Cook could be in for a rough start as England’s new leader August 29, 2012 WHEN Andrew Strauss took over as captain he inherited an England team in a desperate state, following the fiasco of Peter Moores’s and Kevin Pietersen’s departures. Now, as he leaves, the team is in much better health, and for that he deserves great credit. His decision to retire is terrific, because the temptation to stay [...]
Olympian rate of openings August 9, 2012 IN SPITE of the somewhat quiet state of London’s streets during the Games, there have been a variety of recent openings to keep things lively, the first of which is the return of The Hippodrome to Leicester Square. This sprawling casino complex comprises of gaming floors, a restaurant, lounge bars, balconies, private rooms and a [...]
RBS expected to announce costs for IT blunder August 2, 2012 ROYAL Bank of Scotland is expected to announce plans to set aside millions of pounds today to pay for costs related to its computer blunder in June, which left it unable to process customer transactions. The bank, which is 82 per cent owned by the taxpayer, will reveal its first interim results since the meltdown [...]
Cheap money aids mortgage deals July 30, 2012 NatWest launches its first ever 2.95 per cent five year fixed rate mortgage today, after HSBC and Santander offered similar deals. But the offer is only for mortgages with loan to value ratios of 60 per cent or below, and comes with a £2,495 arrangement fee. Cheap money is finding its way into the mortgage [...]
Nationwide and NatWest hit by more glitches July 26, 2012 NATIONWIDE building society yesterday admitted that it has charged a substantial number of customers twice for debit transactions made on Tuesday. Over 700,000 accounts – around a fifth of Nationwide customers – were affected by the mistake, which is thought to have occurred when an employee inadvertantly processed Tuesday’s debit card transactions for a second [...]
We need a fresh approach to risk July 17, 2012 IN LATE June, beginning of July, someone pressed the emergency malfunction switch again for the UK’s banks. The reputational fallout has been toxic. Even Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England said: “[something] went very wrong with the UK banking industry and we need to put it right.” In just two short weeks, [...]
CITY VIEWS | HAVE THE O2 NETWORK PROBLEMS AFFECTED THE FIRMS’ REPUTATION? July 12, 2012 RUPERT BUSHMAN AVIVA I’m not an O2 user, but I would say this hasn’t affected how I see the company. This is just one of those annoying things a bit like the NatWest fiasco – it’s a human glitch, and it’s bound to happen sometimes. It does demonstrate the weakness of these systems – we [...]
Smaller rivals pick up business after rates scam July 8, 2012 SMALLER banks and building societies are benefiting from increased current account business as consumers become disillusioned with big banks. Metro Bank saw a 30 per cent increase in new account enquiries last week, and has increased call centre manpower by 13 per cent to cope with demand. It typically opens 1,500-2,000 new accounts each week. [...]
ADVISERS GKN’S PURCHASE OF VOLVO AERO July 5, 2012 TIMOTHY Shacklock is leading the team at Gleacher Shacklock that advised GKN, alongside joint adviser and joint bookrunner UBS. Shacklock, the former deputy chairman of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, founded Gleacher Shacklock in 2003. He has advised on a number of Europe’s most prominent corporate finance transactions, including the reorganisation of British Aerospace in the 1990s, [...]
Hit to bank’s reputation is instant and damning July 3, 2012 LAST week the NatWest computer glitch; this week another bank, another crisis and more damage to a brand. The Libor scandal has hit Barclays’ brand hard and fast and while the impact on customers may be less obvious than with NatWest’s difficulties, the trajectory of the crisis on brand perception was very similar. Let’s look [...]