Revolut rival digital bank N26 lands $300m funding round, becoming Europe’s most valuable fintech startup January 10, 2019 Digital banking startup N26 has closed the biggest funding round in European fintech in recent years, valuing the Monzo and Revolut challenger at $2.7bn (£2.1bn). The Berlin-based fintech, which offers a current account and debit card through its mobile banking app, has raised $300m in a series D round led by US venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners. [...]
EU banking watchdog calls for fresh cryptoassets regulation January 10, 2019 New rules may be needed to stop existing regulation on cryptocurrencies and digital assets from getting too diverse across the European Union, the bloc's banking watchdog said yesterday. Cryptoassets such as bitcoin, ether and tokens created in initial coin offerings (ICOs) typically fall outside of the scope of EU financial legislation, which makes it hard to [...]
Digital finance technology is wonderful, but we must design it with consumers’ best interests at heart January 10, 2019 Every morning, I browse my phone as I commute to work. I check my emails, the news, Twitter, and increasingly I open my various finance apps. I recently logged into my investment platform app and made a new investment – £1,000 in a startup Swedish retailer. Once the money was invested, I was applauded with [...]
Mifid II launched one year ago and financial brokers are embracing the opportunity January 10, 2019 A year ago, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, commonly referred to as Mifid II, came into force. Arguably the most ambitious and wide-sweeping regulatory reform of the financial services industry in the last decade, it was touted as the death knell of sell-side equity research. Mifid II’s aim was to enhance transparency and [...]
TSB backs Met with £200,000 fund to fight fraud in London after last year’s IT chaos January 9, 2019 Bank TSB has invested £200,000 in a partnership with the Metropolitan Police to fight fraud and cybercrime. The bank, which suffered a string of IT outages last year that led to the exit of its chief executive Paul Pester, said the scheme was aimed at fraud prevention and enforcement. TSB was hit by extreme levels [...]
Virgin Money and Aberdeen Standard Investments sign agreement for investment and pensions joint venture January 9, 2019 Virgin Money and Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) have signed an agreement for a new investment and pensions joint venture. ASI will acquire 50 per cent of Virgin Money Unit Trust Managers Limited for at least £40m, the companies announced today, and take over the management of its £3.7bn retail assets. The deal, which is designed [...]
Instability is the new norm, and banks must learn to weather it January 9, 2019 Global financial markets stumbled into 2019, having endured their worst December since 1931. Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 indices fell by nearly nine per cent over the Christmas month. For the financial sector, this has refocused attention on the worsening political and economic backdrop for 2019. Politically, instability is becoming the new [...]
Deutsche Bank to cut bonuses after tough year for Germany’s biggest bank January 8, 2019 Deutsche Bank is set to slash its bonus pool by around 10 per cent after a torrid year for Germany’s biggest bank. The bank’s board could also be more selective in its bonus pay in a bid to keep its highest earners, Bloomberg first reported. In 2017 the German lender dished out €2.2bn (£2bn) but [...]
Fintech unicorn Monzo to appoint former Northern Rock boss to banking board January 8, 2019 Digital bank Monzo has appointed the former head of failed bank Northern Rock to its board, as the startup aims for growth in 2019. The fintech firm is to announce Gary Hoffman as its non-executive chairman tomorrow, as first reported by Sky News, replacing Baroness Kingsmill who has chaired Monzo since 2015. Hoffman will bring [...]
HSBC slammed over controversial ‘anti-Brexit’ ad campaign January 8, 2019 HSBC is facing criticism over an advertising campaign stating the UK is “not an island” amid complaints it is anti-Brexit. The bank’s new campaign, launched last week, highlights the influence of other cultures on life in the UK. The posters and accompanying video celebrate Britons’ penchant for foreign imports, such as Columbian coffee, American films [...]