Banks not ready for negative interest rates, says Natwest chairman October 15, 2020 British banks are not ready to implement negative interest rates, the chairman of Natwest said today. “We’re not completely ready for it,” Howard Davies said during an interview. “There would be technical issues and many contractual issues.” The chairman said he was not in favour of negative rates being introduced, telling Bloomberg Radio there was [...]
HSBC to set aside $1 trillion in green financing, targets net zero emissions by 2050 October 9, 2020 HSBC will target net zero carbon emissions across its entire customer base by 2050 at the latest, and provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion in financing to help clients make the transition, its Chief Executive Noel Quinn has said. In the strongest statement by Europe’s biggest bank on climate change to date, its CEO [...]
Staff at British banks ‘forced to turn off NHS Covid tracing app at work’ October 8, 2020 Branch staff at some of the UK’s biggest banks say they are being put at risk by rules that require them to keep their phones in lockers at work, leaving them unable to use the NHS Covid-19 contact tracing app. Lloyds and TSB are among the lenders advising employees in branch to deactivate the contact [...]
Majority of UK businesses to scrap working from home post-pandemic October 8, 2020 More than two-thirds of UK businesses plan to scrap working from home beyond the pandemic, the latest official figures showed, as the number of commuters continues to escalate despite government orders. Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that 67 per cent of more than 24,500 British businesses surveyed said they [...]
Prepare for Libor’s demise, City regulator tells markets October 7, 2020 Financial markets need to prepare themselves for regulatory announcements about the Libor benchmark interest rate ceasing at the end of next year, the City watchdog said. “Market participants need to be ready for announcements later this year setting out what will happen at the end of 2021,” the FCA’s director of markets, Edwin Schooling Latter, [...]
Workplace stress reaches ‘record height’ during pandemic October 7, 2020 2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce, according to a new report, as working from home and the threat of redundancy begin to take their toll on employees’ mental health. A survey of more than 12,000 employees, managers, and top executives across 11 countries found that the pandemic has [...]
Microsoft boss warns against rapid transition to working from home October 6, 2020 Microsoft’s chief executive has warned against the total transition to working from home during the pandemic, saying it would be “replacing one dogma with another dogma”. Satya Nadella, who has served at the helm of Microsoft since 2014, said it was “best not to get overly dogmatic” about where employees can work, despite the world’s [...]
FTSE 100 dividend payouts fall to lowest level in nearly a decade September 29, 2020 Dividend payouts by FTSE 100 firms have dropped to their lowest point in nearly a decade as the pandemic forces companies to slash payments. Dividend payments for FTSE 100 firms are forecast to plunge 24 per cent this year, according to AJ Bell. It follows an 11 per cent drop in 2019, leaving the total [...]
Exclusive: MPs slam ‘inconsistency and incompetence’ as SMEs struggle to get bounce back loans September 28, 2020 Banks have been told to ensure that no small businesses are “locked out” of government-backed coronavirus loans, after firms were left unable to access the loans despite being eligible for funding. MPs said lenders accredited under the scheme should re-open applications for bounce back loans (BBLs), designed to help small companies weather the pandemic. Barclays [...]
Natwest and Lloyds signal willingness to bring back dividends September 27, 2020 Two of the UK’s largest banks have indicated that they are ready to restart paying dividends as the Bank of England prepares to review its ban on shareholder payouts. Executives at Natwest and Lloyds have hinted at the strength of their balance sheets, with Natwest chairman Howard Davies saying lenders would resume paying dividends if [...]