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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Davos round-up: Optimism, the dangers of forecasting and subsidy competition

January 20, 2023

Optimism As Davos draws to a close, participants will likely leave feeling more optimistic than when they arrived. There was a mood of gentle optimism throughout, stoked by China’s reopening, rising hopes Europe can avoid a recession and continuing signs US inflation has passed its peak. IMF managing director Kristilina Georgieva cautiously joined the chorus [...]
Where are Lloyds and Halifax closing 40 branches in 2023 and what does the high street exodus mean for you?

January 20, 2023

Lloyds Banking Group said it will close a further 40 branches this year, as the exodus of banking branches from Britain’s high streets continues. Lloyds will close the doors at 22 branches while there will be 18 closures at Halifax. The branches will be closed between April and June this year. The bank noted that [...]
UK signs export finance deal with Egyptian construction titan in boost to post-Brexit trade with Africa

January 20, 2023

UK Export Finance has agreed a post-Brexit deal with one of Egypt’s biggest construction and engineering firms, Hassan Allam Holding, to increase cooperation across Africa. Hassan Allam is one of the largest firms in the country, spanning areas including investment and development companies in Egypt. It has a vast a portfolio of projects ranging from [...]
Close Brothers share price falls as sets aside £90m for legal loans

January 20, 2023

Close Brothers will set aside an additional £90m in its 2023 financial statements against bad loans from legal-finance specialist Novitas Loans. Close Brothers acquired Novitas in 2017. In 2021 Close Brothers ceased approval of new loans from Novitas and let existing loans run off. In a statement today, the merchant banking group said Novitas was [...]
Davos round-up: BoA ‘over-achieved’ on hiring, Morgan Stanley’s succession plan and Shapps searches for Britain’s Silicon Valley

January 19, 2023

As some of the world’s most important CEOs, politicians and thinkers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos, City A.M. wraps up some of the top lines from the day. US bank layoffs Major Wall Street lenders have been forced into making large scale redundancies in the face of a global economic slowdown. Goldman’s [...]
UK banks’ shares slide on fears of recession and bad debt

January 19, 2023

UK banks’ share prices dipped on Thursday as increasing fears of recession, bad debt and a fairly poor set of US bank earnings this week spooked investors. Barclays shed 2.8 per cent, HSBC 0.6 per cent and Standard Chartered 0.8 per cent. Domestic-focused lenders Lloyds and Natwest also traded lower, finishing down 1.0 per cent [...]
HSBC will face no penalty for breaching open banking rules over 50 times

January 19, 2023

The Competition & Markets Authority has criticised HSBC for breaching open banking rules on over 50 occasions, but the banking giant has been told it will receive no penalty. HSBC published inaccurate information and failed to publish required information on more than 50 occasions over the last five years, the watchdog said. The violations of [...]
‘We’re all terrified of being accused of greenwashing’, Standard Chartered boss tells Davos

January 19, 2023

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters demanded clear rules on climate financing at a Davos meeting as potential lenders are “terrified of being accused of greenwashing”. Winters agreed with panellists that there needed to be much more action on financing climate change initiatives. However, he warned there needed to be standards on “what’s a good project [...]
Boohoo shares slide after PrettyLittleThing owner admits consumer squeeze has hit profits

January 19, 2023

Online fashion retailer Boohoo expects full year revenue to be below market expectations as it continues to suffer from the squeeze on consumer spending. The company anticipates revenue will fall by 12 per cent over the financial year ending 28 February, after it reported a fall in revenue in a trading update released this morning. [...]
Davos round-up: Goldman’s consumer banking headache, Big Tech layoffs and Germany’s green drive

January 18, 2023

As some of the world’s most important CEOs, politicians and thinkers gather at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss an array of economic, political and social challenges, City A.M. wraps up some of the top lines from the day. Goldman Sachs’ consumer banking headache Goldman Sachs’ foray into consumer banking has not gone [...]

NFL Draft: Premier League and Europe should adopt US system

NFL Draft: Premier League and Europe should adopt US system

Punchdrunk Theatre founder: These video games changed my life

By: Chris Dorrell

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