Coronavirus: Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC and RBS suspend dividends March 31, 2020 Barclays, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group said tonight they are suspending dividend payments this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The banks said they had taken the decision after a request from the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA also said it expected the banks to suspend [...]
Nationwide pulls sales of mortgages for small deposit holders March 31, 2020 Nationwide is temporarily pulling its mortgage offering for low-deposit borrowers including first-time buyers as Britain’s biggest building society grapples with the impact of coronavirus on the housing market. Nationwide said that from Tuesday it would withdraw all fixed-rate and tracker mortgages above 75% loan-to-value (LTV) from sale for remortgage, first-time buyers, and new house purchases. [...]
Let’s work together to make work experience more rewarding March 31, 2020 Any student who’s ever spent a week getting coffee, photocopying, or doing research that is immediately thrown into the recycling knows that our current work experience system doesn’t work. It’s elitist, nepotistic, and formal work experience programmes tend to only be offered in very “establishment” industries: law, banking, consulting. And yet it’s still a vital [...]
UK banks likely to review dividends amid coronavirus crisis March 30, 2020 British banks are likely to want to review their dividend plans for this year given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy, an industry body said today, as lenders come under increasing pressure to scrap dividends. “Given current uncertainties and the importance of finance providers being able to play their vital role in [...]
Barclays outlines new climate policy amid mounting pressure from activists March 30, 2020 Barclays said it plans to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and will only provide financing to projects aligned with the Paris Agreement climate goals. The London-based bank said it will table a resolution on its new climate policy for shareholders to vote on at its annual general meeting (AGM) in [...]
New FCA boss to hold crisis coronavirus meeting with banks March 29, 2020 The interim boss of the City watchdog is set to hold crisis talks tomorrow with the Bank of England and the heads of the high street banks to try and plot a course through the economic chaos triggered by coronavirus. Chris Woolard said he wanted the industry to work out how to protect people unable [...]
Coronavirus: Pursue profit at all costs or stand by your staff? The world has its eye on business March 26, 2020 How times have changed. It is remarkable to think that it was just eight weeks ago that business and political leaders from around the world gathered in the Alpine town of Davos. The 50th World Economic Forum was dominated by discussion of the climate crisis, global trade and artificial intelligence. US President Donald Trump declared [...]
Bank of England cancels stress tests over coronavirus March 20, 2020 The Bank of England has cancelled this year’s stress test of major banks in Britain, saying it could be hard to implement new global capital rules while lenders are focused on supporting customer lending amid the coronavirus pandemic. The central bank’s decision to scrap the test of the UK’s eight top banks comes after the [...]
Coronavirus: Joules scraps dividend as sales fall March 19, 2020 High street retailer Joules has cancelled its dividend payment in a bid to save cash as sales plunge due to coronavirus. Joules said the decision to scrap its proposed interim dividend will save the firm £700,000 as it attempts to “manage the near term challenges” caused by the outbreak. The brand has suffered a decline [...]
IR35: Businesses welcome delay, but many have already cut contractors March 18, 2020 Businesses may have welcomed the delay of the IR35 reforms but some have already laid off contractors and abandoned projects in anticipation of the changes. Last night, chief treasury secretary Steve Barclay announced that the tax reforms would be pushed back by one year, less than a week after the measures were confirmed in the [...]