Ex-Barclays director says controversial deal with Qatar helped it win work in the Middle East February 27, 2019 A former Barclays executive told a court today that the bank’s two controversial £322m services agreements with Qatar at the time of its £12bn financial crisis fundraisings subsequently helped it win work in the Middle East. Former Barclays director Glenn Leighton said projects he had worked on in Bahrain and Kuwait were landed with the [...]
Metro Bank boss remains defiant as shares continue to plunge following £350m cash call February 27, 2019 Metro Bank chief executive Craig Donaldson has remained defiant despite shares plunging a further 26 per cent following its emergency £350m cash call. Donaldson implored shareholders to focus on the challenger bank’s growth and look beyond the mounting problems it faced, which now includes regulatory probes into an accounting error. Read more: Metro Bank shares continue [...]
Digital banking challenger N26 is expanding to Brazil February 27, 2019 German fintech challenger N26 is expanding to Brazil, making it the first of Europe's biggest retail digital banks to enter the South American market. Announcing the move on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, N26 said Eduardo Prota would head up the new region. Prota has previously worked for Santander and Cielo, as well as having [...]
Metro Bank shares plummet a further 20 per cent after dramatic £350m cash call February 27, 2019 Metro Bank shares have continued to plunge this morning after its dramatic results release and revelations of a regulator probe. The challenger bank rushed out its full year results last night in a bid to ease concerns after announcing a plan to tap up investors for a further £350m following an accounting error last month. [...]
Metrobank shares plunge as cash call spooks investors February 26, 2019 A fresh wave of investor concern loomed over Metro Bank tonight after an emergency cash call and news of a regulator probe spooked the City. The dog-friendly challenger bank made a shock move to rush out its full-year results this evening in a bid to quell concerns after announcing a plan to tap up investors [...]
Barclays and Bank of Ireland sued over film finance tax evasion scheme February 26, 2019 Barclays and Bank of Ireland are being sued as part of a £180m lawsuit brought by investors in a film finance scheme the pair were involved in. Investors in the Eclipse film financing scheme lost out after tax authorities ruled the vehicle, which purported to invest in Disney films, was actually a tax avoidance scheme. [...]
Competition watchdog to investigate Non-Standard Finance’s £1.3bn Provident takeover bid February 26, 2019 The UK’s competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) £1.3bn takeover bid for rival subprime lender Provident. A war of words between the lenders has escalated in recent days after NSF made a surprise offer for its larger rival on Friday. Read more: Provident defends annual results delay as takeover row escalates [...]
Standard Chartered announces plan to slash costs February 26, 2019 Standard Chartered today announced further plans to slash costs as the lender reported that profits grew 28 per cent last year. The figures The group has completed $3.2bn worth of cuts since 2015 and is targeting a further $700m reduction in costs as part of its new three-year strategy to boost growth, it announced in [...]
Bank of America to phase out the name Merrill Lynch a decade after takeover February 25, 2019 Bank of America is set to drop the name Merrill Lynch more than a decade after it acquired the long-standing financial services firm amid the financial crisis. The bank will phase out the company’s name from its trading and investment banking operations, executives told the Wall Street Journal. Read more: Bank of America posts record [...]
Provident defends annual results delay amid Neil Woodford-backed £1.3bn takeover bid from rival Non-Standard Finance February 25, 2019 Troubled subprime lender Provident has defended its decision to delay annual results saying it needed to “take a few moments” following a £1.3bn takeover bid from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance. Provident executives hit out at NSF for its “irresponsible and highly opportunistic” approach and pledged to submit a better offer to shareholders. Read more: Provident [...]