By: Chris Dorrell

Chris Dorrell is a freelance journalist and City AM contributor. He was previously City AM's banking and then economics reporter. When Chris is not breaking news, he can often be found playing with his band Totally Amorphous.

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Savings accounts: Banks under fire as MPs demand to know why interest rate rises have not been passed on to savers

March 1, 2023

MPs have asked further questions of banks’ savings rate as pressure increases on the UK’s major high street lenders to pass on higher interest rates to consumers. In a letter to the heads of four of the UK’s largest banks, chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin asked banks why their savings rates remain lower [...]
‘Shame on them’: Skipton Group boss slams banks for not passing on rate hikes to savers

March 1, 2023

Skipton Group today criticised rival high street lenders for failing to pass on higher interest rates to savers. Britain’s banks have seen their income boosted by the Bank of England’s attempt to stave off inflation with a succession of ten straight interest rate hikes. The base rate now stands at four per cent – the [...]
Co-operative Bank profit surges to £132.6m as CEO Slape confirms bank still looking at acquisition targets

March 1, 2023

The Co-operative Bank recorded a big increase in pretax profit in its final year results thanks to higher interest rates as CEO Nick Slape confirmed the bank was still scanning the market for acquisition targets. . Across 2022 as a whole, pretax profit increased to £132.6m up from £31.1m last year. This was primarily a [...]
Goldman Sachs considers selling consumer platforms unit as it searches for stable revenue

February 28, 2023

Goldman Sachs is considering selling its consumer platforms business but remains committed to wealth management as it searches for a more stable source of revenue, boss David Solomon said today. Speaking at an investor day on Tuesday, the bank’s chief executive said, according to reports, the bank was exploring “strategic alternatives” for parts of its [...]
Britcoin could ‘open a new frontier’ in payments, says BoE official

February 28, 2023

A central bank digital currency (CBDC) could “open a new frontier” in payments and even make the financial system more stable, the deputy governor at the Bank of England said today. Speaking to MPs at a Treasury Committee hearing, deputy governor Jon Cunliffe said a so-called digital pound “could have huge benefits for the economy [...]
Credit Suisse relationship with Greensill Capital ‘seriously breached’ rules, says Swiss regulator

February 28, 2023

Credit Suisse “seriously breached its supervisory obligations” in its relationship with Greensill Capital, according to the Swiss financial watchdog Finma. Finma said the failures were due to poor risk management and “serious deficiencies” in its organisational structures After concluding its probe, Finma has ordered the bank to “periodically review” its most important business relationships, in [...]
Red tape for small banks to be reduced as regulator looks to boost sector’s competitiveness

February 27, 2023

The banking regulator has announced plans to reduce restrictions on small banks, saying it would take its new competitiveness mandate seriously. Announcing the regulations, Vicky Saporta, executive director at the Bank of England, said: “the importance of competition means that we need to act when rules that are proportionate for large firms are not proportionate [...]
Lloyds Bank: Shares fall after bumping up ‘bad loan’ recession provisions

February 22, 2023

Lloyds Bank reported that higher interest rates offset the money set aside to cope with loan defaults during the final quarter of 2022, but disappointed the market with yet more conservative guidance on net interest margin for 2023. Lloyds recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn during the quarter, in line with company-compiled consensus and over [...]
Analysis: Has HSBC’s Noel Quinn done enough to ward off Ping An’s split campaign?

February 21, 2023

HSBC’s CEO Noel Quinn said today that “international connectivity remains our greatest strength.” It was clear he was attempting to ward off shareholder Ping An’s ongoing campaign to spin out HSBC’s Asian business, which makes the majority of the bank’s profit. Quinn was speaking after the lender announced its results for the final quarter of [...]
Co-op front runner in race to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan book, according to reports

February 21, 2023

The Co-operative Bank has tabled an offer for Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan portfolio being, according to reports by Sky News. The Co-operative bank is among a number of parties understood to have tabled a bid for the supermarket bank’s loan book . An insider cited by Sky News said the Co-operative “appeared to be the [...]

Interest rates next change ‘far more likely down than up’

Exclusive: London in talks to host return of sumo at Royal Albert Hall

Bowls Club is the City’s most eccentric (and brilliant) pop-up

By: Chris Dorrell

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