Mortgage loans up as recovery stays on track February 20, 2012 UK MORTGAGE lending rose in January, compared with the same month of 2011 – the sixth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to data out yesterday from the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML). The CML figures showed lending was up 10 per cent, and the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB) corroborated the jump this morning, publishing [...]
CPP says FSA probe risks firm’s future February 20, 2012 CREDIT CARD insurance firm CPP says the Financial Services Authority (FSA) could force it out of business, after the regulator asked for a retrospective review of sales tactics. The company suspended its shares on the London Stock Exchange yesterday after declaring that the new demands “are disproportionate and threaten the viability of the business”. The [...]
Lenders opposed to easing target February 20, 2012 BANKS are urging the Treasury not to set a rigid target for its credit easing scheme because it risks “setting it up to fail”, a source involved in the discussions told City A.M.. In December, chancellor George Osborne laid out his plan to get credit flowing to small businesses by offering £20bn in debt guarantees [...]
HSBC launches £4bn fund to lend to exporting SMEs February 20, 2012 HSBC is to launch a £4bn fund that will lend to small and medium-sized businesses that trade internationally. The aim is to capture the benefit of increasing global trade conducted by British SMEs with a turnover of up to £25m. The bank also published research today forecasting that the UK’s international business activity will increase [...]
Bank of Ireland keeps deposits at lower cost February 20, 2012 BANK of Ireland said yesterday it was attracting deposits, cutting costs and expected home loan arrears to peak this year, raising hopes Ireland’s biggest lender had turned a corner after a 60 per cent drop in operating profit in 2011. The only Irish bank to avoid nationalisation after an unprecedented property crash, Bank of Ireland [...]
Dresdner parent Commerzbank defends bonus cutting stance February 20, 2012 THE former Dresdner Kleinwort Investment Bank (DKIB) staff demanding €50m (£41.8m) in unpaid bonuses are seeking “rewards for failure”, the high court was told yesterday. Tom Linden, QC, representing parent company Commerzbank, said the “promise” by the German lender to pay a minimum bonus pool of €400m for 2008 was a “non-binding commitment” and that [...]
Santander gets £1.5m FSA fine February 20, 2012 THE FSA has fined Santander £1.5m for failing to label its financial products clearly and being too slow to respond when it discovered the fact. The City watchdog says the bank did not sufficiently clarify whether buyers of some products were covered by a financial industry insurance scheme. The bank disagrees but will not appeal.
Santander UK unable to get back bonuses February 20, 2012 LLOYDS has announced plans to punish its former management for losses incurred due to a customer mis-selling scandal – but its current executives have escaped a similar penalty for their role in the same scandal at Santander UK. Santander UK, the former home of many of Lloyds’ current top executives, has found itself unable to [...]
WHY ARE LLOYDS DIRECTORS LOSING PART OF THEIR BONUSES? February 20, 2012 Q. WHAT HAS LLOYDS’ REMUNERATION COMMITTEE DECIDED? A. In response to pressure from the FSA, Lloyds has decided to “claw back” a chunk of the bonuses it awarded to some senior executives to reflect the huge £3.2bn loss the bank has suffered as a result of mis-selling payment protection insurance (PPI) to thousands of consumers. [...]
Leaders: Open up EU for jobs February 20, 2012 DAVID Cameron and 11 other European Prime Ministers have called on the EU to be more honest about the cost of its regulations, end implicit state guarantees that banks will not be allowed to fail, and open up the services sector to increased competition across the 27 members. In a letter sent to European Commission [...]
