AFME boss Simon Lewis to step down in the autumn after nearly a decade in role April 15, 2019 The boss of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) is stepping down in the autumn after nearly a decade in the role. Simon Lewis, chief executive of AFME, which represents European banks, has announced he is leaving the body after deciding not to renew his contract, which comes to an end in October. Lewis [...]
Activist Bramson implores Barclays shareholders for seat on board in new letter April 15, 2019 Activist investor Ed Bramson has once again appealed to Barclays’ shareholders to give him a seat on its board in the run up to the bank’s 2 May annual general meeting. Read more: Barclays launches another attack on Bramson as public tit-for-tat rolls on Bramson’s company, Sherborne Investors, today sent a letter to Barclays shareholders, marking [...]
Brexit will not impact the ability of companies to raise debt, survey says April 15, 2019 Brexit is not a big concern for companies when it comes to their ability to raise debt, a survey published today showed. A survey of senior treasury and finance executives at Ftse 250 companies showed 74 per cent did not think Brexit would have an impact on their ability to raise debt. One Ftse 100 [...]
TSB launches fraud guarantee for customers after last year’s IT crisis April 14, 2019 TSB will tomorrow announce a fraud refund guarantee that means the bank’s 5.2m customers will be covered if they are an innocent victim of fraud. The pledge follows an IT meltdown at TSB last year that saw fraud rise to 70 times its normal level and more than 1,300 customers losing money. Read more: TSB to [...]
JP Morgan beats market expectations for first quarter sending shares surging April 12, 2019 US investment bank JP Morgan beat expectations in its first quarter results today, sending shares up four per cent. The bank, the largest in the US by assets, delivered record revenue and profit figures, boosted by higher interest rates. Revenue in the quarter to 31 March rose 4.7 per cent to $29.85bn (£22.84bn), up from [...]
Labour’s desire for the Bank of England to control UK house prices is disastrous and illogical April 12, 2019 The Bank of England should be responsible for boosting the UK’s productivity, according to the Labour party, which wants Threadneedle Street to dictate how banks lend money to businesses. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, Labour also wants to keep RBS nationalised in order to direct its lending; turn Post Offices into [...]
City watchdog accused of using legal red tape to delay report into RBS GRG unit April 11, 2019 The City watchdog has been accused of abusing legal red tape to delay a report into its controversial decision not to take action against senior individuals within RBS’s rogue unit GRG. Former business secretary Sir Vince Cable said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is using Maxwellisation – a process whereby individuals criticised in an investigation [...]
Barclays issues blistering takedown of Ed Bramson as public tit-for-tat continues April 11, 2019 Barclays has delivered another blistering takedown of Ed Bramson as the public tit-for-tat between the two continued ahead a crunch shareholder vote next month. The bank said the activist investor would be a “disruptive and uncollaborative” influence as a director, as it strongly opposed his appointment in a letter to shareholders. It comes after Bramson, [...]
Public sentiment towards Metro Bank plunges amid regulatory probes into accounting error April 11, 2019 Public sentiment towards Metro Bank has plummeted in recent months as the challenger bank has battled the impacts of a major accounting error and regulatory probes. The bank admitted at the end of January that a swathe of commercial loans had been incorrectly classified and should have been among its “risk-weighted assets.” Read more: Metro [...]
Banking’s data revolution needs ethics as well as innovation April 11, 2019 With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day, the exchange of information has become integral to the way we live. The opportunities data analytics can create for consumers are vast – as is the commercial potential. There are now more than 4,000 data brokers worldwide. Governments across the world are grappling with questions over [...]