UK bank shares rise on optimism about lockdown easing June 3, 2020 Shares in major UK banks rose today on increased optimism about lockdown measures easing globally. HSBC shares rose 2.2 per cent to 393p, Lloyds Banking Group shares rose nearly 4.7 per cent to 33.4p, Barclays shares rose nearly 2.5 per cent to 122p, Royal Bank of Scotland shares rose 2.6 per cent to 123p and [...]
BoE’s Andrew Bailey tells UK banks to up preparations for no-deal Brexit June 3, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has reportedly told UK banks to ramp up their preparations for a no-deal Brexit as the UK sticks to its target to strike a deal before the end of the year. Bailey told British lenders to accelerate their planning for a no-deal Brexit scenario in a call yesterday, according [...]
Mass US protests over George Floyd killing rage for eighth straight day June 3, 2020 Large-scale protests continued for the eighth straight day in the US yesterday, with peaceful demonstrators defying curfews and some areas seeing the return of violence as the country was rocked by the police killing of black man George Floyd. In Washington DC, more than 1,000 protestors remained outside near the White House past the 7pm [...]
Crypto markets gearing up for institutional money June 2, 2020 Prime brokers are the key to institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies and digital assets – but are they ready for prime time? Current estimates place the number of crypto hedge funds in the hundreds, and recent research from PwC revealed that assets managed by these funds doubled in the last year alone. With more and more [...]
Banks warn up to half of ‘bounce back’ borrowers could default June 1, 2020 UK banks have reportedly warned that up to half of the government’s “bounce back loans” are unlikely to be repaid. Senior bankers have estimated between 40 and 50 per cent of the bounce back borrowers could default on the debt, according to a report by the Financial Times. As businesses brace for a slow economic [...]
Ex-Sage chief Stephen Kelly appointed chair of Tech Nation May 31, 2020 The former boss of Sage Group Stephen Kelly has been appointed the chair of technology industry body Tech Nation. Kelly succeeds Eileen Burbidge, partner at technology venture capital firm Passion Capital, who stepped down in January after four and a half years at the helm. Kelly led the turnaround of enterprise software company Sage Group [...]
What are negative interest rates and will the UK turn to them? May 22, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey this week said he has changed his mind on negative interest rates, saying the BoE is keeping them under “active review”. President Donald Trump has repeatedly made clear that he is a fan of negative rates, and wants the US to have them as it deals with the coronavirus [...]
Lloyds suspends job cuts until October amid coronavirus crisis May 22, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group said today it has suspended all job cuts until October to help employees through the coronavirus crisis. City A.M. revealed last month that staff already going through redundancy processes feared the bank would leave them jobless at the height of the pandemic. Lloyds had previously suspended all new job cuts, but those [...]
Coronavirus loans hit £22bn, but just 50 per cent of CBILS lending approved May 19, 2020 UK banks have only approved 50 per cent of applications to the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS), data showed today, even as overall lending hit £22bn. CBILS lending data showed British lenders have distributed that cash to more than half a million UK companies, with over £14bn lent out in the form of bounce [...]
Sir James Dyson tops rich list as coronavirus hits mega-wealthy May 17, 2020 Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has climbed to the top of the Sunday Times’ annual rich list, which saw the combined wealth of its 1,000 constituents fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dyson, who takes the top spot for the first time, saw his net worth increase by £3.6bn in the last year, despite a £500m [...]