Shawbrook becomes the latest challenger to be unshaken by Brexit July 27, 2016 Following in Virgin Money's footsteps, Shawbrook has today waved away the Brexit woes facing challenger banks by showing off a boost to its bottom line. The figures The challenger bank reported profits before tax for the first half of 2016 of £35.2m, up from £24.7m in the first half of 2015. Meanwhile, underlying profit before tax [...]
Currency swings sting Santander, causing underlying profits and income to dip July 27, 2016 Santander today proved currency swings can be the undoing of even the best intentions, as it reported a drop in profits and income for its first half of the year. The figures Attributable profits for the group were less than glowing, down 31.7 per cent at €2.9bn (£2.4m), from €4.3bn in the first half of [...]
A woman Prime Minister. So what? July 27, 2016 Much has been made of the fact that we have our second women Prime Minister. But the question remains, what difference does it really make? In my view her appointment has multiple significance and presents us with a major opportunity. Firstly, it still has a huge symbolic value to see a woman running the country. The message that [...]
Metro Bank heads closer to profit, as chief exec shrugs off Brexit fears July 27, 2016 Metro Bank revealed it was closer to moving out of the red today, as its chief executive waved away any Brexit woes. The figures The challenger bank reported an underlying loss after tax of £4.1m for its quarter to June, a 45 per cent shift towards the black on the £7.6m loss it reported last year, and a 48 per [...]
Deutsche Bank warns weak economic environment could lead to more intense restructuring plans as company reports a fall in profits for the quarter July 27, 2016 The boss of Deutsche Bank confirmed today that it's a tough time for the sector, as the lender reported an €800m (£670.3m) slip in profits before taxes for its most recent quarter. The figures The German banking giant reported income before taxes of €408m in its second quarter, a 67 per cent fall from €1.2bn for the same [...]
Here are the key challenges the new pensions minister will face July 27, 2016 The recent reshuffle meant a whole host of new ministerial faces both at the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These new ministers will have a full agenda when it comes to pensions. At DWP, the new secretary of state is Damian Green, who will be responsible for controlling welfare spending and getting people back [...]
Ex-Barclays Cartel member told “life isn’t fair” as he was shown the door, court hears July 26, 2016 A former Barclays trader was told "life isn't fair" shortly before being fired, a court heard today. Chris Ashton was disciplined by the bank in April last year. He was previously a member of "The Cartel", a chat room used by senior traders at a number of banks to share information in a bid to shift currency benchmarks in [...]
It’s not one rule for them, another for Jeremy, court hears July 26, 2016 Jeremy Corbyn's name on the Labour leadership ballot fell into further dispute today, after lawyers argued there was "not a trace" of legal grounds for a different set of rules to apply to him than to his challengers. Corbyn's bid to retain his position as Labour party leader has been full of controversy. The Labour party [...]
Watchdog warns more to be done on “persistent and potentially problematic” levels of credit card debt July 26, 2016 More needs to be done to tackle the UK's "potentially problematic" levels of credit card debt, the financial sector watchdog has warned today. A report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that although competition in the credit card market generally works in the favour of consumers, there is little incentive for providers to help out those [...]
An extra pound a pint? Aberdeen Asset Management’s not impressed by new Megabrew offer July 26, 2016 The Megabrew deal lost its cool today, as some key shareholders revealed they were unimpressed by Anheuser-Busch InBev's latest offer for SABMiller's shares. Aberdeen Asset Management has slammed the offer, which would see AB InBev fork out £45 in cash for each SABMiller share. The new offer, which was announced earlier this morning, is an increase of £1 per [...]
