World Bank sells record-breaking £1.25bn bond using ‘Libor-killer’ benchmark September 27, 2018 The World Bank has sold a £1.25bn bond using Sonia, the Bank of England-backed interest rate benchmark designed to replace the scandal-battered Libor. The record-size sale, which arrived shortly after the alternative benchmark’s first use by a lender, marks its continued emergence as an alternative to Libor, the London Inter-bank Offered Rate, its tarnished forerunner. [...]
Goldman Sachs enters British savings market September 27, 2018 US investment banking giant Goldman Sachs today entered the British savings market with a leading rate which will add to pressure on incumbents. The bank's Marcus brand, named after one of its founders, will offer an annual equivalent rate of 1.5 per cent, which includes a 12-month bonus rate of 0.15 per cent. The [...]
City firms hold back Brexodus in hope a deal can be reached September 27, 2018 City of London firms have so far held back from relocating jobs to the EU with just 630 UK finance roles moving abroad since the Brexit vote, according to an in-depth survey published yesterday. A Reuters poll of 134 major financial firms found that a total of 5,800 could still be shifted abroad in [...]
Digital banking firm FairFX enjoys 100 per cent profit rise despite weak pound and hot summer September 26, 2018 Digital banking provider and currency exchange FairFX has reached its one millionth customer and reported turnover of £1.1bn despite a weak pound and hot UK summer. The e-banking specialist, whose rivals include Monzo and Starling, enjoyed a 100 per cent increase in profit to £9.7m for the six months to 30 June. The company [...]
‘Fake news’: Deutsche Bank denies merger with UBS and Commerzbank September 26, 2018 Deutsche Bank has dismissed reports that it is considering a merger with UBS or Commerzbank as “fictions of the press”. Discussions about a tie-up with UBS had taken place in a strategy meeting with the supervisory board earlier in September, Handelsblatt, the German business daily, reported, citing unnamed sources. The sources reported that Deutsche Bank [...]
Barclays apologises for giving customers wrong PPI information September 26, 2018 Barclays has apologised for giving customers seeking compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) false information. The bank told a number of customers using claims management firms that they did not hold PPI policies when they did. Read more: PPI scandal turning Brits into 'fraudsters', Barclays boss claims A "very small percentage of customers" were [...]
Danske Bank’s British money laundering whistleblower reveals himself September 26, 2018 The internal whistleblower who helped raise the lid on the bank’s Estonian money laundering scandal has revealed himself to a Danish newspaper. Brit Howard Wilkinson, who was the Baltic head of Danske Markets, the bank’s investment arm, said he filed four reports to directors in Copenhagen warning them of unethical practices in Estonia. Read more: [...]
Debate: Are British high street banks a good opportunity for investors at the moment? September 26, 2018 Debate: Are British high street banks a good opportunity for investors at the moment? Yes – Richard Buxton is chief executive and a fund manager at Old Mutual Global Investors. As a long-term investor in UK banks, the most recent reporting season came as a welcome relief. The litany of conduct charges and regulatory [...]
Poll: Brexit won’t lead to financial services brain drain September 26, 2018 Just 630 UK finance jobs have moved abroad since the Brexit vote, a Reuters poll found today. It contrasts fears voiced immediately after the vote that leaving the EU could badly damage the UK’s financial services sector. Read more: Brexit: Rees-Mogg tells businesses to accept customs delays Reuters’ poll of 134 financial giants found [...]
Banco Santander appoints UBS’ Orcel as new chief executive September 25, 2018 Spain's largest bank today announced UBS' investment banking head Andrea Orcel would takeover as its chief executive from Jose Antonio Alvarez in early 2019. Alvarez will move to become the vice-chairman of Banco Santander, and the executive chairman of its Spanish division. Santander chairman Ana Botin said Orcel had been working with the bank [...]