Natwest profits soar but customers withdraw £1bn as cost of living and tax bills bite April 28, 2023 Natwest has beaten profit expectations during the first three months of this year. Natwest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn in the three months ending 31 March. The total comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations of £1.6bn for the quarter and ahead of the £1.2bn during [...]
FTSE 100 close: Persimmon and Standard Chartered peg losses on London index April 26, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 skidded lower today despite a decent batch of results pumping up banks and house builders. The capital’s premier index lost 0.49 per cent to close at 7,852.63 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged 0.04 per cent lower to [...]
Standard Chartered profit rises 21 per cent but confirms “no contact” with suitor First Abu Dhabi Bank April 26, 2023 Standard Chartered beat expectations in the first quarter as rising interest rates once again boosted the bank but it confirmed there had been not contact with First Abu Dhabi Bank. The emerging markets-focused lender reported a pretax profit of $1.8bn, rising 25 per cent year on year and beating market expectations of a $1.4bn profit. [...]
‘We can rely on markets’ Standard Chartered’s Bill Winters implores use of effective carbon market to combat climate crisis April 24, 2023 Standard Chartered’s chief executive Bill Winters called for more action on the carbon credits market saying he was “frustrated” work had not yet been finished despite the urgency of the task. Speaking at the City Week conference, Winters, who chairs a private sector-led initiative working to scale the voluntary carbon market, argued that governments around [...]
Standard Chartered, Barclays, Natwest kick off UK bank earnings this week with interest income back in focus April 24, 2023 Profit looks set to increase at the UK’s largest lenders as they line up to report first quarter earnings over the coming two weeks. The FTSE banking giants have seen relative stability over the last few weeks following the extreme volatility in March, but this stability means investors will refocus their attention on other major [...]
FTSE 100 close: Ocado delivers bumper gains while Next zips lower March 29, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was hoisted higher by the UK’s largest retailers surging today, except high street bellwether Next, which stumbled badly. The capital’s premier index bumped more than one per cent to 7,564.28 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, surged 1.28 per [...]
Traders nervy at FTSE open after Asian bank stocks tank – despite Credit Suisse rescue March 20, 2023 The global sigh of relief at the rescue of Credit Suisse does not appear to have lasted long, with big banks battered in trading overnight in Asia. HSBC and StanChart both took more than a six per cent hit in Hong Kong as investors, already spooked by volatility in banking across the world, took flight. [...]
Standard Chartered announces $1bn buyback scheme and lifts guidance despite weak profit February 16, 2023 Standard Chartered announced a $1bn (£831m) buyback scheme and raised its guidance for the next couple of years despite its results failing to meet market expectations. Results for the bank, which has been subject to takeover speculation in recent months, were much weaker than expected. Profit in the final quarter of 2022 was significantly below [...]
What now for Standard Chartered, and why is the bank still a takeover target? February 15, 2023 Standard Chartered found itself the target of takeover talks last week, after Bloomberg reported that First Abu Dhabi Bank was ready to make an offer once the cooling off period from its last offer, which had been just weeks earlier in January, had passed. The rumours were quickly quashed by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), [...]
Shares in Standard Chartered fall five per cent after First Abu Dhabi quashes hopes of £28bn take-over deal February 10, 2023 First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, said it was not currently evaluating an offer for Britain’s Standard Chartered, the second time it has quashed reports of an imminent bid. News of the potential offer first came on 5 January, when FAB said it had considered a bid for London-listed Standard Chartered but was no longer doing [...]