Italian challenger bank FinecoBank set to enter UK market July 27, 2016 An Italian bank is set to enter the UK this autumn as another contender in the challenger banks’ battle against the Big Four. FinecoBank launched in 1999 as a subsidiary of UniCredit Group and has grown rapidly to have 1.1m Italian customers. It’s disrupting the banking industry by being the only company in Europe to combine [...]
Ex-Barclays Cartel member told “life isn’t fair” as he was shown the door, court hears July 26, 2016 A former Barclays trader was told "life isn't fair" shortly before being fired, a court heard today. Chris Ashton was disciplined by the bank in April last year. He was previously a member of "The Cartel", a chat room used by senior traders at a number of banks to share information in a bid to shift currency benchmarks in [...]
Businesses react angrily as RBS tells business customers: We may charge you to hold your deposits if interest rates go negative July 26, 2016 Businesses have reacted angrily after RBS and its subsidiary, NatWest, wrote to business customers to warn that they may have to charge them to hold deposits if interest rates go negative. In a letter to business and commercial banking customers, the lender wrote that it was making a number of changes to their terms and conditions – [...]
Virgin Money says it has weathered the Brexit storm as it grows profit in first half of 2016 July 26, 2016 Challenger bank Virgin Money reported an increase in profits during the first half of 2016, and said it had weathered the Brexit vote storm, with very little changed in its outlook. The figures Statutory profit before tax was up to £93.7m, a 70 per cent jump from the first half, when profit of £55m was recorded. [...]
Watchdogs need to learn new tricks: MPs slam regulators over handling of HBOS collapse July 26, 2016 MPs have today slammed the finance industry's watchdogs for their failings in handling the HBOS scandal. The report from the Treasury select committee criticised the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and, in particular, the FCA's predecessor – the Financial Services Authority (FSA) – for various shortcomings in conducting their review. In particular, the MPs highlighted the [...]
Feeling under pressure? Monte dei Paschi shares plummet ahead of European banking stress tests July 25, 2016 Investors may well be feeling the strain ahead of the European bank stress test results, as shares in troubled Monte dei Paschi have plunged more than eight per cent today. Shares in the Italian bank are down 8.2 per cent at €0.29 at time of writing and have lost over 80 per cent of their [...]
Julius Baer rides the wave of Brexit uncertainty to boost income July 25, 2016 Julius Baer has become the latest in a string of companies which has reported bumping up its bottom line on Brexit uncertainty, as it issued its half year results today. The figures The Swiss bank reported operating income of 1.4bn Swiss francs (£1.1bn), up just one per cent compared with the first half of 2015. However, the [...]
Carney says global economy has weathered uncertainty well July 24, 2016 Mark Carney has said the global economy has successfully weathered uncertainty, including downward revisions to global growth and the initial shock of the EU referendum result. In a letter to G20 finance leaders and central bank governors, the governor of the bank of England said in his capacity as the head of the Financial Stability Board [...]
Customers are flocking towards new banking tech like apps and contactless payments according to a BBA report July 22, 2016 Consumers are flocking towards new banking technology, according to a new report, with mobile banking apps now being used more than 7,500 times a minute. Figures published by the British Bankers Association today show a dramatic rise in account holders using their mobiles to access their money. Mobile apps are now used more almost three times more commonly [...]
Banking fraud is the biggest cyber crime in Britain July 21, 2016 Banking fraud is the biggest cyber crime in the UK, accounting for two in every five of the nearly six million online crime incidents recorded over the past year. There were 2.5m online crimes involving banking; and credit accounts, while one million involved other types of fraud such as online shopping, new figures reveal. There were a further two [...]