Banks need to act swiftly to avoid Brexit problems, warns report August 1, 2016 The banking sector needs to think quick to swerve some of the more negative effects of June's Brexit vote, a report out today suggests. The study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) warns that, not only will the worsened economic outlook take its toll on banking sector performance, banks need to be preparing for action now, [...]
Bad news expected from UK bank results this week, with profits forecast to slump at HSBC and a loss predicted for RBS July 31, 2016 Another bumper week of UK banking earnings is expected to bring a fresh dose of bad news, with profits expected to slide at HSBC and a loss forecast at RBS. Analysts have estimated banking giant HSBC, which will reveal earnings in the early hours of Wednesday morning, will report a fall in pre-tax earnings of 40 [...]
Interest rates could be about to get more interesting, with cut to 0.25 per cent widely expected next week July 31, 2016 Banks and savers alike will be bracing themselves for Thursday's Bank of England announcement, when it is largely expected interest rates will be chopped. The bank surprised many a few weeks ago when it opted to hold interest rates at its historically low 0.5 per cent level, where it has stuck since March 2009. Many [...]
RBS among worst performing European banks as stress test results are published July 30, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland was the stand-out British performer in the European Banking Authority’s (EBA) stress test results. But not in a good way. The assessment of how European banks might perform in adverse conditions found RBS’s capital levels down 7.5 per cent, making it the third biggest faller of 51 lenders tested. Under the [...]
A no stress guide to tonight’s European bank stress test results July 29, 2016 At around 9pm British Summer Time, the European Banking Authority (EBA) is due to finally reveal the results of its bank stress test, the latest checkup on the health of the region's lenders. The test results will unveil what the state of capital would be at 51 of the EU's biggest banks, which account for about 70 per [...]
Rates of 0.25 per cent would be fine, it’s zero per cent interest we’re worried about, says Barclays July 29, 2016 Barclays is not all that concerned about a 0.25 per cent interest rate. A zero per cent rate, on the other hand, could cause some issues. Slotted away at the back of its half-year results, which were released earlier on today, Barclays has charted the effect movements in interest rates would likely have on its [...]
Here’s why Barclays’ share price is up while its profits are down July 29, 2016 Barclays' share price right now is a little bit confusing. Despite reporting a 21 per cent slump in its pre-tax profits for the first half of 2016, the banking giant's shares are up 6.9 per cent – outpacing the rest of the FTSE 100 by a long shot. Digging deeper into the figure, it's easy [...]
Monte dei Paschi share price bolstered by rescue hopes, after it receives letters from Corrado Passera and UBS July 29, 2016 Struggling Italian bank Monte dei Paschi has been holding out for a hero, and investors are rejoicing as it revealed last night that it may have just found one. Long after the European markets had gone to sleep last night, the bank revealed it had received two letters – one from businessman Corrado Passera and another from [...]
Barclays pre-tax profits slip more than 20pc for the first half of 2016 July 29, 2016 Barclays has reported a slide in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year. The figures Profits before tax at the banking giant plunged to £2.1bn, down 21 per cent on £2.6bn the year before, and attributable profits dropped to £1.1bn, down 31 per cent from £1.6bn for the six months ending June 2015. [...]
As it says it’s in a “strong position to withstand uncertainty”, is Lloyds right to be so bullish after Brexit? July 28, 2016 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. It’s not a great time to be a bank, but the sector is in much better shape than it was going into the financial crisis. In particular Lloyds has simplified its structure to focus on key strengths in the UK retail and commercial banking market. There may [...]