UK scores top marks in anti-money laundering review December 7, 2018 The UK’s finance sector scored top marks in a review by a global anti-money laundering watchdog published today. However, due to its status as the largest financial services provider in the world, it still faces a “significant risk” of money laundering, the Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force said. While Britain has a “robust” regime to [...]
‘Big Short’ investor Steve Eisman bets against UK banks December 7, 2018 Investor Steve Eisman who is known for his prediction of the 2008 financial crisis has said he is betting against three UK banks. Eisman, who was played by actor Steve Carell in the film The Big Short, said he thinks the British market will go down because of Brexit. He said that he bet against [...]
Debate: Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? December 7, 2018 Do we need more regulation to tackle late payments to SMEs? Yes – Jordan Marshall is policy development manager at IPSE. SMEs represent 99.9 per cent of all private sector businesses. Included in this figure are 4.8m self-employed people – the UK’s smallest enterprises. A report from MPs this week exposed the shoddy practices of [...]
Bank of England slammed over secret Venezuelan gold summit December 6, 2018 The Bank of England (BoE) has come under fire following reports of a clandestine meeting with senior representatives of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The BoE is due to meet high-ranking Venezuelan officials in London tomorrow to discuss the return of gold worth $550m stored in the bank’s vaults, according to sources. Today it emerged MP [...]
Deutsche Bank shares drop to new all-time low after report ties it closer to Danske scandal December 6, 2018 Deutsche Bank shares were down again this afternoon on claims that it processed €31bn more of questionable funds than previously thought on behalf of Danske Bank. Last month, Danske whistleblower Howard Wilkinson claimed a major European lender was involved in processing up to $150bn (£117bn) in suspicious payments. Today, the Financial Times reported Deutsche also processed [...]
We have paved the way for the next financial crisis December 6, 2018 Optimists believe that the last decade of roiling financial crisis and austerity is behind us, and that current fears of trade war, Brexit, populism, and market crashes are overblown. They hope for a global economy poised for many years of growth, increasing personal wealth and prosperity, and political stability. Sadly, hope is never a strategy. Realists, [...]
Monzo ‘absolutely not’ the next Wonga, says founder amid high-cost loan speculation December 5, 2018 Monzo is “absolutely not” going to be the next Wonga, its founder has said, amid speculation the digital bank was planning to move into the high-cost loan space. Tom Blomfield, whose up-and-coming challenger bank this morning completed a landmark £20m crowdfunding round powered by its own customers, told City A.M. he was “categorically not working [...]
Bank of England delays cyber stress test as it focuses on Brexit December 5, 2018 The Bank of England (BoE) will delay work on a cyber stress test for banks as it focuses on Brexit preparations, according to minutes published today. The BoE’s financial policy committee (FPC) said it will put off a scheme to test how banks react to cyber attacks, which was due to launch early next year. [...]
City watchdog taken to court over failure to act in Royal Bank of Scotland GRG scandal December 5, 2018 A Scottish businessman is taking City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to court over its role in the investigation into the Royal Bank of Scotland’s restructuring unit. According to court documents, frequent RBS critic Neil Mitchell has filed an application for a judicial review of the FCA’s decision not to sanction anyone from RBS’s [...]
Deutsche Bank shares hit rock-bottom in the wake of police raids December 5, 2018 Deutsche Bank shares dropped to an all-time low this morning before rallying, amid an investigation into possible money laundering. Shares dropped 2.4 per cent to €7.90 (£7.03) as trading opened today, the second time they have dropped below €8 after Friday, when prosecutors raided the lender’s offices for a second day. Police were looking for [...]