Row over Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney January 28, 2019 The row over the Bank of England’s handling of Venezuelan gold escalated tonight after the former chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee revealed he had written to governor Mark Carney expressing his concerns over the arrangement. Senior Tory MP Crispin Blunt urged the governor to block President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to take back the gold, [...]
HSBC appoints internal candidate as head of global markets January 28, 2019 HSBC has appointed internal candidate Georges Elhedery as head of its global markets division. It comes after the bank’s former global markets chief Thibaut de Roux left the company in September last year. The bank’s head of European operations Thierry Roland has taken on the role on an interim basis since de Roux’s departure. Elhedery, [...]
Challenger bank Paragon in lending boost as professional landlord demand surges January 28, 2019 UK bank Paragon has reported strong new lending growth following a surge in demand from professional landlords. The bank said total new lending for the three months to 31 December hit £660m, a 40 per cent increase on the previous year. The majority of new business flows – £424.7m – came from buy-to-let lending as [...]
Lloyds unveils family mortgage offer to help millennials buy a home January 28, 2019 Llloyds Bank will allow first-time buyers to avoid saving for a deposit by allowing parent’s savings to be used in its place. The Lend a Hand mortgage, which is 100 per cent loan-to-value, launched today removes the need for a deposit which is instead provided using the savings of the buyer's family member who can [...]
How financial services firms can weather Brexit January 28, 2019 There are some big Brexit hurdles for the City to leap, writes Barney Reynolds As parliament considers how to pluck a withdrawal agreement out of the ashes of the previous draft, it is important that the respective interests of the UK and the EU are brought to the fore, particularly for the UK’s highly-successful financial [...]
Brexit shows it’s time for an economic shake-up from the Tories January 28, 2019 The Brexit weather forecast remains distinctly foggy in all areas as we enter yet another crucial week in Westminster. Will we ever see daylight and opportunity out of this sickening political morass? As I said to the BBC Question Time audience last week, I think this parliament ranks as the most dismal in living memory. [...]
Goldman Sachs chief executive warns that Brexit could affect UK investment plans January 26, 2019 Goldman Sachs’ new chief executive, David Solomon, has admitted that Brexit could affect its investment plans in the UK. Solomon said that while the number of employees in the UK has been stagnant, the company have increased its headcount in the EU, and Brexit could affect decisions regarding its people and resources. “If this [Brexit] [...]
London-based AI and emerging technology festival bags HSBC as lead sponsor January 25, 2019 An upcoming London-based festival of artificial intelligence, blockchain and emerging technologies has named global banking giant HSBC as its lead sponsor. CogX 2019, which takes place at the start of London Tech Week from 10-12 June, will also move to King’s Cross this year, and will feature 500 speakers, 300 startups and more than 15,000 [...]
‘The food sucks and the sex is worse’: Barclays fraud trial execs joked about prison January 24, 2019 Ex-Barclays bosses on trial for fraud joked about going to jail while organising a crucial capital raising drive at the height of the financial crisis, with wealth manager Tom Kalaris saying “the food sucks and the sex is worse”. Another executive, Richard Boath, expressed fears the bank would be “basically dead” if it were unable to secure [...]
Business lender Iwoca gets a helping hand with £7.5m from London fund Augmentum Fintech January 24, 2019 Small business lending challenger Iwoca is planning to close its next funding round within weeks, as the first stage of investment is revealed. London-listed fund Augmentum Fintech has plugged £7.5m into the round, which City A.M. understands to be part of a much larger series D raise to be announced in early February. A representative for Iwoca declined [...]