The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on a wave of bank results, Elon Musk, and a holiday read February 22, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, on bank results, Elon Musk and an unputdownable holiday read Bank on it? With UK banks currently reporting earnings, key themes so far have been rising interest rates, growing credit loss provisions, share buybacks, volatile financial [...]
Lloyds Bank: Shares fall after bumping up ‘bad loan’ recession provisions February 22, 2023 Lloyds Bank reported that higher interest rates offset the money set aside to cope with loan defaults during the final quarter of 2022, but disappointed the market with yet more conservative guidance on net interest margin for 2023. Lloyds recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn during the quarter, in line with company-compiled consensus and over [...]
Co-op front runner in race to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan book, according to reports February 21, 2023 The Co-operative Bank has tabled an offer for Sainsbury’s Bank’s £650m loan portfolio being, according to reports by Sky News. The Co-operative bank is among a number of parties understood to have tabled a bid for the supermarket bank’s loan book . An insider cited by Sky News said the Co-operative “appeared to be the [...]
Green hydrogen future? Geopura secures millions in funding from GM, Barclays and Siemens February 21, 2023 Green hydrogen specialist Geopura has raked in £36m from its latest funding round, with plans to vastly scale its business.
London leads the way: SME confidence rebounds to nine month high after 50,000 firms folded last year February 21, 2023 Confidence among small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) continues to grow across the UK, with London leading the way, new data out today showed. 60 per cent of respondents in the capital expect their revenue to grow this quarter while they intend to make 12 new hires this quarter, according to Barclays SME Barometer. London is [...]
FTSE 100 close: Barclays and Lloyds Bank help London index kick off new week in the black February 20, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 kicked off the week with a positive start, led higher by Lloyds Bank and Barclays which both rose ahead of UK banks’ earnings season ramping up. The capital’s premier index nudged 0.12 per cent higher to 8,014.22 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health [...]
Tesco ‘considering sale’ of Tesco Bank, according to reports February 20, 2023 Tesco is considering selling Tesco Bank, according to Sky News which has reported that the supermarket giant has started a review process for its banking arm. The review is at a very early stage, according to insiders, and may not lead to a formal sale process. A partial sale or joint venture may also be [...]
Lloyds Bank profit poised to be held back by setting aside millions to cope with cost of living defaults February 20, 2023 A build up of reserves to cope with an expected jump in loan defaults and a slow down in the mortgage market is expected to have held back profits at Lloyds Bank last year, results out on Wednesday could show. Britain’s biggest mortgage lender is poised to be the latest bank to underwhelm markets in [...]
FTSE 100 close: Record-breaking week ends with a whimper February 17, 2023 Although it broke records this week the FTSE100, slipped back from the highs, weighed down by underperformance in the banking sector, which has acted as a bit of a deadweight. The blue chip index was at 7,994.94 down17.59 points or 0.22 per cent. The FTSE 250 was down 20,073.69, off 107.76 points. There was also some weakness [...]
NatWest shares dive six per cent as £1.3bn profits fail expectations and fear grows of banking ‘slump’ February 17, 2023 NatWest became the second FTSE 100 bank to take a beating as its forward guidance disappointed investors and analysts alike. NatWest’s share price was trading more than six per cent lower this afternoon, despite delivering its biggest profits since the financial crisis in 2022, as it forecast a difficult 2023. “The outlook for this year [...]