Bank of Cyprus offloads UK subsidiary for £103m to ‘Cynergy’ consortium July 10, 2018 The Bank of Cyprus has agreed to sell its UK banking operations to a consortium of investors in a £103m deal. The all-cash sale, which will complete by the end of the year, comes as Bank of Cyprus refocuses its efforts on the Cypriot economy. The lender was bailed out in 2013 by European authorities, [...]
Britain’s perception of immigration improves dramatically July 10, 2018 British people's perceptions of the impact of immigration improved markedly between 2015 and 2017, according to an authoritative survey published today. The British Social Attitudes (BSA) survey, which canvasses the opinions of almost 4,000 respondents, found that 47 per cent of Britons think that immigration has a "good" impact on the economy – a striking [...]
Barclays doubles unsecured lending limit for smaller firms July 9, 2018 Barclays will double its cap on unsecured lending to small businesses from £50,000 to £100,000 as it bids to drive lending volumes. The high street lender believes that as many as 40,000 firms will be eligible for the larger loans. It will also today announce it is raising the cap on unsecured overdrafts for firms [...]
Citi boosts Paris office ahead of Brexit with hires from UBS July 9, 2018 Citigroup has hired two bankers from UBS and relocated another top manager as it seeks to boost its Paris investment bank office shortly before the UK leaves the EU. The US bank's chair of continental Europe, Luigi de Vecchi, will relocate to Paris from Milan to oversee a "long-term commitment and investment that we are [...]
May’s gamble: Prime Minister faces backlash on Brexit plans July 8, 2018 Prime Minister Theresa May faces a crunch meeting tomorrow as she attempts to keep her party onside amid grumblings of a leadership challenge and a growing backlash over her newly-revealed Brexit negotiating position. May will meet Conservative backbenchers on the party’s powerful 1922 Committee to try to persuade them to back the plan, which would [...]
Serious Fraud Office ends Lloyds Libor probes because of “insufficient evidence” July 4, 2018 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped a criminal investigation into Libor manipulation at Lloyds Banking Group, removing a cloud over the lender. The SFO dropped the case because it lacked evidence, despite the Financial Conduct Authority’s previous assertion that 16 individuals at Lloyds knew about the Libor fixing. Some lines of inquiry in the [...]
Paragon buys Titlestone developer and loan book in £274m deal with Oaktree Capital Management July 3, 2018 Challenger bank Paragon today announced the purchase of £48m residential developer Titlestone and a £226m loan book from Oaktree Capital Management. Paragon, which offers mortgage and business lending, said the moves are part of a strategy to diversify into specialist lending markets. Titlestone advanced £274m in loans to small and medium-sized developers during the year [...]
City firms increase hiring and technology investment plans in spite of Brexit uncertainty July 2, 2018 Financial services firms increased hiring and investment in the second quarter in spite of continued nerves over the Brexit process, new figures show. Employment across financial services rose at the fastest pace in a year, with a balance of 24 per cent saying they had increased hiring in the second quarter, according to the survey [...]
Freedom of movement not on table at divided Cabinet’s crunch Brexit meeting says Brokenshire July 1, 2018 Extending freedom of movement is not up for negotiation ahead of a crunch meeting of a divided Cabinet to thrash out its Brexit position, housing minister James Brokenshire said today. Freedom of movement between EU nations is a key point of tension within government, with official policy still that total annual immigration will be reduced [...]
Govia Thameslink faces loss of franchise if service does not improve July 1, 2018 "Tough action" promised by the government against rail operator Govia Thameslink could extend as far as removing franchises unless it improves its dire recent performance for commuters in the South East. Transport secretary Chris Grayling could strip franchises within weeks, after the introduction of a new timetable on 20 May caused widespread disruption, the BBC [...]
