Jes Staley out at Barclays: CEO leaves bank after report comes out of Epstein links – CityAM : CityAM November 1, 2021 Barclays boss Jes Staley will leave the bank with immediate effect. The bank’s board saying it is “disappointed” with the outcome of the City watchdog’s report into his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bank said it was made aware on Friday night of the preliminary conclusions from the FCA’s investigation, [...]
Millions face swelling mortgage bill as lenders brace for rate hike October 29, 2021 Households across the UK face swelling mortgage costs on top of higher tax bills and an increasing cost of living. Several of Britain’s big players in the mortgage market lifted interest rates on their products immediately after the budget this week in anticipation of a looming rate hike from the Bank of England. HSBC, Barclays [...]
NatWest books £300m in legal fees to deal with money laundering fallout October 29, 2021 NatWest has set aside nearly £300m in legal fees to deal with the fallout of admitting it allowed money laundering to take place in the bank. The bank announced in its third quarter results that it booked a £294m litigation and conduct charge during the period. NatWest recently became the first British bank to admit [...]
City Moves: Who’s switching jobs in the Square Mile today? October 29, 2021 City A.M.’s Millie Turner provides a roundup of the most important hires and job moves across the City, every morning. Email citymoves@cityam.com to be featured. GCA Altium Global investment bank GCA Altium has bolstered its London team with the appointment of a consumer mergers and acquisitions (M&A) expert as its new director. Joining the helm, Tom Barnard is set to work directly with managing director and [...]
Reserve release boosts Lloyds profits October 28, 2021 The release of reserves set aside to deal with an expected wave of pandemic-induced defaults boosted Lloyds’ profits. Profit before tax at Britain’s biggest mortgage lender in the three months to September climbed around £1bn compared to the same period last year. Lloyds’ bottom line was raised by the release of over £80m in reserves [...]
London’s Storfund lands £300m mega-deal for ecommerce marketplace financing October 27, 2021 UK fintech Storfund, which optimises the cash cycle for merchants selling on ecommerce marketplaces, has struck a £300m debt funding deal with Fasanara Capital. It’s the latest in a string of investments by Fasanara into e-commerce lending platforms, and marks a significant step up from Storfund’s last £26.5m funding round in February, led by Union Bancaire [...]
Santander beats forecasts following strong UK performance October 27, 2021 Spanish bank Santander smashed profit expectations for the third quarter driven by robust lending activity in its mortgage unit. The lender pulled in more than £1.4bn in pre-tax profits in the year to September, up nearly 400 per cent. Over the same period last year, profits were just £299m. A red hot UK housing market, [...]
Nearly 60 per cent of firms will miss UK net zero target, says Microsoft report October 27, 2021 Just over 40 per cent of UK firms are on track to meet the government’s net zero target of 2050, new research from Microsoft and the University of London has revealed. The figures suggest that the country’s net zero efforts may be far more difficult to achieve if the majority (59 per cent) of firms [...]
THG ramps up governance overhaul and begins search for independent chair October 26, 2021 UK e-commerce company THG said this morning it has appointed a consulting firm to begin a search for a new independent chair for the company, in its latest attempt to appease City investors with doubts about the governance and transparency of the business. Alongside its third quarter results this morning, the group announced it had [...]
Bankers on track for record bonuses this Christmas October 24, 2021 City bankers could take home a bumper payout in time for Christmas following a year of record dealmaking and capital raising activity. With many city banks gearing up for bonus discussions in the coming weeks industry experts have predicted that bonuses could reach their highest level in over a decade, the Telegraph first reported. It [...]