UK Finance chair Bob Wigley: We need to create ‘reasons for banks to be in London’ July 4, 2022 Bob Wigley, a seasoned City veteran, knows a thing or two about banking. He has chaired UK Finance, the British banking sector’s representative body, since its creation in 2017 by condensing several lobby groups into one. He was also instrumental in setting up TheCityUK, spent over a decade with investment banking giant Merrill Lynch and [...]
UK banks’ profits surge past French rivals for first time since before Brexit vote July 4, 2022 Profits at Britain’s banks have topped their French counterparts for the first time since before the Brexit vote, reveals a fresh study published today. The UK’s largest lenders posted pre-tax profits of $55.1bn (£45.6bn) last year, slightly higher than the $54.8bn (£45.3bn) registered by French banks, according to The Banker’s annual top 1,000 world bank [...]
Turbulent market pushes government to extend timeline for selling NatWest stake June 22, 2022 The UK has extending its trading timeline for when it will finally sell its taxpayer stake in NatWest by another year, as economic conditions worsen. In a statement this morning, the government said it will only dispose of its remaining 48.5 per cent share in NatWest “when it represents value for money to do so [...]
Exclusive: Revolut boss criticises FCA over sluggish progress on banking licence June 15, 2022 The founder of fintech giant Revolut has criticised the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after the firm’s progress towards a full banking licence had been "slower” than expected.
London outpaces UK growth in May but signs of hard times begin to emerge June 13, 2022 LONDON’S businesses outperformed the rest of the UK in May but there are signs staff shortages and inflation are starting to bite, according to a closely-watched business activity index. Natwest’s monthly tracker of both manufacturing and services suggests London’s businesses continued to expand last month but at the slowest rate since the ‘pingdemic’ last year. [...]
Swelling of ‘generation rent’ means many won’t be homeowners until 40s, 50s or even pension age June 8, 2022 Almost 15 per cent of renters think they may be picking up their pension before becoming homeowners, as the cost of living crisis continues to eat into savings. With so-called ‘Generation Rent’ continuing to be impacted by soaring house prices that prevents them from getting onto the property ladder, a new survey commissioned for NatWest [...]
What impact could Monkeypox have on the FTSE 100? June 6, 2022 Defensive stocks Fortunately for the FTSE 100, oil majors BP and Shell are profiting from the rising price of Brent Crude. Likewise, the big four banks —HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest — are seeing profit spikes with every base rate increase. With CPI inflation at 9% and rising, many more could be on the way. And [...]
Ex-banker turned GoCardless president Paul Stoddart talks fintech, Brexit, pandemic recovery and Russia May 28, 2022 At the start of this month, Paul Stoddart jumped ship to become the president of the newly-minted fintech unicorn GoCardless. Stoddart, who describes himself as a “banker by trade,” spent years at Natwest, Barclays, and was most recently the chairman of Mastercard’s VocaLink. In an exclusive interview with City A.M., Stoddart said that joining GoCardless [...]
NatWest offers customers chance to win £1,000 this summer via ’round up’ feature May 27, 2022 People saving with NatWest could win £1,000 this summer if they turn on a “round ups” feature on their account. The bank said it will award 10 customers £1,000 each. The round ups feature rounds up the cost of a purchase to the nearest pound and the spare change is automatically paid into a chosen [...]
Digital Asset Economy Fuels Instant Settlements Innovation May 26, 2022 Today the always-on demands of online markets have to be matched with the ability to access opportunities instantly and with no limits. Historically correspondent banks would move large sums of money for those needing to transfer funds while creating bottlenecks of unnecessary friction. Innovations such as shared ledger transactions for institutional investors and traders are [...]