President Trump to nominate World Bank critic David Malpass to lead the institution February 5, 2019 President Donald Trump is reportedly set to nominate an ally from the US Department of the Treasury to become president of the World Bank. The nomination of David Malpass would see an ardent critic of the World Bank put in line to lead the lending institution. Read more: Shutdown back down: Trump faces conservative backlash as [...]
Digital bank Monzo in discussion with Post Office to allow customers to deposit cash February 5, 2019 Digital bank Monzo has entered discussions with the Post Office to allow its customers to deposit and withdraw cash in branched across the country. Chief executive Tom Blomfield told MPs that while cash transactions were declining they were not “going away.” A potential deal, similar to those between the Post Office and other major UK [...]
Two Barclays employees killed in Italian avalanche February 5, 2019 Barclays confirmed today that two of its employees were killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps on Sunday. Matt Ziegler, 43, an in-house lawyer at Barclays, and Katherine Clarke, 39, a director in Barclays private bank and overseas service, were among four people killed in the avalanche on Sunday. A spokesperson said in a [...]
City broker Numis warns trading performance hit by Brexit uncertainty February 5, 2019 City broker Numis warned today that Brexit has negatively affected its trading performance in the first four months of the financial year ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM) this afternoon. Shares were down more than six per cent this morning as the firm revealed it had completed 25 per cent fewer deals compared to [...]
Confidence in the UK economy among financial services professionals hits record low February 4, 2019 Confidence in the UK’s economic prospects among financial services professionals is at a record low, a new survey showed today. A poll of its members by trade body the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) showed confidence was at its lowest level since it began the survey in 2012. Of the 1,062 respondents, 55 [...]
More than a quarter of Brits believe Facebook will launch a banking service by 2023 February 4, 2019 More than a quarter of Brits believe that Facebook will offer a banking service within the next five years. The research, published on the 15th anniversary of the social media giant’s launch, revealed that 29 per cent of UK consumers believe technology companies such as Facebook and Amazon will offer high street banking services by [...]
Swiss investment bank Julius Baer targets £77m of cuts as profit growth slows February 4, 2019 Swiss bank Julius Baer launched a SFr 100m (£76.6m) cost-cutting programme today as profit growth slowed last year. The figures Switzerland’s third largest bank saw net profit for the full year 2018 grow four per cent to SFr 735m, compared to a 14 per cent growth rate in 2017, missing a Reuters poll of analyst [...]
The bonus is on you: Santander’s recent saga highlights the problems with deferred rewards February 4, 2019 Star investment banker Andrea Orcel was about to take the top job at Santander. And then he wasn’t. It turns out that the bank hadn’t quite realised how expensive Orcel would be, resulting in an unprecedented U-turn, as the board announced that Santander wouldn’t be hiring him after all. While Jose Antonio Alvarez will continue [...]
HSBC, Goldman and Lord Fink back City fintech firm Bud February 4, 2019 Fintech startup Bud has closed a $20m (£15.3m) funding round from investors such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs and former Man Group boss Lord Stanley Fink. Other investors included Investec’s INVC fund, ANZ Bank, the corporate venture arm of Banco Sabadell and 9 Yards, the venture capital firm which lists former chancellor George Osborne among its [...]
JP Morgan takes minority stake in London startup Smart Pension February 4, 2019 Banking behemoth JP Morgan has made a strategic investment in workplace pensions startup Smart Pension, the firm will announce today, as part of a fresh equity funding round. The size of the round was undisclosed, however Smart Pension said it had raised around £50m to date. JP Morgan took a minority equity stake as part of [...]