The UK’s car buyers might be beginning to forgive Volkswagen April 6, 2016 Forget this month's Tesla mania. It seems the UK's car buyers finally forgiving and forgetting: after a tough(ish) few months for the marque in the UK, in March sales inched up – but only by a tiny bit. The figures, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), suggested the brand sold 38,394 vehicles in March, 0.02 [...]
City heavyweights join shadow business secretary Angela Eagle to decide the corporate winners of this year’s LGBT Awards April 6, 2016 Distinguished business figures met in the capital today to decide the British LGBT Awards corporate winners The judging panel, made up illustrious names across the banking, finance and legal sectors, met up with shadow business secretary Angela Eagle to pick out winners for an array of gongs that praise the hard work done by Square Mile staffers [...]
EU referendum: Will the Dutch referendum impact on the UK’s EU vote? April 6, 2016 After more than 450,000 people signed a petition, the Netherlands will today turn up to the polls in a referendum of their own on the EU-Ukraine deal. Just weeks before the UK's referendum, the vote on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement has the potential to send shockwaves through Europe. Indeed, if the Netherlands votes against the agreement in [...]
Lawyer for the Serious Fraud Office urges courtroom not to overcomplicate Libor and to focus on the issue of honesty April 5, 2016 A lawyer representing the UK’s fraud squad in the latest Libor trial today urged a courtroom not to mystify Libor and instead focus on the defendants’ dishonesty. In his opening argument for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), James Hines QC told those at the trial of five former Barclays bankers that “the most important element of [...]
Barclays share price slides as it warns on investment banking performance in the first quarter April 5, 2016 The board of Barclays "does not expect as strong a performance from its investment banking operations" as it experienced in March last year, the bank has warned. In a statement this afternoon, the bank said while income in January and February this year were "broadly in line" with its performances last year, current market conditions [...]
Barclays customers can now use Apple Pay… finally April 5, 2016 It's been a long old wait, but Barclays has finally jumped on board the Apple Pay bandwagon. Barclays is the last of the major banks to support Apple Pay in the UK, letting customers pay with just the swipe of their iPhone or Apple Watch. “Since we introduced contactless to the UK in 2007, it’s [...]
Bankers prepare for job losses as optimism falls to lows not seen since the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis April 4, 2016 British bankers are bracing themselves for the largest round of job cuts since the height of the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis as banks struggle to find their way back to profitability and optimism over future earnings shrinks. Bankers fear the axe is set to fall mostly on bloated back office operations, IT departments and in [...]
Libor scandal round 3: It’s crunch time for the UK’s fraud squad as it heads to court for the third UK Libor trial April 3, 2016 The Serious Fraud Office is gearing up for a crunch trial today as it heads to court in the latest instalment of the Libor rigging saga. The under-pressure fraud squad's war on financial misconduct will continue at Southwark Crown Court, with the trial of five former Barclays bankers accused of US-dollar pegged Libor rigging. The SFO will [...]
Cybersecurity: The steps every board member and C-suite professional should be taking now April 1, 2016 Cybercrime is as natural and irresistible a force of digital socioeconomic life as earthquakes are to the physical world. Left unaddressed, vulnerabilities in cybersecurity can hamper the pace of digital innovation, batter shareholder confidence and public trust, and ultimately open the ground beneath your feet, swallowing up your organisation. Overcoming the threat boils down to [...]
Co-op Bank kicks off search for new boss to replace Niall Booker, update expected with tomorrow’s results March 31, 2016 The troubled Co-op Bank has begun its search for a replacement for its outgoing chief executive Niall Booker, with top bankers at Barclays and Santander already approached for the role. Stephen Jones, who stepped down as Santander UK's chief financial officer several months ago, and at least one internal candidate are thought to have been shortlisted. [...]