Six months into Open Banking, how is it going? July 11, 2018 For the superstitious among us, this Friday 13 will be a day for avoiding ladders and black cats. For the hyper-political, it will be a day to keep an eye on Donald Trump’s first visit to the UK as US President. But arguably more excitingly, Friday marks six months since the go-live date of the [...]
Bank of Cyprus offloads UK subsidiary for £103m to ‘Cynergy’ consortium July 10, 2018 The Bank of Cyprus has agreed to sell its UK banking operations to a consortium of investors in a £103m deal. The all-cash sale, which will complete by the end of the year, comes as Bank of Cyprus refocuses its efforts on the Cypriot economy. The lender was bailed out in 2013 by European authorities, [...]
Barclays doubles unsecured lending limit for smaller firms July 9, 2018 Barclays will double its cap on unsecured lending to small businesses from £50,000 to £100,000 as it bids to drive lending volumes. The high street lender believes that as many as 40,000 firms will be eligible for the larger loans. It will also today announce it is raising the cap on unsecured overdrafts for firms [...]
Co-op Bank names former Lloyds Commercial Banking boss as new CEO July 9, 2018 The Co-perative Bank has appointed a new boss who was once tipped as a favourite to become chief executive of Lloyds. Andrew Bester was previously group director and chief executive of the Commercial Banking division at Lloyds Banking Group. He was at one point viewed as a possible candidate to become chief executive of the [...]
Citi boosts Paris office ahead of Brexit with hires from UBS July 9, 2018 Citigroup has hired two bankers from UBS and relocated another top manager as it seeks to boost its Paris investment bank office shortly before the UK leaves the EU. The US bank's chair of continental Europe, Luigi de Vecchi, will relocate to Paris from Milan to oversee a "long-term commitment and investment that we are [...]
Experian to acquire London fintech startup Clearscore in £275m deal July 6, 2018 Experian, the world’s biggest credit data company, has bought London-based fintech company Clearscore in a £275m deal. The credit checking firm's CEO Brian Cassin said the deal was “another important step in our strategy to extend the services we provide to UK consumers”. Clearscore launched in July 2015 and now offers over 6m UK customers [...]
These are the six new types of banking jobs that HSBC reckons will be in high demand in the future July 5, 2018 A new report has revealed six new banking jobs of the future expected as the industry focuses on digital evolution, with a view to how that will impact on people in the workforce. The study commissioned by HSBC analyses the challenges and opportunities on the horizon for the banking industry and has used that to [...]
Serious Fraud Office ends Lloyds Libor probes because of “insufficient evidence” July 4, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a criminal investigation into Libor manipulation at Lloyds Banking Group, removing a cloud over the lender. The SFO dropped the case because it lacked evidence, despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s previous assertion that 16 individuals at Lloyds knew about the Libor fixing. Some lines of inquiry in the [...]
Paragon buys Titlestone developer and loan book in £274m deal with Oaktree Capital Management July 3, 2018 Challenger bank Paragon today announced the purchase of £48m residential developer Titlestone and a £226m loan book from Oaktree Capital Management. Paragon, which offers mortgage and business lending, said the moves are part of a strategy to diversify into specialist lending markets. Titlestone advanced £274m in loans to small and medium-sized developers during the year [...]
City firms increase hiring and technology investment plans in spite of Brexit uncertainty July 2, 2018 Financial services firms increased hiring and investment in the second quarter in spite of continued nerves over the Brexit process, new figures show. Employment across financial services rose at the fastest pace in a year, with a balance of 24 per cent saying they had increased hiring in the second quarter, according to the survey [...]