HSBC buy Axa’s Singapore operations in bid to boost Asia fee income August 16, 2021 HSBC has agreed to acquire Axa’s Singapore operations in a bid to boost its fee incomes in the Asia market. HSBC said in a statement that the combined unit comprising HSBC Life Singapore and Axa Singapore would be the seventh-largest life insurer and the fourth-largest retail health insurer in Singapore. HSBC currently ranks 10th in [...]
London’s newly-listed LendInvest scores £150m partnership with Barclays and HSBC August 16, 2021 Property finance asset manager LendInvest has announced a £150m lending collaboration with two of Britain’s biggest banks, just weeks after its £255m IPO on London’s AIM index. The new tie-up is geared towards financing UK property entrepreneurs and will see the British banks provide funding for short-term mortgages through LendInvest’s digital platform. It’s the first [...]
HSBC bans UK customers from making payments to Binance August 4, 2021 HSBC has announced it will stop UK customers from making payments to Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, “wherever possible.” In a message sent to customers on Tuesday HSBC said, “we’ve taken this decision due to concerns about the possible risks to you. We take our duty as a responsible lender seriously and want to [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? August 4, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. TopHat appoints former McLaren group boss as CFO Goldman Sachs-backed housing company TopHat has bagged McLaren’s former boss as its new chief financial officer to join its King Cross offices. Paul Buddin, who left the McLaren [...]
Standard Chartered profits surge as loan-loss provisions fall sharply August 3, 2021 Standard Chartered posted a better-than-expected 57 per cent jump in first-half pre-tax profits as it followed fellow banking giants in releasing a wave of capital set aside in anticipation of a surge in Covid-related customer defaults. Pre-tax profit for Standard Chartered, which has a strong presence in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, rose to [...]
First-half profits double at HSBC as bank reinstates dividend August 2, 2021 Banking behemoth HSBC appears to have recovered from the ravages of Covid-19, with first-half profits more than doubling on last year. The Asia-focussed bank recorded pre-tax profits of $10.8bn for the first six months of the year, some $6.5bn ahead of last year’s equivalent. The bank said all of its regions were profitable, with HSBC’s [...]
HSBC reopens all branches and offices in England from today July 19, 2021 HSBC said this morning it has reopened all of its bank branches and offices in England today as the government lifts the remainder of Covid-19 restrictions. HSBC will also increase its building capacity to around 50 per cent of staff over the next few months. “I know many colleagues will be hugely excited to get [...]
UK banks bolster debt collection teams ahead of first Covid loan repayments July 6, 2021 The UK’s leading banks are bolstering their debt collection teams as the first repayments of emergency Covid loans fall due. Britain’s four largest banks have hired over 750 workers in their debt collection units in an effort to manage a wave of potential defaults. NatWest has taken on 150 extra staff to handle chasing Covid [...]
UK banks’ profits slashed by more than half June 28, 2021 Big UK banks’ profits have slid by more than half over the last year, according to a ranking of the world’s largest lenders published today. UK lenders included in The Banker’s top 1,000 World Banks 2021 experienced a 53 per cent drop in profits. Losses were attributed to the severe damage the pandemic has inflicted [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile this week? June 23, 2021 City A.M.‘s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every Wednesday afternoon. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. Barclays Corporate Banking appoints new head of real estate Barclays has appointed a new head of real estate for corporate banking this week, following the retirement of the former-lead. Jason Constable, [...]