Paragon gets tough on property valuation to mitigate against Brexit concerns November 21, 2018 UK bank Paragon will take a “robust approach” to property valuation to mitigate against a potential economic downturn following Brexit, it announced today. The FTSE 250 lender said it has strengthened an in-house property team that conducts two thirds of valuations and validates all valuations undertaken by third party surveyors. The company said in a statement: “The [...]
Monzo teams up with Paypoint to allow users to deposit cash in shops November 21, 2018 Digital bank Monzo has today announced a strategic partnership with Paypoint, enabling its users to deposit cash into their Monzo account at any of Paypoint's 28,000-strong network of corner shops and local stores across the UK. Deposits can range from £5 to £300, with a fee of £1 per deposit and a cap of £1,000 every [...]
To restore public trust, it’s time for finance to find its purpose November 21, 2018 More than 10 years on from the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the finance industry still has much work to do to rebuild society’s trust. Given the centrality of financial services to the UK’s economy – whether through the tax revenues it pays, the two million jobs it supports, or the basic functions of our economy [...]
Deutsche Bank shares hit record lows as German bank dragged into money laundering scandal November 20, 2018 Shares in Deutsche Bank hit record lows today after the German bank confirmed it was involved in the Danske Bank money-laundering scandal. Danske whistleblower Howard Wilkinson had claimed on Monday that a major European lender was involved in processing up to $150bn (£117bn) in suspicious payments. The former head of Danske Bank’s trading unit in [...]
Tandem Bank takes in £15m from Convoy in Hong Kong expansion November 20, 2018 Fintech challenger bank Tandem has today closed a strategic partnership with Convoy Global Holdings, a Hong Kong-based financial services group which will make the London startup one of the first digital banks to launch in the city. Convoy is investing an initial £15m into Tandem Bank as part of the deal, which will provide Tandem with [...]
PPI claims surge against CYBG to push bank to a £145m loss November 20, 2018 Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG's share price fell more than 13 per cent today as a fresh raft of PPI claims pushed it to a £145m loss in its full-year results. The figures CYBG fell to the £145m loss after taking a £352m hit for PPI costs and £44m for other legacy conduct issues. A Financial Conduct [...]
Banks should watch out – the fintech era has barely begun November 20, 2018 The fintech sector makes a lot of noise in London. There’s an endless stream of news about open banking and challenger banks, while the traditional finance sector watches on with a mixture of admiration and suspicion. Banks have come under attack, not only from the hype-machine, but more meaningfully from startups. Traditional finance providers that assumed [...]
Draper Esprit and Barclays back London fintech Form3 in $13m funding round November 20, 2018 Payments technology fintech startup Form3 will today reveal the close of a $13m (£10.1m) series B fundraising round, led by Graze and Perkbox-backer Draper Esprit. Existing investors Barclays Bank, Angel Cofund and several other individual backers also participated in the round. Established in 2016, the Monument-based startup builds payments-processing technology for banks and fintech firms [...]
Societe Generale to pay $1.3bn fine for US sanctions violations November 19, 2018 French bank Societe Generale has agreed to pay US authorities $1.3bn (£1bn) to resolve allegations it violated US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and other countries. US authorities said the bank processed billions of dollars in illegal transactions to parties in countries under US sanction, including Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Libya. Societe Generale said the penalties would [...]
Danske Bank whistleblower says he was offered hush money November 19, 2018 The whistleblower at the heart of a widening money-laundering scandal centred on Danske Bank has claimed the Danish bank tried to pay him to keep silent, and implicated a major European lender, reported to be Deutsche Bank, and two US banks in having handled suspect funds. Howard Wilkinson – head of Danske Bank’s trading unit [...]