The artificial intelligence influencers that you should be following March 18, 2021 | City Talk Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ultimate manifestation of the promise of technology to improve our lives. Within our lifetimes AI will become omnipresent across every segment of economic activity and within every field of human endeavour. But AI is not a single genus but a constellation of technologies that must work together in harmony. By [...]
Exclusive: City’s venture capital guru on Brexit, fundraising and impact investing March 17, 2021 With Brexit just behind us, and the pandemic gradually being brought under control, it seemed like a good time to measure the temperature of London’s venture capital investment space. City A.M. sat down with David Hall, for his first major interview as chairman of the Venture Capital Trust Association, since succeeding Stuart Veale in January [...]
Is fintech fueling financial M&A’s rebound? March 17, 2021 | Sponsored According to our latest market brief, Fintech will be the wind in the sails of Financial M&A this year. The world was dealt a historic one-two punch in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic which infected and killed millions of people. As a result of government-ordered shutdowns and travel bans, the shuttering of economies worldwide led [...]
UK borrowers impacted by pandemic face rising mortgage payments, L&G warns March 17, 2021 UK borrowers who have suffered a drop in income during the pandemic could soon be paying thousands of pounds more in monthly mortgage repayments, according to the latest research. The survey by Legal & General Mortgage Club found that one in three borrowers are considering staying on their current lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) once [...]
On-demand pay: is it here to stay? March 16, 2021 | City Talk Millions around the globe depend on regular salaries and plan their budgets based on paydays. But the lockdown has made personal budgeting much more challenging. Many workers have lost their job and many others are now working remotely. Compounding near universal worries about future and immediate financial security are the added stress and logistical challenges [...]
BoE’s Bailey apologises to investors amid criticism over LCF collapse March 15, 2021 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has apologised for his role in failing investors of collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance. His apology came amid rising pressure about his responsibility in a series of scandals during his role as head of the Financial Conduct Authority. On Monday morning, Bailey told BBC Radio 4 that [...]
Stripe tops US startup rankings as valuation jumps to $95bn March 15, 2021 Digital payments firm Stripe has become the most valuable private company in Silicon Valley after fresh funding drove up its price tag to $95bn (£68bn). The financial services firm last night announced it had raised $600m in fresh capital from investors including Allianz, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Sequoia Capital, and Ireland’s National [...]
How millennial savings app Plum could lure a new generation of DIY investors March 12, 2021 The reason Victor Trokoudes started Plum may be a familiar story to some millennials. His dad started nagging him about putting money away after he realised he hadn’t been doing much about his savings despite working as a trader in the City. He started building Plum in 2016 with co-founder Alex Michael before its launch [...]
Tecent, Baidu and SoftBank fined in China for monopolistic behaviour in fintech crackdown March 12, 2021 China’s market regulator said today it has fined 12 companies $77,000 each for flouting anti-monopoly rules. Concerning ten deals in particular, companies including Tencent Holdings, Baidu Inc, Softbank and a ByteDance-backed firm, were fined for behaviour that caused market concentration, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said. The companies’ actions did not completely exclude [...]
Natwest winds down online lending platform Esme March 12, 2021 Natwest’s foray into the fintech world has come to an abrupt end with the closure of its standalone SME lending platform Esme Loans. Esme launched in 2017 offering loans between £5,000 and £150,000 for small business customers. The terms were usually between between one and five years and backed by personal guarantees. Now the platform [...]
