Morgan Stanley profits fall on dealmaking slump while rising rates lift Bank of America July 18, 2023 The continued lull in dealmaking hit Morgan Stanley’s profit despite a strong performance from its wealth management arm, while rising rates lifted Bank of America. Income at Morgan Stanley, which specialises in investment banking, slipped to $2.2bn in the second quarter, down from $2.5bn the year before but in line with analyst expectations. This fall [...]
Goldman Sachs has a ‘culture of bullying’ according to ex recruitment chief July 17, 2023 Goldman Sachs has been accused of having a “culture of bullying” by a former recruitment executive in the latest example of banks taking flack for their intense work culture. According to The Daily Telegraph, Ian Dodd, who worked for the American banking giant in London between 2018 and 2021, claimed that staff often sobbed through [...]
Savings rates: Banks recognise they need ‘to do more’ after meeting with regulator July 7, 2023 Bank bosses admitted to the regulator that they needed to “do more” to help customers access the best deals on savings products. In a statement after yesterday’s meeting, the regulator said “those in the room recognised that they needed to do more to help their consumers access the best rates.” Savings rates have lagged the [...]
Government urged to take global lead on digitised capital markets to boost UK’s competitiveness July 6, 2023 The government should take the lead in encouraging the digitisation of the UK’s capital markets to boost the City’s competitiveness, UK Finance has argued. In a new report released today by Oliver Wyman and UK Finance, the government has been urged to take a bold approach to ‘tokenisation’ or risk losing investment to other parts [...]
Regulators should measure ‘burden’ of decisions after legislative overhaul, industry says July 5, 2023 Finance groups have called for regulators to report on a new range of metrics to ensure they are meeting their statutory obligations. After the Financial Services and Markets Bill passed into law last week, regulators will have hugely increased responsibility for adapting and amending onshored EU regulations. As part of the Bill, regulators will have [...]
Headcount at six largest UK banks ticks up for first time since pandemic July 5, 2023 The number of employees at the six largest UK banks increased slightly last year, the first increase since the pandemic. According to statistics in the Banker’s Top 1,000 World Banks report, the six largest UK lenders – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Standard Chartered, Natwest and Nationwide – increased their headcount by 0.6 per cent last year. [...]
MPs to probe if SMEs can get cash they need – or if the government should step in July 3, 2023 The Treasury Committee has launched a new inquiry into the problems small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face in accessing financing. Over the next couple of months the cross-party group of MPs will explore issues in the industry and how regulation and government can respond. Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Committee said: “Small businesses are the [...]
Lack of available finance hampering SMEs – and things aren’t getting better anytime soon June 29, 2023 Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are struggling to access funding as rising rates force banks to put up the costs of lending. According to YouGov data collected for AIM-listed Manx Financial Group, 40 per cent of SMEs had to stop or pause an area of their business due to a lack of funding over the [...]
Jeremy Hunt to sign ‘milestone’ financial services agreement with EU June 27, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will today sign a long-awaited deal with the European Union on improving regulatory cooperation for financial services, in a move that Hunt said will boost the City as a “global financial services hub”. Hunt and EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the European Commission [...]
Banks ditch sustainability as economic headwinds slows progress June 13, 2023 SUSTAINABILITY is falling down the list of priorities for many UK banks, after a new study found the number of banks stating sustainability was a key part of their business strategy had plummeted by 40 per cent in a year. Only 60 per cent of banking leaders in the UK say sustainability is an important [...]