Creative monetary policy alone won’t spur sustainable economic growth November 18, 2019 The latest decision from the European Central Bank to reactivate quantitative easing to revitalise the comatose Eurozone economy has been met with scepticism — this time even by central bankers in the Eurozone. The doubters within the central banking community are now openly voicing their disagreement with such monetary policy tools. Monetary policy in the [...]
TSB’s IT boss ‘kept board in dark’ ahead of tech meltdown November 17, 2019 TSB Bank’s head of IT reportedly failed to warn board members about “shortcomings” with the testing of a new technology system days before it suffered a huge meltdown. TSB is facing a lengthy investigation by City law firm Slaughter and May into the botched rollout of a new IT system that caused nearly 2m customers [...]
Lloyds shareholders lose £385m HBOS High Court case November 15, 2019 Lloyds shareholders today lost a £385m High Court case against the bank’s acquisition of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. England’s highest court rejected a claim from a group of 5,803 investors that they were “mugged” when the bank recommended the 2009 deal without revealing the state of HBOS’ finances. Read more: First [...]
How can you stop your credit card being sexist? November 14, 2019 Can a credit card be sexist? It’s not a question most people would have thought about before this week, but on Monday, the US financial regulator announced an investigation into claims of gender discrimination by Apple Card. The algorithms Apple Card used to set credit limits are, it has been reported, inherently biased against women. [...]
Google to offer current accounts from next year November 13, 2019 Google will offer personal current accounts from some time next year in partnership with banks and credit unions, as the tech titan tries to take a bite out of the personal banking market. Citigroup and the Stanford Federal Credit Union will run the accounts for the project, which has been named Cache, the Wall Street [...]
Banks are under threat – and this time it’s personal November 13, 2019 The launch of Uber Money, which provides payment and banking services to the company’s drivers, is an example of the next big trend in banking — the rise of the so-called “non-bank”. The establishment of a financial product for non-banks goes beyond simple revenue growth. It is about establishing loyalty, and in the case of Uber, loyalty [...]
Major shareholder piles pressure on Deutsche Bank chairman November 12, 2019 Deutsche Bank’s chairman is reportedly coming under increasing pressure from some of the lender’s largest shareholders to step aside. Paul Achleitner is facing calls to be replaced in the latest blow to the embattled bank’s management team, according to the FT. Read more: Deutsche Bank losses widen amid major restructuring effort Private equity group Cerberus, [...]
Arrow underlying profits fall due to rise in costs November 12, 2019 Debt purchasing group Arrow Global saw underlying profits fall 5.4 per cent to £50.4m in the nine months ending in September, due to a 15.1 per cent rise in costs related to IFRS 16. Despite this, the group’s cashflow increased 14.7 per cent to £174.4m, compared to £152m in 2018. Profits before tax increased 65.6 [...]
Experian shares surge as revenue rises to $2.5bn November 12, 2019 Consumer credit giant Experian today posted revenue growth of seven per cent for the first half of 2019, with profit growing to $480m from $470m in 2018. Revenue grew to $2.5bn in the period, up from $2.36bn in 2018. Read more: Experian posts 2019 profit rise helped by global growth The information services group narrowed [...]
Interest rates aren’t central banks’ only ammunition to defend against recession November 12, 2019 Monday’s GDP figures were a mixed bag: the UK has narrowly avoided slipping into recession, but with growth at its lowest rate since 2010, the country is far from being out of the woods. Nor is this just a British issue. Increasing numbers of economic commentators are sounding the alarm about a potential recession in [...]