UK charges drag down profit at Santander October 30, 2019 Santander’s net profit slumped during the third-quarter as one-off charges in the UK blighted Europe’s biggest lender. The Spanish bank reported attributable profit of €501m (£432m) in the last three months, diving 75 per cent when compared to the same quarter a year ago. Read more: UK banking sector coughs up £40bn in tax Brexit [...]
Single cyber attack on Asian-Pacific ports could cost $110bn October 30, 2019 A single cyber attack on Asia-Pacific ports could cost as much as $110bn (£85bn), Lloyd’s of London has claimed. The historic insurance market has published a report warning that the global economy is unprepared for a scenario in which an extreme computer virus could infect 15 ports across Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and China. [...]
‘It can’t get any worse’: What City workers think of another General Election October 29, 2019 It’s that time again: Britain is on course for another General Election, after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced he was ready to fight the “most radical election ever”. But Brits have endured more than three years of uncertainty since the EU referendum, and few groups of workers have felt the effects of it more sharply [...]
Shop Direct could fail unless £150m is found, auditor warns October 28, 2019 Shop Direct, the UK retail group owned by the Barclay brothers, could collapse unless it finds £150m to cover the costs of payment protection insurance (PPI) compensation, its auditor has warned. Read more: Media veteran David Montgomery weighing up Telegraph bid The Littlewoods.com and Very.co.uk owner last week revealed it had seen higher-than-expected demand for [...]
City Moves for 28 October – Who’s switching jobs at Huntswood, Knight Frank and Dentons? October 28, 2019 Today’s City Moves includes Huntswood, Knight Frank and Dentons Huntswood Regulatory advisory and specialist resourcing firm Huntswood has announced the appointment of Paul Dyer as its new head of regulatory risk. As an expert on the UK’s complex regulatory landscape, Paul has a wealth of experience developing regulatory, risk and compliance practices for organisations within [...]
Tory donor acquires stake in former Virgin Money chief’s fintech startup Snoop October 25, 2019 A Conservative Party donor has acquired a stake in the technology business of former Virgin Money chief executive Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia. Lord Brownlow’s investment vehicle, Havisham assets, has bought a £5m share in Snoop according to Sky News, alongside Salesforce Ventures, which Jayne-Anne recently joined as UK and Ireland chief. Read more: Self-driving startup Fiveai [...]
Four things we learned from Barclays results October 25, 2019 Barclays delivered a mixed set of results for the third quarter today, with strong performance in its controversial investment bank outweighed by a massive £1.4bn PPI claims hit. These are the top four takeaways from Barclays results today. Barclays was not expecting PPI ‘avalanche’ Barclays otherwise strong third quarter results were torpedoed by a whopping [...]
Investment banking boost helps Barclays despite £1.4bn PPI charge October 25, 2019 Barclays has confirmed a £1.4bn hit to its balance sheet following a rush of payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. The British bank also warned that a gloomy global economic outlook could make it harder to hit profit targets despite posting a double-digit rise in pre-tax profit for its third quarter today. Read more: Amazon shares [...]
Litigation finance comes of age October 24, 2019 Once the preserve of hedge funds and other large institutions, private investors can now share in the potential high returns offered by litigation finance. The UK’s first litigation crowdfunding platform, AxiaFunder, which launched in January, enables primarily high-net-worth and sophisticated investors to provide funding to claimants who can’t afford to pay for their legal disputes. [...]
Half a million UK homes face £114 energy bill hike October 24, 2019 Half a million households will be hit with a £114 rise in energy bills if they do not switch provider over the next three months. New research by price comparison website comparethemarket.com shows that there are 213 fixed energy tariffs ending this year. Read more: Competition watchdog to examine £500m Ovo Energy SSE deal If [...]