HSBC to sell French retail bank to Cerberus-backed My Money Group June 18, 2021 HSBC has agreed to sell its French retail banking arm to My Money Group, a company backed by private equity firm Cerberus. The transaction has been agreed, wrapping up an 18 month effort by HSBC to shed the struggling business as it shifts its investment focus to Asia. My Money Group on Friday announced the [...]
Sunday Sitdown: ‘Skittish’ banks need to up their game, says CEO of Ezbob April 25, 2021 Following a nightmare year that was hugely disrupted by the pandemic and three subsequent lockdowns, the City is slowly switching into recovery mode as the economy starts to re-open and many sectors are coming back to life. To discuss the way back up, City A.M. sits down with Tomer Guriel, chief executive of Marble Arch-based [...]
UK banks ‘shielded from the worst’ of the Covid crisis, says BoE deputy governor February 5, 2021 UK banks 'shielded from the worst' of the Covid crisis, says BoE deputy governor
Exclusive: ‘Banks should deliver the same experience as Amazon and Netflix’, says Ezbob CEO January 21, 2021 After a year that was hugely disrupted by Covid-19 and the entire economy and its workforce moved online, City A.M. sat down with Tomer Guriel, CEO of Mayfair-based Ezbob, which provides digital lending software to some of the biggest banks and financial institutions in the City. A vaccine is being rolled out, so the City [...]
Revolut applies for UK banking license January 11, 2021 Revolut has applied for a UK banking licence, which would allow it to provide customers full service current accounts and products like overdrafts, loans and deposit accounts. A UK license would also mean customers had the security of protection of up to £85,000 under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), the UK’s lifeboat fund. Revolut [...]
Exclusive launch interview: CEO Jason Oakley on Recognise, Britain’s newest bank December 9, 2020 Following FCA approval of a banking license application in November, SME lender Recognise’s banking operations formally launch this morning with four branches in the City, Manchester, Leeds and the Midlands, as well as an app and online platform. To mark the arrival of Britain’s newest bank, City A.M. sits down with CEO Jason Oakley, a former head of [...]
Revolut expands business offering with digital payments service December 4, 2020 Challenger bank Revolut is bolstering its business offering as it moves into merchant acquiring allowing businesses to accept online card payments. Revolut’s chief executive Nik Storonsky announced, at this year’s Web Summit, that its business segment had launched an acquiring solution, which will allow businesses in 13 European countries to accept card payments online directly [...]
Shakespeare: Monzo’s tough year doesn’t improve with new card November 4, 2020 Monzo has had a tough 2020 so far. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenger bank has laid off employees, doubled its losses, and faced difficult questions about its viability as a “going concern”. October proved to be no exception. New data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that Monzo’s latest attempt to launch paid-for accounts adversely affected [...]
Paypoint signs deal to sell Romanian division for £47m October 21, 2020 Paypoint has inked a deal to sell its Romanian division to Innova Capital for £47m, as the payments operator seeks to streamline its UK business in the wake of the pandemic. In a notice to the stock exchange, the London-listed firm said it had reached an agreement with Innova to offload Paypoint Services and Payzone, [...]
It’s time for a fresh UK-China relationship August 14, 2020 The UK needs a fresh template for its relationship with China. Central to this should be a differentiation between strategic and non-strategic areas. This would allow UK businesses to know where the government has set its red lines. In 2015, the UK and China’s relationship was red hot—a “golden era”—with President Xi making a state [...]