Barclays results: British bank expected to sell off African operations and pay former chief executive Antony Jenkins a £500k performance bonus as it announces full-year results this week February 28, 2016 Barclays' new chief executive Jes Staley is expected to announce plans to sell off the lender's African business when the British bank reports full-year results for 2015 on Tuesday. It was widely reported over the weekend that Barclays' board decided last week that it made sense strategically for the British bank to exit the continent and refocus [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index surges as banks’ share prices including Lloyds, RBS and Barclays rise February 25, 2016 The FTSE 100 index rocketed on Thursday as banking stocks surged, supported by the news that fourth quarter UK GDP was revised upwards to 0.5 per cent. The index closed 2.48 per cent higher at 6,012 points, led higher by Lloyds Banking Group and RSA Insurance Group. "European banks were the centre of market turmoil two [...]
Do you use the UK’s worst bank? Barclays voted the most disappointing bank – while First Direct is named top lender February 25, 2016 It's been a tough few months for the UK's lenders. And not one to miss a chance to kick a bank when it's down, Moneysavingexpert has unveiled its ranking of the UK's best and worst lenders – and it's not looking good for Barclays. The ranking put First Direct at the top, with 91 per cent of current account customers [...]
High Court dismisses application from Mishcon de Reya over KPMG’s handling of Barclays’s mis-selling of interest rate swaps compensation scheme February 25, 2016 Britain's biggest banks narrowly avoided a major legal challenge today, when a High Court judge dismissed a case relating to the mis-selling of rate swap products. The case could have had far-reaching implications for a multi-billion pound scheme to compensate victims of mis-sold interest rate swaps. But the High Court today dismissed an application from Mishcon de Reya to look [...]
Banks like Lloyds, Barclays and HSBC told to give up stakes in the UK’s payment systems to increase competition and innovation February 25, 2016 Britain's biggest banks have been told to ditch their stake in the core system which govern how the majority of payments in the UK, from salaries to bank transfers, are made in order to increase competition in the market. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds, HSBC and Santander are among 18 banks which collectively own Vocalink, the system underpinning [...]
Challenger banks: Moody’s says smaller lenders are poised to compete with Britain’s big banks for a share of the UK mortgage market February 25, 2016 British challenger banks are poised to compete with larger lenders for a share of the mortgage market, Moody’s Investors Service has said. In a new report out today, Moody’s said challengers are likely to use securitisation to compete for a bigger share of the UK mortgage market. “Increasing competition in the mortgage market driven by [...]
Oil price climbs as US demand outpaces supply February 24, 2016 Oil prices bounced this evening after US petrol demand over the past four weeks offset a rise in crude oil stockpiles. Demand for petrol soared by over five per cent compared to a year ago, while stockpiles of oil in the US rose by 3.5m barrels in the week, hitting an all-time high of over 507m barrels. [...]
At the close: FTSE 100 index closes higher as the oil price rises with banks’ and miners’ share prices including Anglo American and Glencore rising despite housebuilders and HSBC’s share price falling February 22, 2016 The FTSE 100 index closed higher today after the price of oil rose and there was a bounce-back in mining companies and banking shares. The UK's blue-chip index rose 1.47 per cent to 6,037 points, led higher by Glencore and Anglo American. "Rallying commodity prices from crude oil to copper have boosted the beaten up [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders despite fears of higher costs related to PPI claims February 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly getting ready to pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders, despite fears of further costs related to the mis-selling of loan insurance. The Sunday Times reported today that Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is attempting to convince regulators that the bailed-out bank has enough capital to afford the [...]
Barclays confirms investment bank chief executive Tom King will retire next month February 19, 2016 Tom King, the chief executive of Barclays's investment bank business, is retiring next month, the bank confirmed today. King's last day will be 4 March, according to Barclays. Commenting on his decision to retire, King said: "After nearly 25 years in my career, and having now seen the Investment Bank through a period of extraordinary change and [...]