. The small decline is due to lower interest rates squeezing the US lender’s ability to earn more from its loans. Read more: JPMorgan [...]
Provident Financial shares climb after credit card business beats expectations January 15, 2020 Shares Provident Financial rose today after the subprime lender said its credit card business, Vanquis Bank, performed “modestly above expectations” in the fourth quarter. Provident Financial led the FTSE 250 index risers on Wednesday, with shares up as much as 5.85 per cent to 446.6p by lunchtime. Read more: Non-Standard Finance abandons offer for Provident [...]
Fintech can be the silver bullet to banking the UK’s unbanked January 15, 2020 Can new technology help the 1.23m people in the UK who don’t have a bank account? And could it improve the lives of the 10–12m who still struggle to access affordable loans? New research suggests that the answer to both those questions is yes. It is all thanks to London’s booming fintech sector — one [...]
Citigroup profit jumps 15 per cent in strong end to year January 14, 2020 Profit at Wall Street giant Citigroup beat expectations to post a 15 per cent rise in fourth-quarter profit, with solid growth in both its consumer and institutional banking arms. Citigroup shares had risen 2.9 per cent two hours into trading to $82.93 as the lender continued the strong start to US earnings season, which had [...]
Revolut valued at $5bn ahead of new funding round January 14, 2020 UK-based fintech Revolut is reportedly set to be valued at $5bn (£3.85bn) in an upcoming funding round. Investor Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV) is leading a funding round that is expected to close in January, according to documents seen by Financial News. The documents showed that investors had placed a pre-money valuation of $5bn on the [...]