Application fraud rates up by 20 per cent as current accounts and credit cards get hit May 6, 2016 Rates of financial application fraud have continued to climb in 2016, pushed on by credit card and current account scams. Current account fraud again topped Experian’s fraud index charts for fraudulent applications at a rate of 126 in every 10,000 applications, compared to 81 in 10,000 over the same period a year ago. Credit card fraud [...]
UK banks would face a squeeze on their balance sheets after Brexit May 5, 2016 Profits at the UK’s largest banks would be squeezed if the UK votes to leave the European Union, a top credit ratings agency has said today. Moody’s has warned that Brexit would hit demand for loans, potentially reduce the value of banks’ balance sheets and heap pressure onto London’s fragile investment banking sector. “Uncertainty before [...]
Barclays’ plans to offload 12 per cent of its Africa business won’t affect talks with former chief executive Bob Diamond May 4, 2016 Barclays' plans to sell off a 12 per cent stake of its African business has not derailed talks between the bank and it's former chief executive Bob Diamond, City A.M. understands. "It doesn’t make the slightest jot of difference," a source with knowledge of the early-stage negotiations told City A.M. Atlas Merchant Capital, the US-based arm of Bob Diamond's banking investment [...]
RBS shareholders approve executive pay at annual meeting, joining Aviva and BAE Systems in waving through exec pay packages May 4, 2016 Embattled Royal Bank of Scotland has been fighting to defend its management practises and executive pay this afternoon at its annual shareholder meeting (AGM) in Edinburgh. The banks shareholders eventually voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bank's executive pay, with over 99 per cent approving the report. RBS boss Ross McEwan faced a barrage of [...]
RBS chairman urges shareholders to put things into context at its AGM May 4, 2016 Perhaps feeling the chill of a shareholder spring in the air, the chairman of RBS has urged those present at today's AGM to put the bank's performance into context. Howard Davies remarked that, although it was disappointing to see RBS' share price 38 per cent lower than at last year's AGM, shares in the banking sector more [...]
Libor latest: Tom Hayes appoints new lawyer, and he’s making good progress on crowdfunding the legal fees May 4, 2016 Tom Hayes has instructed solicitor Karen Todner to lead the next stage in his appeal, it was announced today, as he turns to crowdfunding to raise his legal fees. Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was convicted of offences related to manipulating the Yen-linked Libor last August. He was initially sentenced to 14 years in prison, [...]
Barclays has just started offering a 100 per cent mortgage (but bank of mum and dad is still required) May 4, 2016 We all know how well 100 per cent mortgages worked before the financial crisis – but now Barclays has become one of the first lenders since the crisis not to require a deposit from first-time buyers. Well, sort of. The lender said it has made changes to one of its first time buyer mortgages which means borrowers [...]
Societe Generale announces more cost-cutting measures, focusing on its global banking and investor solutions offering May 4, 2016 Societe Generale has revealed further plans to cut costs in its quarterly results today, focusing this time on its global banking and investor solutions unit. The new plans seek to slash €220m (£173.8m) from costs by the end of 2017, in an effort to offset rising taxes and generate more funds for investments. The bank has been [...]
After a difficult first quarter for UK-based banks, is the outlook finally beginning to brighten? May 4, 2016 Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says Yes. There is no doubt things are tough in the banking industry. But while performance in the first quarter was poor, it was generally ahead of expectations, which serves to underline the level of pessimism surrounding the sector. Progress has been slow since the financial crisis, and there [...]
Britain’s challenger banks had a bumper 2015 – but now they’re facing the challenges of scale May 4, 2016 Amid the misery and bad news associated with UK banks since the crisis, one of the positive rays of light has been the challenger banks. They have grown quickly, with several listing last year as the sector continues to attract both customer and investor interest. The challengers have also long been feted by politicians as [...]