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 [...]
Boss Christian Sewing to buy £19,000 of Deutsche Bank shares every month until 2023 September 2, 2019 The boss of embattled German lender Deutsche Bank will spend 15 per cent of his monthly net salary buying shares in the company. As part of a pledge earlier this summer, chief executive Christian Sewing will buy €21,250 (£19,339) of shares in the bank on the 22nd of each month until the end of 2022, [...]
Facebook’s libra cryptocurrency could undermine European Central Bank September 2, 2019 The European Central Bank (ECB) has warned that Facebook’s plans to create a new currency could undermine its powers to set monetary policy. ECB board member Yves Mersch said this morning that the social media giant’s proposed currency, Libra, could potentially reduce the body’s control over the euro. Read more: What is Facebook libra? Your [...]
No-deal Brexit could hit UK banks’ earnings by 25 per cent, says Citigroup August 30, 2019 US bank Citigroup has estimated that the UK leaving the European Union without a deal could cut UK banks’ earnings by as much as 25 per cent. A no-deal Brexit is likely to reduce revenue of high street lenders as economic growth slows and interest rates remain low, a note to clients from Citi analysts [...]
Banks aren’t keeping up with the rise of the intangible economy August 30, 2019 Innovation is the key to growing the economy and creating prosperity. It creates new industries, transforms old ones, and often generates well-paid jobs. Today, innovation usually relies on the investment in and the growth of intangible assets, such as software, data, networks, and design. But the financial system has failed to keep pace with innovation. [...]
PPI mishap shows tech vulnerabilities of the banks August 29, 2019 The deputy chief executive of a global bank recently summed up what he saw as the sector’s biggest challenge: “Our chief concern is no longer how to attract the best bankers. It is how to attract the best IT staff.” This evening’s shambolic payment protection insurance (PPI) deadline once again put a spotlight on that [...]
Banks buckle under strain of PPI claims August 29, 2019 Some of Britain’s biggest banks came under fire today after suffering a series of IT failures in the run-up to a long-awaited payment protection insurance (PPI) deadline. A number of major high-street lenders were rushing to fix website glitches and jammed phone lines this evening following an 11th-hour stampede of consumers making complaints for mis-sold [...]
DEBATE: Is Bill Dudley right to argue that central bankers should fight back against politicians like Trump? August 29, 2019 Is Bill Dudley right to argue that central bankers should fight back against politicians like Trump? Vicky Pryce, former joint head of the Government Economic Service, a board-member of CEB,R and co-author of It’s the Economy, Stupid, says YES. At first reading, former Federal Reserve policymaker Bill Dudley seems to be making a political statement. [...]
Facebook libra: Could regulators crush Mark Zuckerberg’s dream cryptocurrency? August 27, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg’s decision this summer to launch a digital currency – Facebook libra – sparked the interest and concern of regulators around the world. Watchdogs have warned that without tight regulations libra could be used for money laundering and financing terrorism. They have also raised concerns over the potential risks it poses to data protection [...]