The EU mustn’t shoot itself in the foot – euro clearing thrives in London February 21, 2017 Brexit has presented EU leaders with something of a quandary: should they punish the UK in a bid to preserve their political union, or, in doing so, do they risk shooting themselves in the foot? To put it another way – will they allow politics to trump economics? In the immediate aftermath of last June’s EU [...]
The Treasury wants to change plans for Royal Bank of Scotland to sell Williams & Glyn February 20, 2017 Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed today that it will no longer be required to sell the 307 branches that make up its Williams & Glyn network, after the Treasury stepped in to seek changes to its State Aid obligations. Shares in the lender were up by more than five per cent at the open, and [...]
Will.i.am says yes we can to Atom Bank, as rapper strikes consulting deal which could land him a multimillion pound stake in the challenger February 20, 2017 Will.i.am is expanding his CV in a perhaps unexpected direction, striking a consulting deal with Atom Bank which could see him take a multimillion pound stake in the fintech firm. The rapper and producer will act as a consultant and board adviser to the company as it seeks to make itself stand out in an increasingly crowded [...]
Banks expect costs for non-financial risks to skyrocket over the next few years February 20, 2017 The majority of banks are fretting that the amount of cash they are expected to stockpile against risks like cybercrime, compliance failings and IT meltdowns is going to mushroom over the next few years. Sixty per cent of European banks believe the amount of capital they will be expected to hold to cover such non-financial risks [...]
Analysts banking on Lloyds and Barclays to have steamed ahead during 2016, as other UK lenders struggle February 19, 2017 Analysts are predicting Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays will race ahead of the pack when the UK's big banks report their earnings this week. Lloyds, which will report its 2016 full-year figures on Wednesday, is forecast a statutory pre-tax profit of £4.4bn, more than double the £1.6bn it reported in 2015, when its earning potential [...]
German minister hits out at London Stock Exchange bosses over mega-merger February 19, 2017 Politicians from the German state of Hesse say LSE bosses are insisting on London as the legal base for the merged LSE-Deutsche Boerse exchange due to concerns about the post-Brexit future. The proposed £21bn mega-merger is pending approval by the European Commission, and Hesse, the German state which includes the city of Frankfurt, home to [...]
The Treasury says RBS may not have to sell Williams & Glyn after all under £750m deal February 18, 2017 The government has announced RBS may not have to sell its 307 Williams & Glyn branches, with the bailed-out bank instead being forced to spend £750m on a competition-boosting fund for challenger banks. Europe’s commissioner for competition policy will start the process of finding an alternative to a sale, which could see a removal of [...]
These are the UK’s best and worst banks – look away now Barclays users February 17, 2017 Feeling disappointed by your service at Barclays? Well, research shows you're not alone. Barclays has been voted the worst British bank yet again, falling to the bottom of MoneySavingExpert's twice yearly poll. But Barclays isn't the only high street lender that had a poor showing. HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) came towards the bottom of the table, as 21 per cent of [...]
Sales of bad debt top €100bn in 2016 as Europe’s banks try to put crisis behind them February 16, 2017 European loan sales broke through the €100bn (£85bn) mark in 2016 as struggling banks look to offload big books of bad debt. Italian loan sales more than doubled year-on-year to comprise €36bn (£30bn), almost a third of the total European sales, according to analysis by Deloitte. Italy’s Unicredit was the biggest seller, followed by the [...]
Bank of England pushes back date for changes to Sonia, an alternative to Libor for some contracts February 16, 2017 The Bank of England today announced it was delaying changes to the way a key interest rate benchmark is calculated. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street was due to implement changes for how the Sterling Overnight Index Average (Sonia) is calculated by the end of this year, but announced this morning the new calculations would instead be [...]