£350 for your thoughts: Nutmeg enters financial advice market with budget offering October 31, 2018 Online wealth manager Nutmeg revealed plans today to shake up the financial advice market with a low price fixed-fee model. The advice service, which will be provided over the phone, will offer a free initial consultation, followed by a £350 charge should the customer want recommendations. The move is a shift away from the common so-called [...]
Trade war fears take the shine off Standard Chartered’s rising profits October 31, 2018 Standard Chartered’s better-than-expected results were dampened by bleak warnings of trade war risks this morning, as fears mount that the firm’s emerging markets could be hit by escalating tensions between China and the US. The bank reported profits of $1.06bn (£830m) in the three months to the end of September, trumping forecasts of $978m and [...]
Santander net profit soars on strong performance in Brazil and Spain October 31, 2018 Santander saw its net profit soar in the third quarter due to a strong performance in Brazil and in its domestic Spanish market. The figures The Eurozone's biggest bank by market value reported net profit of €1.99bn in the third quarter, above forecasts and a 17 per cent rise on the previous quarter. For the [...]
Fintech star Monzo joins unicorn ranks with £85m funding round October 30, 2018 Digital banking startup Monzo will today announce the close of a fresh fundraising round at £85m, led by new US investors General Catalyst and Accel as the fintech firm prepares to leap across the pond. Existing investors Passion Capital, Thrive Capital, Goodwater, Orange Digital Ventures and Stripe also participated in the round. The news takes [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen welcomes Douglas Flint as chairman October 30, 2018 Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA) ended its hunt for a new chairman earlier today after hiring industry heavyweight Sir Douglas Flint. The Scottish-born former accountant, who stepped down as chairman of HSBC in September last year, is set to succeed Sir Gerry Grimstone at the start of next year. Last year Flint was also appointed as [...]
Trading platform IG’s first female chief executive poised to take over group October 30, 2018 Trading and investment company IG Group has appointed its first female chief executive in the firm’s 44-year history. June Felix, a veteran of Verifone, Citibank and IBM, joins IG's executive team after a little over three years on its board. The group has been looking for a new chief executive since September when long-time boss [...]
UK government to sell remaining shares in RBS by 2024 October 29, 2018 The UK Government has revealed plans to sell its remaining stake in RBS by 2024 following its bailout of the bank a decade ago. The Government, which rescued Britain's fourth biggest bank with a £45.5bn bailout in 2008, expects to raise £20.6bn from the sale, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said. The OBR said [...]
HSBC profits soar as bank keeps a ‘strong grip’ on costs and flourishes in Asia October 29, 2018 HSBC reported a 28 per cent profit rise as strong revenue in Asia and efforts to keep costs down paid off. The bank reported a pre-tax profit rise of 28 per cent to $5.9bn (£4.6bn) in the third quarter of the year – with $4.6bn of that generated in Asia. For the first nine of [...]
The City helps fuel economic growth right across the country, so be wary of those who want to clip its wings October 28, 2018 One of the most pernicious elements of Labour's current economic platform is the idea that the City is entirely distinct from (and damaging to) the so-called real economy. Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell's stump speeches routinely contain attacks on predatory bankers, fat-cats and financial speculators. The labour leader also seems to have a personal vendetta against [...]
Serious Fraud Office chief steps back from Barclays case over conflicts October 28, 2018 The new director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Lisa Osofsky has recused herself from the prosecution of four former Barclays bankers over potential conflicts of interest. The fraud office said she had delegated responsibility for the case to the SFO’s general counsel Alun Milford to “avoid any potential conflict” thrown up by previous private [...]