In a face off against FinTech, traditional face-to-face banks must become more bespoke than ever March 19, 2021 There’s no doubt digital banking is in demand. Last year, $4.1bn was invested into FinTech in the UK, accounting for just under half of Europe’s FinTech investment. Since lockdown began this has continued to grow, with a 72 per cent rise in the use of FinTech apps in Europe as a result of pandemic restrictions. [...]
Post-Covid offices will become cultural hubs and even art galleries to tempt staff back to the office February 24, 2021 “Ditch the desks and ditch the boardroom! Tell your people to bring their trunks and they will love working for you.” So said Robert Dowling, CEO of Deanlow Consulting in Ontario in 2016, after revealing that his employees spent their days paddling around a company swimming pool with laptops to promote creative thinking. We’re five [...]
Shortlist announced for London’s top environmental awards January 29, 2021 The City of London Corporation has revealed the 10 Square Mile businesses shortlisted in the capital’s top environmental gongs – the Clean City Awards. The scheme, now in its 26th year, rewards businesses leading the way in improving their environmental performance – be it by reducing plastic use, taking action to cut carbon emissions or by boosting recycling. [...]
Investments climb back to pre-pandemic levels with cash reserves playing key role January 5, 2021 Despite economic pressures and a recession looming, nearly half of corporates and large SMEs expect business investment to return to pre-crisis levels by the end of this year as business gets back to normal. According to a new survey shared exclusively with City A.M. today, just 16 per cent expect to take three years or [...]
Bank of England set to hold policy amid Brexit and lockdown uncertainty December 16, 2020 The Bank of England is set to leave interest rates on hold when it announces monetary policy tomorrow, according to analysts, after expanding its bond-buying programme sharply last month. Economists said there was little reason for the Bank to act. The latest lockdown measures have not been as damaging as feared, while the BoE asset-purchase [...]
Investec reinstates dividend despite plunging profits November 19, 2020 Investec has reinstated its interim dividend even after a “difficult and volatile” year for markets which saw its profits plunge. The Anglo-South African firm declared an interim dividend of 5.5 pence per share, down from 11 pence. It halted dividend payouts on the guidance of UK and South African regulators amid the pandemic. Total operating [...]
Weekly outlook, 16-20 November: will FTSE rally continue? November 15, 2020 After the best week for the FTSE 100 since April, investors will be keen to see if markets can keep the rally going, with a slew of heavyweights set to report. Last Monday Pfizer’s announcement that its vaccine was 90 per cent effective in treating the coronavirus disease sent stocks soaring. Traders cheered the news, [...]
Four things to watch as the Bank of England sets interest rates November 4, 2020 The Bank of England’s group of interest rate-setters will announce their latest monetary policy decision tomorrow, albeit virtually. Since the last meeting in September, the government has announced a new month-long lockdown for England amid soaring coronavirus cases. Most analysts expect the Bank to launch more stimulus to support the economy during the winter. Here [...]
Digital wealth manager Nutmeg records eighth consecutive year of losses October 9, 2020 Digital wealth manager Nutmeg recorded losses of £21m last year as it struggled to break even for the eighth year in a row. Accounts for the year to the end of December 2019, filed on Companies House today, show Nutmeg made a loss of £21.2m, deepening last year’s losses of £18.4m. This comes even as [...]
Ex-Bell Pottinger chief vows to contest potential boardroom ban September 24, 2020 Former Bell Pottinger chief executive James Henderson has vowed to fight a potential boardroom ban looming over him in the wake of the PR firm’s high-profile collapse in 2017. Henderson faces a director disqualification hearing alongside former Bell Pottinger colleagues Victoria Geoghegan and Nick Lambert, according to court documents. The public relations firm fell into [...]