‘Blatant profiteering’: Bank chiefs hauled in front of FCA to discuss failure to pass on interest rates to savers July 6, 2023 Bank chiefs are meeting Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) officials on Thursday to discuss concerns surrounding interest rates for savers lagging behind the cost of mortgages. Bosses from HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds and Barclays are expected to attend. According to data from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, the average easy access savings rate on offer on Thursday is 2.49 per cent. [...]
Challenger banks win customers on back of better savings rates than big boys July 6, 2023 More generous savings rates at challenger banks are seeing customers flock to newer players in the market, as pressure grows on big banks
Headcount at six largest UK banks ticks up for first time since pandemic July 5, 2023 The number of employees at the six largest UK banks increased slightly last year, the first increase since the pandemic. According to statistics in the Banker’s Top 1,000 World Banks report, the six largest UK lenders – HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Standard Chartered, Natwest and Nationwide – increased their headcount by 0.6 per cent last year. [...]
Barclays, Shell and BP feel the heat as activist investors launch record green campaigns July 4, 2023 Shell, BP and Barclays have felt the wrath of activist investors this year as corporate pressure campaigns are launched in record numbers across Europe, new research shows. The number of activist campaigns in Europe has climbed each month this year to a total of 25 campaigns by May, fuelled by a spike in environmental campaigns [...]
Shapps: Labour ‘sponsored by Just Stop Oil’ in light of ‘bonkers’ fossil fuel project ban July 4, 2023 Shapps has reaffirmed his support for domestic fossil fuel projects, as approval for the largest undeveloped oil and gas field looms.
Savings rates: Big banks to meet regulator this week after ‘blatant profiteering’ claims July 4, 2023 Banks will meet with the regulator this week to discuss the savings rates on offer as pressure grows on the UK’s largest lenders to avoid so-called ‘profiteering’. Heads of the largest UK banks – including Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays and HSBC – will meet with the Financial Conduct Authority on Thursday, according to people familiar with [...]
FTSE 100 close: London index’s downbeat run extends into second half of 2023 July 3, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off the second half of the year in subdued style today, despite a rally among Britain’s largest banks and industrial giants. The capital’s premier index was up for most of the day, before eventually closing marginally lower, down 0.06 per cent to 7,527.27 points. The domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which [...]
HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest under fire for ‘measly’ savings rates… again July 3, 2023 Banks are in the firing line for low savings rates once again after the big four lenders received another letter from the influential Treasury Committee. Writing to the UK heads of the big four banks, Harriet Baldwin – chair of the Treasury Committee – said the Committee was “concerned that banks’ savings rates remain too [...]
LendInvest given £500m investment boost from Chetwood to fund buy-to-let mortgages July 3, 2023 LendInvest, the London-listed property fintech, has received a £500m investment boost to fund some of its future lending from Chetwood Financial. The investment will fund mortgage originations from LendInvest’s buy-to-let mortgages, aimed at professional landlords, and residential mortgages, for those underserved by high street mortgage providers. Chetwood, a Wrexham-based digital bank, has become the latest [...]
Sally Bolton interview: Wimbledon CEO on taking the Championships to the US July 2, 2023 Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton on growing the Championships’ presence in the US, how it chooses its partners and its unique business. In SW19, there is no mistaking when the Wimbledon Championships are in full swing. Thousands of tennis fans descend on the All England Club; the air is thick with the scent of grass, Pimm’s [...]