Goldman Sachs chief executive apologises to Malaysian people over 1MDB scandal January 16, 2019 Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon has apologised to the Malaysian people for former banker Tim Leissner’s role in the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund scam. Last year US prosecutors charged two former bankers with the theft of billions of dollars from IMDB and Leissner pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and agreed to pay [...]
Goldman Sachs shares soar after bank defies market turbulence to beat revenue forecasts January 16, 2019 Goldman Sachs shares have soared after the US bank defied market conditions to deliver stronger-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter. The bank posted revenue of $8.1bn (£6.3bn) in the three months to the end of December, higher than forecasts of $7.5bn and slightly up on the same period in 2017. Shares in the New York-based [...]
Blackrock investigates hoax letter to chief executives over climate change January 16, 2019 Blackrock is investigating a hoax letter published this morning, claiming to be from chief executive Larry Fink, that warned companies that the world’s largest investment firm would divest unless they took action against climate change. The letter, which was posted on a spoof Blackrock website as the company reported its financial results, said the investor [...]
London fintech startup Jaja Finance picks up £5m with a boost from Celeres January 16, 2019 Credit card fintech startup Jaja Finance has today confirmed the final close of its £3.5m crowdfunding round, boosted by an additional £1.5m from Celeres Investments. The £5m intake adds to an earlier £4.4m raised in seed funding last year, backed by Blystad Group and Pollen Street Capital among others. More than 1,000 private investors took [...]
Santander cancels appointment of Orcel over compensation January 15, 2019 Banco Santander stunned the banking world this evening by announcing the reversal of its decision to appoint Andrea Orcel as its new chief executive because of the cost of compensating him for leaving his previous role. The bank had announced the high profile appointment of Orcel, former head of investment banking at UBS, in September. [...]
MPs fear FCA proposals on overdraft rules could end free banking January 15, 2019 The head of the UK’s financial watchdog told MPs this morning that he is “very alert” to the possibility that proposed rules to tackle charges for unplanned overdrafts could raise the cost of planned consumer borrowing. MPs raised concerns that changes to overdraft rules could negatively impact the availability of free banking as banks would [...]
JP Morgan disappoints as Wall Street’s dire December claims another scalp January 15, 2019 US bank JP Morgan saw its bond trading revenue plunge 18 per cent at the end of last year as Wall Street’s dire December claimed another major scalp. The bank – a bellwether for the financial industry – said “challenging market conditions” caused revenue declines in credit trading, rates and commodities, as it published results [...]
Lender Provident Financial shares tumble on profit warning January 15, 2019 Provident Financial’s share price plunged more than 20 per cent in early morning trading after the sub-prime lender issued a profit warning. The FTSE 250 firm led the market fallers today after saying that it expects earnings for 2018 to be at the lower end of expectations, blaming modestly higher payment arrangements at its credit [...]
Atom Bank poised to appoint Citi for potential sale to Spanish bank January 14, 2019 Digital lender Atom Bank is in talks with advisers over a potential instruction that could lead to its takeover by Spanish banking behemoth BBVA. According to Sky News, the Durham-based bank is in discussions with Citi about a role advising the board of the business on its future options. Last year Atom Bank raised nearly [...]
Are Britain’s banks close-minded to Open Banking? January 14, 2019 Lauded as the start of a new revolution in banking, Open Banking was expected to take the financial world by storm when it was introduced almost a year ago to the day. The set of new rules require that the big banks allow their customers to share their own transaction data with third parties. Specifically designed to open [...]