Mortgage approvals pick up but consumer loans lose pace August 30, 2011 LENDERS approved the highest number of mortgages since May 2010 last month, but growth in consumer borrowing slowed more severely than expected, according to Bank of England figures. The Bank said 49,239 mortgages were approved in July, rising from an upwardly revised 48,500 in June. Gross lending secured on dwellings stood at £11.3bn last month, [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS August 30, 2011 HSBC Private Bank HSBC Private Bank has appointed Katharine Brace as associate director on the media and entertainment team. Brace, who will report to Nick Price, managing director and global head of the media and entertainment group, joins from Barclays Wealth, where she was a vice president in the sports, media and entertainment team. Prior [...]
Miners and bankers lead rush to share in European success August 30, 2011 BRITAIN’S top shares advanced yesterday, playing catch-up with Europe after a long holiday weekend, led by miners and banks as brokers argued that the recent stock market sell-off has thrown up bargains in the two sectors. JP Morgan highlighted opportunities among miners following their poor performance in August, seeing rewards for those prepared to buy [...]
Greek banks merger leads market rally August 29, 2011 SHARES in two of Greece’s major lenders soared yesterday after they announced plans for a full-scale merger that will create the region’s biggest bank by assets. Alpha Bank and EFG Eurobank saw their stock leap 26 per cent and 29 per cent respectively, with their rivals’ share prices also rising as investors welcomed the prospect [...]
Bank launches renewables fund August 29, 2011 More than one third of farmers want to install renewable energy projects on their farmland, most of them within the next year, and hope to generate average returns of £25,000 per year, UK bank Barclays said. The bank’s business arm yesterday launched a £100m fund to help farmers finance renewable energy projects as a growing [...]
Goldman cuts salaries for some bankers August 25, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs cut the salaries of a large number of its London-based bankers yesterday, ending a two-year period of higher pay begun in 2009 in response to tough new bonus rules. Goldman invoked a clause in the bankers’ contracts to cut their base salaries after two years at a higher rate that was seen as [...]
Barclays cuts a further 140 jobs in savings drive August 25, 2011 BARCLAYS is cutting 140 jobs in its corporate business arm as part of the bank’s plan to slash costs and bring its five divisions closer together. Around 40 voluntary and 100 compulsory redundancies will be in the UK infrastructure operations for Barclays Corporate, which is being brought closer together with the Barclays Capital arm. The [...]
FTSE ends in the red as hopes of intervention from Fed wane August 25, 2011 BRITAIN’S FTSE 100 fell yesterday, snapping three days of gains as investor hopes dwindled that Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke would signal more stimulus measures and a rumour about a German short-selling ban triggered profit taking. The blue chip index fell deep into the red on talk a short selling ban may be enacted in [...]
CLEAN-UP BORIS PUTS HIS HAND IN HIS POCKET August 24, 2011 CONFIDENCE is returning to the streets of London, says Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who yesterday launched the High Street Fund to help small businesses affected by the riots with “immediate cash flow assistance”. “In August, we have been reminded of some truths about London,” said the mayor as he launched the fund at City [...]
Tesco Bank’s director quits August 24, 2011 TESCO director Andrew Higginson is quitting the company in a year’s time – leaving a hole in its plans to expand its banking services. Higginson led the retailer’s move into banking and was at the heart of the company’s strategy under former chief executive Sir Terry Leahy. He was also seen as contender to succeed [...]