Northern Rock to repay £261m: Thousands of customers to receive over £6,000 each December 10, 2014 The remains of Northern Rock have been ordered to pay back £261m in interest and fees to borrowers, due to badly worded paperwork, the High Court decided yesterday. Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) is owned by the government, which nationalised the Newcastle-based lender when it collapsed in 2007. As a result, the bill for compensation [...]
Investec “I can’t breathe” research note comparing Eric Garner’s death to bank’s regulatory woes provokes angry reaction December 10, 2014 The dying words of Eric Garner, whose untimely death has sparked a wave of protests across the US, have become a rallying cry for millions of Americans protesting against US police tactics. But it is not a phrase that banks should be using to discuss corporate research, brand and marketing professionals said yesterday. “I can’t breathe,” [...]
Standard Chartered appoints new directors in financial crime crackdown following £425m fines December 10, 2014 Embattled bank Standard Chartered yesterday appointed a new committee of directors to combat financial crime. It also hired another nine experienced execs from across the business, finance and regulatory world to beef up its compliance functions. StanChart is still hosting investigators sent by US regulators in the wake of its $667m (£425m) fines in [...]
Rate hike could help recovery December 10, 2014 BRITAIN’S economy is strong enough to handle higher interest rates, and would be supported by tighter policy, the Bank of England’s Ian McCafferty said yesterday. He believes that there may be less slack in the economy than other officials estimate, and has voted for a 0.25 percentage point rise. “Persistently low interest rates can increase [...]
Co-op calls off a key vote before stress test result December 4, 2014 The Co-operative Bank cancelled a key meeting with investors, postponing a vote on its directors’ bonus packages. The troubled lender is widely expected to fail the Bank of England’s stress tests, the results of which are published on 16 December. It has a plan in place to improve its capital position, but this could be [...]
Digital bank Atom raises £25m to fund biometric development December 4, 2014 High profile investors, including Jon Moulton, Jim O’Neill and Sir Peter Vardy, invested in challenger bank Atom yesterday. Their involvement brings the total equity invested so far to £25m. Neil Woodford’s CF Woodford Equity Income Fund is the biggest new shareholder. Jon Moulton Some of the money will be spent on creating new technologies [...]
Numis wants UK to take lead in tech deals December 4, 2014 BRITAIN’S investors could get a chance to buy into more home-grown tech firms in the coming year, as the market becomes more mature, the boss of brokerage Numis told City A.M. yesterday. Typically, UK tech firms sell out to US rivals, or float on stock markets over the Atlantic. “Those firms don’t have to go [...]
No banking unit safe from probes December 4, 2014 EVERY part of Britain’s banks will be open to scrutiny by the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), its chief executive Alex Chisholm said yesterday. He denied the body was swayed by politicians and their focus on retail banking. Chisholm insisted his mandate covered any type of anti-competitive behaviour across the whole sector. So far, retail [...]
Wages start to climb as talent pool is used up and employers chase jobseekers December 4, 2014 The long squeeze on workers’ wages is coming to an end, as recruiters today report that employers are competing harder for talent. As unemployment dives and the economy recovers, more employers are chasing fewer jobseekers, pushing up salaries. However, the intensity of the pressure will ease – the pace at which hiring is growing slowed to [...]
US growth and hiring defy global slowdown worries December 3, 2014 Employers across the US are hiring more staff in all industries, Federal Reserve officials said last night. Despite worries about the strength of growth across Asia and Europe, the Fed’s regular Beige Book publication showed a very upbeat recovery in the US. Conditions were so buoyant that labour shortages were reported in some regions, with firms struggling [...]