Looking out for the next financial crisis? Keep an eye on spiralling debt February 13, 2019 Concerns are growing that another financial crisis is imminent. No less important a figure than Kenneth Rogoff wrote last week that “the next major financial crisis may come sooner than you think”. Rogoff, a former chief economist at the IMF, shot to fame with his 2008 book This Time Is Different, co-authored with his Harvard [...]
Sir Vince Cable calls for probe into Treasury role in RBS GRG unit February 13, 2019 Former business secretary Sir Vince Cable has called for an investigation into allegations the Treasury may have “actively encouraged” the activities of RBS’s discredited global restructuring unit GRG. The Liberal Democrat leader has today written to Nicky Morgan, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, to ask that it look into accusations that an executive branch [...]
Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro calls for gold held in Bank of England to be returned February 12, 2019 Venezuela’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro said yesterday that the Bank of England should repatriate the Venezuelan gold it holds in its vaults. “They have sequestered billions of dollars in gold in London that are ours – that is money to buy supplies, raw materials, food, medicines. They have sequestered $1.4bn [£1.09bn] for many months, that we [...]
The UK’s fintech sector hits record level of investment as startups turn into scale-ups February 12, 2019 Investment into the UK's blossoming fintech sector broke records last year, as the country's startups reached a new stage in their growth journey. Venture capital and private equity investment in British fintech rose to an all-time high of $3.3bn (£2.6bn), up 18 per cent compared to 2017's levels, according to data published today by Innovate Finance. [...]
Pressure mounts on Treasury to publish legal documents on relationship with RBS GRG unit February 12, 2019 Pressure is mounting on the Treasury to release key legal documents regarding its relationship with RBS following allegations it held significant operational control over the bank's disgraced global restructuring unit GRG. Scottish Labour MP Martin Whitfield has lodged a series of parliamentary questions asking for a legal agreement between RBS and the Asset Protection Agency (APA), an [...]
CYBG enters joint venture with fintech platform Salary Finance to boost personal lending business February 12, 2019 Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG has entered a joint venture with a fintech platform to boost its lending business. CYBG has partnered with fintech financial wellbeing platform Salary Finance as it looks to develop its unsecured loan business. Read more: CYBG shares soar as it boosts mortgage lending Both firms will pump £500,000 into [...]
Lloyds online banking down: Customers unable to access accounts as Lloyds suffers outage February 11, 2019 Lloyds' online banking system crashed this morning, leaving some customers unable to access the service. The failure followed scheduled maintenance to the bank’s online banking, mobile app and tablet app services over the weekend. Customers were able to access online banking from around 5pm this evening. Read more: Noel Edmonds’ lawyer to take on Lloyds over Bristol [...]
International Investing – the whys and wherefores February 11, 2019 | City Talk In 1926, engineer, inventor and philosopher Nicolas Tesla, said “”When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance… and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with [...]
Monzo to roll out business bank accounts in revenue shake-up February 10, 2019 Digital bank Monzo will launch its first business accounts today, as the loss-making challenger attempts to find a more efficient way to generate revenue. The bank will open a waitlist, initially accepting only the first 100 applicants into beta testing. Monzo said it hopes to fully launch accounts for small businesses by the end of [...]
High Court to examine allegations of Treasury involvement in scandal-hit RBS GRG unit February 10, 2019 The Treasury’s role in determining the strategy and actions of RBS’s disgraced restructuring unit GRG is to be examined in court for the first time after a High Court judge ruled the issue was relevant to a £100m claim being pursued by a Manchester-based property developer. The court ruling on Friday allows Oliver Morley, who [...]