Profit at the world’s largest asset manager rose in the last quarter October 18, 2016 BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has posted a rise in quarterly profit, beating analyst expectations. The New York-based firm's performance will be seen as a strong sign of resilience in a weak market for many traditional asset managers. The numbers Third quarter earnings came in at $5.14 a share on $2.84bn in revenue, beating Thomson Reuters consensus expectations of about $5 [...]
Attempt to revamp retail banking was “feeble”, Treasury committee hears October 18, 2016 Recent efforts to improve banking for customers have been weak, the man at the helm of a leading consumer interest body has said today. Speaking in front of the Treasury Select Committee today, Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which?, slammed the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) recent report into the retail banking sector as "feeble", remarking it [...]
Three things to look for when Goldman Sachs announces its third quarter results today October 18, 2016 Goldman Sachs is the next US banking giant due to reveal how it's performed during the third quarter of 2016, announcing results before the bell today. Here are three things to keep an eye out for: Legal costs It doesn't take more than a passing glance at a newspaper to know banks aren't exactly strangers to [...]
Total lockdown: NatWest freezes Russian TV station’s accounts October 18, 2016 The UK is facing a new round of tit-for-tat reprisals from Russia following a shock move by NatWest to freeze the bank accounts of Kremlin-funded news channel RT. British journalists could be among those targeted by the Kremlin in the aftermath of the decision to close UK accounts being used by the broadcaster, previously called Russia Today. RT revealed [...]
Frankfurt has opened its doors to Britain’s businesses following Brexit, and some firms look ready to take up the offer October 17, 2016 Germany's financial sector today revealed it has opened its doors to British bankers displaced by Brexit, and some businesses looked ready to take up the offer. The comments come as a number of key government figures are suggesting they might opt for a so-called hard Brexit, which could see London's financial centre left without access to [...]
UBS spending over £830m on IT system overhaul October 17, 2016 Swiss private bank UBS is spending around 1bn Swiss francs (£831m) on an overhaul of its IT system. The group wants to standardise the IT platform across its flagship wealth management business and said the investment will ultimately save money. "This is about integrating our historically fragmented infrastructure that we have globally into one platform," [...]
Great expectations? Bank of America comfortably beats estimates for third quarter October 17, 2016 Shares in Bank of America nudged up in early trading today, after the lender reported earnings which sailed past expectations. The figures The US bank reported net income of $5bn (£4.1bn), up seven per cent from the prior year's $4.6bn. Meanwhile, earnings per share grew to $0.41, an increase of eight per cent from $0.38 and beating out [...]
City must choose which access rights are most important ahead of Brexit talks October 17, 2016 The City must choose which rights its financial services sector actually needs, and which are just nice to have, before it gets to the Brexit negotiating table. The report by Open Europe stresses that the passporting regime does not consist of one set of rights and those involved in the Brexit talks should therefore focus on [...]
Stress and the city: Bankers feel the pressure but fear admitting it to bosses October 17, 2016 Rising stress levels among investment bankers have led two thirds to consider quitting their jobs, according to new research seen exclusively by City A.M. However, despite the admission senior banking employees believe that talking about their stress or mental health issues in the workplace will damage their careers. According to the MetLife research, 40 per cent [...]
This would-be bank has taken a key step towards getting its licence October 16, 2016 Acorn Financial Partners has today applied for a banking licence from the regulators. The challenger bank in the making, which will initially focus its efforts on small businesses in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, will be called Redwood Bank once it is authorised. Acorn is hopeful the banking licence will be granted by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in [...]