From Industrialized Yield Farming to Hydroponics December 16, 2020 Over the course of 2020 the liquidity locked in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols has grown in rapid fashion with use cases such as crypto-backed lending, decentralized exchanges (DEX’s) and insurance bringing the Total Value Locked (TVL) in DeFi to its current peak ~$15 billion with the majority of this capital existing on the Ethereum blockchain. [...]
Barclays fined £26m for mistreatment of customers in arrears December 15, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog has fined Barclays £26m for failures in its treatment of customers who fell into financial difficulties. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that Barclays had mistreated some retail and small business customers who fell into arrears between April 2014 and December 2018. Read more: Parlez-vous Français? Paris’ finance sector gets ready [...]
UK housing market ‘to grow four per cent’ in 2021 December 14, 2020 British house prices are set to grow an average of four per cent in 2021, according to property website Rightmove, despite the looming end of a tax break and forecasts of rising unemployment. Rightmove said asking prices for property first advertised between 8 November and 5 December were 6.6 per cent higher than a year [...]
EU banks losing appetite for exposure to Brexit Britain December 12, 2020 Banks in the European Union may be losing their appetite for exposure to Britain, the EU’s banking watchdog said yesterday. There are concerns in the bloc that a no-deal Brexit, which is looking increasingly likely, could disrupt financial markets. Britain will stop having full access to the EU after 31 December, and many banks in [...]
UK construction industry sees biggest rise in orders since 2014 – PMI December 4, 2020 By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s construction industry grew faster than expected last month, boosted by the strongest orders since 2014 amid a boom in house prices, a survey showed on Friday. The IHS Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 54.7 in November from 53.1 in October, its strongest since July and [...]
Nationwide profits resilient despite coronavirus hit November 20, 2020 Building society Nationwide reported a resilient performance in the first half year with profits stable, despite a £139m impairment charge. The lender reported a 17 per cent rise in pretax profit from £309m to £361m, despite a £139m provision for loans that may not be repaid due to the pandemic. Net lending for the six [...]
From ‘haves’ to ‘have-nots’: how COVID-19 is swelling UK’s subprime ranks November 18, 2020 By Sinead Cruise and Iain Withers LONDON (Reuters) – One morning, after years of financial prudence and solid creditworthiness, you wake up and it’s all gone. You’re no longer worthy. You’re a risk. In fact, you’re sub-prime. That is the fate facing thousands of Britons who, often for no fault of their own, could begin [...]
Co-op Bank narrows losses but remains deep in the red November 6, 2020 The Co-operative Bank narrowed its losses in the third quarter, putting the lender on course for a better year than in 2019, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The bank’s statutory loss before tax in the third quarter was £23.5m, it said in a trading update today. That was down sharply from a loss of £80.1m in [...]
Separatist Scots beware: A new Scottish currency would be catastrophic November 5, 2020 Some 12 out of the last 15 opinion polls on Scottish secession have shown majority support for splitting up the United Kingdom. During a period of unprecedented crisis, Scots have chosen to rally round the flag — only this time the flag is that of Scotland, not the UK. However, while polling numbers may be unnerving [...]
Lloyds ramps up cost-cutting measures, axing 1,000 more jobs November 4, 2020 Lloyds is set to axe over 1,000 jobs, as Britain’s biggest domestic lender ramps up cost-cutting efforts despite returning to profitability during the third quarter. Lloyds will cut 1,070 roles across its commercial and retail bank and has announced plans to create 340 new positions. Read more: Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom [...]