St. James’ Place boss promises review of company’s incentives September 8, 2019 The boss of Britain’s largest wealth manager has been forced to review its controversial staff incentives scheme as details of the lavish rewards were made public. St. James’ Place (SJP) advisers could enjoy luxury cruises and white-gold cufflinks as reward for bringing in new clients willing to save in pensions and ISAs. In an internal [...]
Sainsbury’s planning major changes to struggling bank arm September 8, 2019 Sainsbury’s is plotting a radical overhaul of its loss-making banking arm as it reconsiders its business model in the wake of its failed merger with Asda. Read more: Sainsbury’s partners with Deliveroo on pizza takeaway service The household name is weighing up its options ahead of a meeting with investors in two weeks’ time. The [...]
Boris Johnson’s former advisor Gerard Lyons misses Bank of England governor shortlist September 7, 2019 The former economic advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson has failed to make the final shortlist to become the Bank of England’s next governor. Gerard Lyons had been the favourite to take over from Mark Carney due to his personal relationship with Johnson, but the Treasury have deemed him unsuitable for the role, according to [...]
Banks braced for rise in PPI costs after surge of last-minute claims September 5, 2019 Britain’s banking sector is bracing itself for a multi-billion pound balance sheet backlash from a worse-than-expected rush of payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints that were lodged late last month. Some of the country’s largest banks are facing huge costs following a stampede of consumers making claims for mis-sold PPI in the run-up to the August [...]
UBS cuts global growth outlook as US-China trade war bites September 4, 2019 UBS cut its outlook for global growth today, as trade war tensions weighed on the Swiss bank’s optimism for the year ahead. World growth is projected to grow by 2.5 per cent in the coming quarters, falling from a previous estimate of 3.2 per cent, as UBS cited the ongoing trade dispute between Washington, D.C. [...]
Monzo beats Revolut to be crowned Linkedin’s best UK startup to work for in 2019 September 4, 2019 Challenger bank Monzo has been named Britain’s most-desirable startup for young professionals to work at, beating fellow challenger bank Revolut to the top spot. Social media giant Linkedin put Revolut in second place, while Starling Bank and Tide were also included in the top 10. Read more: Fintech firm Revolut leads list of UK’s top [...]
Surge in PPI claims could cost RBS an extra £900m September 4, 2019 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has warned that an unprecedented number of PPI claims in the run up to the August deadline could cost it up to an extra £900m. Read more: Banks buckle under the strain of PPI claims RBS expects to take an additional charge of between £600m and £900m relating to the [...]
Bond fund giant Pimco ‘vying to buy’ £5bn taxpayer-owned loan portfolio September 3, 2019 Global investment giant Pimco is reportedly among the bidders looking to snap up the final tranche of taxpayer-owned customer loans issued in the wake of the financial crisis a decade ago. The bond fund manager is eyeing a possible bid for the £5bn loan portfolio, according to Sky News, in a City sale that marks [...]
Tesco Bank sells 23,000-customer mortgage arm to Lloyds Banking Group for £3.8bn September 3, 2019 Tesco Bank has sold its mortgage business to Lloyds Banking Group for £3.8bn, in a move which will see its 23,000 customers switched to a new provider. The retail giant ceased all lending on its mortgages in May, as it announced it was trying to hive off its ledger book. Tesco, which said the portfolio [...]
Forget what you’ve heard, Facebook’s libra can help in the fight against money laundering September 3, 2019 The cost of anti-money laundering (AML) protocols and procedures for businesses is well-documented. Financial institutions sink billions each year into technology to identify suspicious activity and prevent their services being used for illegal transactions. Despite these efforts, money laundering remains big business, representing around five per cent of global GDP. That’s larger than the entire [...]