Rising fintech star explains why banks are rushing to jump on the lucrative BNPL bandwagon September 19, 2022 Virgin Money recently confirmed plans to enter Britain’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. The banking player is the latest player to start offering BNPL products, which generally can help people to spread the cost of purchases without adding to their overall cost. Earlier this year, another bank, NatWest, said that it planned to enter [...]
Older Brits benefit from £1bn-a-day windfall as over 55s sit on £4.4 trillion in property wealth September 18, 2022 Over 55s have benefited from £1bn worth of property growth every day between the start of the pandemic and June 2022. Analysis of statistics obtained via a request to the ONS shows the extent to which over 55s have managed to exploit the growth in property value since the start of the pandemic. The ONS [...]
City exclusive: Brits leave Europeans trailing in digital banking September 18, 2022 Brits are significantly ahead of other Europeans in their embrace of digital forms of banking. New research, shared exclusively with City A.M. this morning, shows that people in the UK are nearly twice as likely as other Europeans to prefer applying for financial products and services online via website or app, including through online chat [...]
1,000 fewer mortgage deals to pick from as hundreds of offers are pulled in just one month September 18, 2022 House hunters and other borrowers across borrowers have close to 1,000 fewer mortgage deals to choose from than they did a year ago, as more than 500 deals have simply vanished since last month. The number of available fixed and variable rate home loans has shrunk to 3,890 – marking the lowest level since April [...]
Hospitality hit ‘from both sides’ of energy price crisis as number of insolvent firms shoots up September 18, 2022 There has been a huge spike in the number of company insolvencies in the past year by 72 per cent, as hospitality bears the brunt of soaring energy bills. New figures from the Insolvency Service show pubs, bars and restaurants have been the worst affected, being “from both sides” by the cost of living crisis. [...]
Property guru: Truss’s energy package has helped housing market from cliff edge September 17, 2022 The Government’s action to limit the impact of energy price rises has helped pull the housing market back from the cliff-edge, a leading property association told City A.M. this morning. But the National Association of Property Buyers’ (NAPB) does stress further steps are urgently needed to ensure we don’t see a serious downturn in house [...]
KPMG’s Dubai partners urge global leadership to suspend Emirati bosses September 17, 2022 A group of senior partners at KPMG’s Dubai business have called on the Big Four accounting firm’s global leadership to suspend bosses at its UAE division, over allegations of nepotism, cronyism, and a culture of fear within the firm. The Dubai partners are calling on KPMG International’s top executives to parachute in a temporary chief [...]
British savers handed September boost as rates climb to highest level in a decade September 17, 2022 A new market analysis shared with City A.M. this weekend shows that the average rates being offered on some savings accounts have reached their highest level in nearly a decade. At 0.84 per cent, the average easy access rate is at its highest since a rate of 0.87 per cent was recorded in December 2012. [...]
Weekend exclusive: Challenger banks stifled by excessive regulation, warns OakNorth chief September 17, 2022 UK challenger banks are being bogged down by a need to jump through the same regulatory hoops as their larger high street rivals, the chief of digital lender OakNorth said today.
Outsourcing firm Capita secures £57m council contract extension and sells off £150m division September 16, 2022 London-listed outsourcing firm Capita has secured an extension to its contract with Barnet council worth up to £57m, as it sold a division worth £150m. The company will continue to work with Labour-run Barnet Council to deliver back-office services in a deal worth £42.7m, with potential add-ons. With indexation and extra work the extension could [...]