Brexit talks: Germany ‘concerned’ over lack of progress given reliance on City October 30, 2020 A senior German government official said he was “deeply concerned” by the lack of progress in post-Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU, given the reliance of Germany companies on funding from the City. “German corporates, for all that I can tell, rely massively on wholesale financing offered from the City of London, so [...]
Watchdog slams Grant Thornton over ‘unacceptable’ public sector audits October 30, 2020 The accounting watchdog has criticised Grant Thornton over its ‘unacceptable” record on public sector audits, after five out of six of the firm’s local audits were found to fall below the expected standard. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) singled out Grant Thornton and Mazars for criticism following a review of 15 major audits of health [...]
Natwest returns to profit as virus loan charges fall October 30, 2020 Natwest returned to profit during the third quarter, reporting forecast-beating earnings after setting aside a smaller-than-expected sum to deal with bad loans due to the coronavirus pandemic. Natwest posted an operating profit before tax of £355m for the three months to September on an income of £1.9bn. The figure beat the bank-compiled analyst estimates of [...]
US breaks daily record for coronavirus cases as total infections hit nine million October 30, 2020 The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus infections yesterday, with the country reporting over 91,000 new cases. Thursday’s surge in cases, which comes less than a week before the US election, also hospitalisations hit new highs in many states, according to a tally by Reuters. The previous one-day record for US cases [...]
FSB: banks must ‘step up’ support for new Bounce Back Loan applications October 30, 2020 The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for the government to introduce further support measures and for banks to “step up” to ensure small businesses can access the financing they need. The organisation said it was “particularly concerned” by the number of small businesses that were struggling to access government-backed Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) [...]
Twice as many young people want permanent flexible working post-Covid October 30, 2020 The rapid acceleration of home working caused by the coronavirus pandemic has sparked a generational divide in how employees would prefer to work post-Covid, a new survey suggests. Twice as many under-35s want permanent flexible working options post-pandemic compared to over-55s, according to new research by Deloitte. Some 64 per cent of under-35s said they [...]
ECB leaves interest rates unchanged while Eurozone recovery loses momentum October 29, 2020 The European Central Bank (ECB) left interest rates on hold at their record low level, but hinted at further support in December as the eurozone economy grapples with a second wave of coronavirus cases. The central bank said it would “recalibrate its instruments” in response to the fresh wave of Covid-19 infections after its next [...]
Credit Suisse profit drops as wealth management fees tumble October 29, 2020 Credit Suisse Group said it would renew dividends and begin a share buyback programme despite posting a 38 per cent drop in net profit for the third quarter as a surge in investment banking failed to offset a slowdown in wealth management. The Swiss banking giant reported a profit of 546 million Swiss francs (£461m) [...]
Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom October 29, 2020 Lloyds posted a forecast-beating profit for the third quarter as Britain’s biggest domestic lender cashed in booming demand for mortgages and set aside a smaller amount to cover bad loans. The bank returned to profitability in the three months to September after posting an unexpected loss in the first half. Lloyds reported a pre-tax profit [...]
StanChart considers resuming dividend after quarterly profit beats estimate October 29, 2020 Standard Chartered said it would consider resuming dividends after reporting a smaller-than-expected 40 per cent drop in third quarter profit as it lowered coronavirus loan loss expectations. The UK-based, Asia-focused lender posted an underlying pre-tax profit of $745m (£572m) for the three months to September, significantly ahead of bank-compiled analyst forecasts of $502m, Standard Chartered [...]
