Why interest rates predictions have suddenly shifted July 11, 2017 Pressure is building for interest rates to be raised in the UK following a surge in inflation to a five-year high. Why are there fresh calls for rate rise? The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) is tasked with keeping inflation at around 2% in the years ahead. But the consumer prices index (CPI) [...]
The Little Big Short: Subprime car loans could be fuelling the next financial crash July 11, 2017 Lenders are forgetting the lessons of the past. Those are the words of Mark Carney on the rapid growth of the car finance industry. It’s a decade since the financial crisis brought institutions around the world to their knees, triggered by a meltdown in subprime mortgages. Yet here we are again – the only [...]
RBS’ mis-selling fine is certain to highlight American hypocrisy, Worldpay’s bid invitation and no rush for the new Ofcom chair July 7, 2017 It was hard to suppress a laugh last week at the sanctimonious angst of corporate America at the fine doled out by Brussels over Google’s anti-competitive behaviour by favouring its shopping service over those of rivals. Those Europeans, came the wailing from across the Atlantic, are extracting money from flagship US companies with little justification. [...]
Revealed: Monzo’s annual report and the 6 things we learned about the digital challenger bank July 5, 2017 Monzo has released its annual report, revealing how the fintech business is doing. Here's what we learned… 1. It's u-turning on lending Monzo told City A.M. last year that it would be concentrating solely on the current account, with no plans to expand into traditional banking products. Clearly, things have changed. It will now start [...]
High London house prices are not a bubble waiting to burst July 5, 2017 History is replete with examples of financial bubbles, from Dutch ‘Tulipmania’ in the 1630s and the South Sea bubble of 1720, through to the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the dot com boom and bust at the turn of the twentieth century. Could London house prices be the next big bubble to burst? To [...]
Three-quarters of millennial graduates will never pay off their student loan July 5, 2017 Millennials want mobile-friendly banking and fixed rate mortgages, but many are overwhelmed with student debt, as a slew of new reports out today has shed light on the finances of the UK’s young people. Three quarters of graduates since 2011 will never pay off their full student loan, while high earners can expect to pay [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]
Are car loans a slow-motion car crash? June 29, 2017 The car industry understandably attracts a lot of attention in the financial press. Although the sector is small compared to giant sectors like financials and technology, cars are culturally relevant in a way that banks are not. The auto industry is involved in areas of exciting technological change, such as electric cars and autonomous driving. [...]
Insurance sector readies for soaring M&A (merger and acquisition) activity as firms look to spend surplus capital following Solvency II Directive June 12, 2017 A surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and share buybacks could sweep Europe’s insurance sector this year, as firms look to put surplus capital to work. According to a survey of chief financial officers conducted by Moody’s Investors Service, low interest rates remained the single biggest worry in the sector. The results gathered opinion in [...]
Big four UK banks on the mend after racking up £66bn of charges in six years, says S&P Global report June 8, 2017 The UK’s big four banking groups have racked up £66bn of conduct and litigation charges in the last six years, a new report out today has estimated. But analysts at S&P Global Ratings expect 2016 will “prove to be the last year in which charges remain at the outsized levels we have seen recently”. The [...]