Challenger bank Monzo launches loans August 15, 2019 Challenger bank Monzo rolled out a range of new loans today, as the digital bank ramps up its efforts to compete with its larger rivals on the high street. The app-based group will charge interest rates starting at 3.7 per cent for loans higher than £7,500, climbing to a maximum of 24 per cent for [...]
Hong Kong revises growth forecasts and unveils $2.4bn spending package as protests and trade war hit economy August 15, 2019 Hong Kong’s government has revealed a ($2.4bn) £2bn spending package after warning of lower economic growth in the wake of unprecedented political protests and a US-China trade war. Read more: Chinese forces exercise on Hong Kong border Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled plans to slash taxes and introduce subsidies today in a bid to rejuvenate [...]
Alibaba beats expectations as revenues surge August 15, 2019 Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba trumped market expectations this afternoon, providing some relief for Asian investors in a week that has seen markets rocked by the US-China trade war and fears of a global recession. The retail group posted better-than-expected quarterly results after revenues from its cloud and e-commerce operations surged, sending shares up more [...]
ECB tells banks in Britain to speed up Brexit preparations August 14, 2019 Banks have been urged to speed up their Brexit preparations by the European Central Bank (ECB), which warned yesterday that London-based firms are falling behind on potential plans to move jobs. The Eurozone’s top banking watchdog has called on firms to step up their contingency plans as the UK nears Downing Street’s 31 October deadline [...]
Standard Chartered eyes growth in private banking with hiring spree August 14, 2019 Standard Chartered is set to embark on a recruitment spree in Asia as part of a plan to grow its private banking assets to roughly $100bn (£82bn). Over the next two to three years the lender is set to hire 30-40 private bankers every year to bulk up its private bank assets by 50 per [...]
Venture Capital funding hits record high August 14, 2019 Venture capital (VC) funding in the UK soared to a record high during the first half of this year, bolstered by a growing appetite for tech investments. Funding in VC rose to £4.3bn during the first half of 2019, rising 45 per cent on the same period last year. Read more: Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency [...]
Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud awarded £40m from RBS banking competition fund August 14, 2019 Four UK financial firms have been handed a combined £40m today from an RBS fund aimed at boosting business banking competition. Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud were awarded the new capital as part of an effort to boost lending and payments services to SMEs in the UK. Read more: Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency [...]
Prudential outlines demerger date as first-half profits rise August 14, 2019 Britain’s biggest insurer Prudential said this morning that its highly-anticipated demerger will take place later this year, as it also reported a double-digit rise in profits for the first half of 2019. Plans to separate the firm’s UK business, M&GPrudential, from its Asian and US operations were confirmed by the group’s management team this morning, [...]
Steinhoff to sell off assets in bid to cut debt pile August 13, 2019 Embattled global retailer Steinhoff said today that it will sell off assets in the wake of a $7bn (£5.8bn) accountancy scandal. In a bid to slash its debt pile, the troubled South African giant revealed plans to slim down into a retail-focused investment holding company. Read more: Restaurants eat into retailers’ high street share Chief [...]
Third of investors expecting recession as trade war fears loom August 13, 2019 More than one in three investors are forecasting a global recession in the next 12 months, marking an eight-year high as trade war worries linger over markets across the world. In the highest recession probability level since October 2011, 34 per cent of investors surveyed by Bank of America Merrill Lynch have said they think [...]
