Trader convicted of rigging Libor to be released from prison in January November 2, 2020 Tom Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader convicted of rigging the Libor benchmark, is to be released from prison in January after more than five years. Hayes, who was convicted of rigging the London interbank offered rate (or Libor) in 2015, will be released on 29 January, according to his lawyer. The 41-year-old has [...]
Watchdog extends loan payment holidays ahead of second lockdown November 2, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog will extend payment holidays on credit cards, car finance, personal loans and pawnbroking ahead of a second coronavirus lockdown in England. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that consumers who had not yet had a payment deferral under guidance issued in July would be able to request a payment holiday lasting [...]
Sainsbury’s mulls sale of banking division October 31, 2020 The new Sainsbury’s boss is reportedly planning a sale of the supermarket’s banking arm as the impact of near-zero interest rates hit. The supermarket launched the bank in 1997 and now boasts more than 2m customers across a range of products including mortgages, home insurance and credit cards. But medium-sized banks are facing pressure as [...]
Negative rates explained: should UK investors prepare? October 30, 2020 The UK’s banks received a letter from the Bank of England (BoE) this week which has brought negative interest rates back into the headlines. The letter, published here, asked banks how ready they would be if the Bank of England base rate – which currently sits at 0.10% – moved into negative territory. The letter, signed [...]
Natwest returns to profit as virus loan charges fall October 30, 2020 Natwest returned to profit during the third quarter, reporting forecast-beating earnings after setting aside a smaller-than-expected sum to deal with bad loans due to the coronavirus pandemic. Natwest posted an operating profit before tax of £355m for the three months to September on an income of £1.9bn. The figure beat the bank-compiled analyst estimates of [...]
Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom October 29, 2020 Lloyds posted a forecast-beating profit for the third quarter as Britain’s biggest domestic lender cashed in booming demand for mortgages and set aside a smaller amount to cover bad loans. The bank returned to profitability in the three months to September after posting an unexpected loss in the first half. Lloyds reported a pre-tax profit [...]
Banks hike mortgage interest rates amid boom in applicants October 24, 2020 Banks are reportedly hiking mortgage interest rates in order to deter prospective buyers as they struggle to meet a spike in demand for home loans amid a buoyant housing market. Lenders are turning away mortgage business as the ability to process applications has been slowed by home-working during the coronavirus pandemic. The housing market has [...]
FCA says 12 million people in UK will struggle to pay bills October 22, 2020 Some 12 million people in Britain are likely to struggle with bills or loan repayments amid the continued economic disruption triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said. A survey by the watchdog found that 12 million people in the UK had low financial resilience, and that two million of those people [...]
Metro Bank loans rise as capital remains below regulators’ expectations October 21, 2020 Metro Bank today reported a two per cent hike in lending for the third quarter, as the British bank warned its capital remained below buffers set out by regulators following a significant hit from the pandemic. Loans handed out by the bank climbed to £15.09bn in the three months to 30 September, up two per [...]
McLaren boss says operating costs now ‘break even’ following fundraising and redundancies, and downplays second wave fears October 19, 2020 McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt has described his “horrible” 2020 in an exclusive interview with City A.M., but says he is “cautiously optimistic” despite the second wave of coronavirus. Flewitt was forced to make 1,200 redundancies – almost a quarter of the company’s 4,000-strong workforce – and carry out a sale and lease-back of the McLaren [...]