Nationwide to lend first-time buyers five times their income on long-term mortgage April 20, 2021 First-time buyers with deposits as low as 10 per cent will be able to borrow five and a half times their income when taking out a longer-term mortgage, the UK’s biggest building society said this morning. Nationwide Building Society said that under its “helping hand” initiative, first-time buyers across the UK will have the option [...]
HSBC scraps executive floor in Canary Wharf in favour of hot-desking April 19, 2021 HSBC has scrapped the entire executive floor at its Canary Wharf headquarters in the latest change to its post-pandemic working practices. The 42nd floor, which was previously home to executives, will be used for client meeting rooms and collaborative spaces while top managers will hot desk on the open-plan 40th floor. “Our offices were empty [...]
Starling Bank secures £50m investment from Goldman Sachs April 19, 2021 Digital lender Starling Bank has extended its latest funding round with a £50m investment from Goldman Sachs. Last month it announced a £272m Series D funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research which valued it in excess of £1.1bn pre-money. Starling Bank today said Goldman Sachs investment marked an extension of the oversubscribed round, [...]
S&P 500 and Dow hit record highs on upbeat earnings April 15, 2021 The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes hit record highs on today, as upbeat earnings reports from companies including Bank of America and Blackrock as well as a strong rebound in March retail sales bolstered hopes of a broader economic rebound. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.64 points, or 0.17%, at the open to 33,788.53. The S&P 500 [...]
‘It’s the best city in the world’: Punters flock back to the Square Mile as lockdown eases April 12, 2021 Shoppers, pub-goers and those desperately in need of a haircut descended on the City of London today as lockdown restrictions eased. Today marks the first major change in the lockdown restrictions England has been living with since early January. Pubs gardens are now open, as well as restaurants with outdoor space and non-essential retail, although [...]
Banks start process to claw back billions from Covid loans April 12, 2021 Some of Britain’s biggest lenders have begun sending letters to customers, warning them that repayments for crisis loans will soon be expected. HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds have each begun sending letters to customers, the Mail on Sunday first revealed, with the first set repayments due to start in just two weeks. Banks handed out [...]
COP26: Is the City ready for its leading role in the fight against climate change? April 10, 2021 Windows were smashed at Barclays headquarters this week by climate activists who urged the bank to cut its climate destructive investments. Last week campaigners painted the Bank of England (BoE) black in a bid to raise the alarm on the institution’s funding of Big Oil. Where money goes within the City is under more scrutiny [...]
Wall Street hits record high after FTSE 100 ends first quarter in the red March 31, 2021 Wall Street has posted its fourth consecutive quarter of gains after tech stocks pushed the S&P 500 to a record high today. The S&P 500 closed up 0.57 per cent, just shy of hitting 4,000 points for the first time as hopes of economic recovery offset a spike in US Treasury yields and the collapse [...]
Lloyd’s of London chairman teases ‘exciting’ plans for famous underwriting room March 31, 2021 Staff at Lloyd’s of London could see more flexibility introduced into their working week post-pandemic, but the iconic underwriting room will remain a core part of the London’s insurance industry, according to the chairman of the insurance marketplace. The insurance marketplace will open its underwriting room on 17 May, in line with the government easing [...]
Hiring for bankers reaches three-year high March 31, 2021 Recruitment for bankers has hit a three-year high according to new data despite the double whammy of the pandemic and Brexit. Last month Britain’s top banks posted 1163 professional banking vacancies, according to research by Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft, a 43.9 per cent rise on the same period last year. Overall vacancies in the sector [...]