MPs tell government to intervene if banks don’t do enough to halt branch closures May 13, 2019 The government or the financial watchdog should be ready to intervene if banks do not do enough to halt the closure of local branches, MPs have suggested. In its report into financial inclusion, the influential Treasury Select Committee (TSC) said the closure of local branches were more likely to affect older and more vulnerable customers and [...]
Deutsche Bank scandal: Courts still chasing billions through tax scams and carbon credits May 7, 2019 Major banks enabled fraudsters to steal billions of pounds of public money through VAT scams, according to documents obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. A decade later, tax authorities are still chasing the money through the courts. Traders in London facilitated the so-called “carousel” fraud by organised crime gangs in 2009, which involved the trading [...]
Payment startup Thunes closes $10m Series A funding round May 6, 2019 Emerging economies payment start-up Thunes has completed a $10m (£7.64m) Series A funding round led by Alibaba and Airbnb investor GGV Capital. The funding will be used to expand Singapore-headquartered Thunes across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Read more: Buy now, pay later, budget better – Laybuy is shaking up the retail sector Thunes will also add [...]
Dark clouds gather as one-sixth of British businesses struggle financially April 29, 2019 Nearly a sixth of British businesses are in financial trouble, amid concerns the UK could suffer a wide-ranging economic slowdown in the coming months, according to research. Read more: Natwest increases small business loan programme amid Brexit uncertainty A report by a leading insolvency firm has revealed there are 484,000 UK firms in “significant financial [...]
Natwest online banking outage: Bank apologises as customers unable to access accounts April 29, 2019 Natwest customers have been frozen out of their accounts this morning due to an online outage. The bank confirmed on Twitter that it had been experiencing issues and has been instructing customers to delete temporary internet files and try again. Read more: TSB online banking outage hits customers The outage began at around 5am, according [...]
City Moves for 29 April 2019 – Who’s switching jobs at Hambro Perks, Cushman & Wakefield and Relendex? April 29, 2019 Today's City Moves includes Hambro Perks, Cushman & Wakefield and Relendex. Hambro Perks The London-based venture firm, Hambro Perks, has announced the appointment of Svenja Grundmann as investment associate. Svenja Grundmann has joined the company to work alongside portfolio manager Jemma Bruton and Richard Tufft, venture partner and co-head, in building out the Access Fund. [...]
RBS profits sink as bank warns future earnings face pressure from Brexit uncertainty April 26, 2019 RBS profits fell in the first three months of 2019, it revealed a day after its chief executive announced his intention to resign. Ross McEwan yesterday announced he would step down after five-and-a-half years at the helm, saying he had achieved his strategy to refocus the bank after its £45.5bn government bailout. However, today the bank warned [...]
Nigel Farage’s Brexit party names business leaders in European election candidate line-up April 23, 2019 Nigel Farage today promised to go after the Labour Party’s vote as he unveiled business and charity leaders among its European election candidates. Lance Forman, the owner of H Foreman and Son, an artisan salmon smokehouse in London's Hackney Wick, will run for the Brexit Party just weeks after it was formed. Read more: Theresa [...]
Natwest increases small business loan programme amid Brexit uncertainty April 23, 2019 Natwest will double its growth funding programme for small and medium-sized British businesses, citing the need to help them navigate Brexit disruption. Read more: Government provides £200m for small firms as Brexit threatens EU funding The UK bank’s growth funding loan pot, which was started in May 2018, will be immediately doubled to £6bn in [...]
TfL awards controversial £1bn ‘sale and leaseback’ Crossrail fleet deal to Natwest-backed group March 22, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a controversial £1bn "sale and leaseback" deal for a fleet of Crossrail trains to a rail company backed by Natwest and Japan's second largest bank. 345 Rail Leasing, which was set up in January this year and comprises Equitix Investment Management, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Natwest, will own the [...]