Royal Bank of Scotland to ditch “RBS” in brand shake-up August 13, 2016 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will become a name of the past for the majority of people across the UK, its chief executive said yesterday. The bank is set to kill off the RBS retail brand for everywhere outside Scotland, using less-toxic local brand names instead. That will mean in England and Wales, all RBS [...]
Unauthorised overdraft charges can cost consumers more than payday loans, according to research from an online current account specialist August 10, 2016 Overdraft fees can cost as much as five times more than a pay-day loan according to figures from digital current account provider Ffrees. Borrowing £100 for a month on a short term loan can incur charges of as much as £20, but taking the same amount from an unauthorised overdraft could see consumers stung for £100, [...]
This bank has already passed on the interest rate cut to some of its mortgage customers August 5, 2016 There had been concern banks would take a while to pass yesterday's cut in interest rates on to customers – but it seems those fears were unfounded, after one major lender said it was cutting the rate of standard variable rate mortgages by 0.25 per cent. NatWest – which is owned by RBS – said [...]
Week ahead: Banks take centre stage for results and interest rates August 1, 2016 The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time in seven years this week as it assesses the fallout from the UK’s vote to quit the European Union. The Bank held fire in July in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, catching some analysts off guard. Policy committee members [...]
Investors backing small businesses after Brexit vote July 29, 2016 Investor confidence in small companies is apparently intact after last month’s Brexit vote. A survey of 1,000 UK investors has found 52 per cent would support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through private investment channels after the EU referendum. Read more: More than half of UK SMEs say banks are not "business friendly" The report, [...]
The Bank of England is all but certain to slash rates next week after Martin Weale’s declaration July 26, 2016 Another member of the Bank of England's rate-setting monetary policy committee (MPC) has signalled their intent to vote in favour of slashing interest rates at next week's meeting, pushing expectations of a cut to a near-certainty. Martin Weale, an independent member of MPC said today in the Financial Times last week's disappointing purchasing managers' index (PMI) had [...]
Businesses react angrily as RBS tells business customers: We may charge you to hold your deposits if interest rates go negative July 26, 2016 Businesses have reacted angrily after RBS and its subsidiary, NatWest, wrote to business customers to warn that they may have to charge them to hold deposits if interest rates go negative. In a letter to business and commercial banking customers, the lender wrote that it was making a number of changes to their terms and conditions – [...]
NatWest launches a not-so-small fund for small businesses July 18, 2016 NatWest will say this morning that it has faith in small businesses, while launching a £1bn fund. The bank is launching a new lending fund, which is designed to support the growth of businesses across England and Wales which have not yet broken the £2m mark for turnover. "Small businesses make up more than 99 per [...]
Ladies who don’t lunch: Maike Currie talks to Christine Johnson about bonds, bubbles and being a rebel July 14, 2016 "I am definitely a bond person,” says Christine Johnson, head of fixed income at Old Mutual Global Investors. We’re having lunch at Spring restaurant in Somerset House and I am beginning to understand what Christine means when she says that as a fund manager you need to “live your job”. She likens her personality to [...]
Challenger banks creep into the worldwide ranks, but it might not be time to celebrate just yet June 29, 2016 Challengers are making their presence felt in the banking world, with two well-known names making their way into a worldwide ranking for the first time this year. According to The Banker's Top 1,000 Banks rankings for 2016, which was published today and ranks institutes by their tier one capital, Metro has placed 969th, while Sainsbury's Bank ranked at [...]