From law changes to Lloyds: How the PPI scandal has developed over time October 26, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group today revealed it had put an additional £1bn aside to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims it predicted would come its way over the next few years. Here's how we got to today's announcement: 2005: There had been various murmurs from the media that all was not right in the world of PPI selling [...]
Lloyds Banking Group shares recover as profits slide and it puts £1bn aside for PPI claims October 26, 2016 Lloyds shares recovered from a drop this morning, after the bank revealed profits tumbled during its third quarter – and it set more money aside to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims. The figures Statutory pre-tax profits dropped to £811m for the three months to September, down 15 per cent from £958m the year before. Net interest income also [...]
The devil you know, the devil you don’t: How to protect your investments whoever wins the US election October 25, 2016 As polling day draws near, it is regrettable that the contest to become the 45th President of the United States has been more about personality than policy. The campaign has been distinguished on one side by preposterous promises to suspend the entry of Muslims into the country and build a hard border with Mexico, and [...]
Saudi Arabia’s bonds have broken the record for an emerging market issue, but are they good value? October 25, 2016 With three huge sovereign bond debuts, this has been a bumper year for emerging market government debt issues. First came Argentina, with a record-breaking $16.5bn (£13.5bn) sale in April, followed the next month by a $9bn issue from Qatar – double the amount it had originally planned for. Both were overawed last week, however, when [...]
US government argues MetLife is “too big to fail” October 24, 2016 A US government lawyer argued in the federal appeal court yesterday that regulators were right to designate life insurance firm MetLife as “too big to fail”. The Financial Stability Oversight Council decided MetLife was a “systemically important financial institution” in December 2014 – a measure put in place after the financial crash of 2008. Read [...]
UK banks get ready to report third quarter results, with forecasts of non-core dragging on profits at Barclays and pension problems predicted at Lloyds October 23, 2016 All eyes will be on the banking sector this week, as big players get set to reveal their third quarter results. Lloyds will be reporting on Wednesday, followed by Barclays on Thursday and Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday. Analysts have predicted Barclays will announce profits before tax for the group of £1.3bn, compared with [...]
Top industry representative warns banks could start leaving London before Christmas October 23, 2016 London's biggest banks could start leaving the capital within the next few months, according to one of the Square Mile's most important figures. Anthony Browne, head of the British Bankers' Association (BBA), which represents the interests of UK-based lenders and investment banks, told The Guardian banks have already started contingency planning and the process of moving [...]
Credit Suisse and Italian authorities agree to settle after offshore transfer investigation October 21, 2016 Credit Suisse has paid €110m (£98m) to settle allegations by Italian prosecutors that it helped clients divert undisclosed funds to offshore bank accounts. Italian authorities believed that the Swiss bank had helped some 13,000 clients transfer up to €14bn abroad using certain insurance products. An investigation has been running since 2014 and under Italian law today's settlement does not constitute an [...]
Parcel delivery giant Hermes face HMRC inquiry after low-pay allegations October 20, 2016 Courier giant Hermes has been referred to HMRC following complaints that they are paying staff less than the national living wage. Employees at the firm, who deliver for John Lewis and Next, were taking home less than the national living wage once petrol costs were taken out, a recent investigation found. Hermes workers also said they received no holidays or [...]
Institute of Directors calls for tax overhaul to help startups soar October 20, 2016 Complications in the tax system are a blocker for startup firms to take on more staff and pitch bigger contracts, a new report has found. Research from the Institute for Directors (IoD), Prelude Group and Grant Thornton calls for an overhaul of the system to make it simpler, including recommendations to merge income tax and [...]