City Moves for 6 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 5, 2015 ETF SECURITIES The provider of exchange traded products has appointed James Butterfill as head of research & investment strategy. Based in London, he will report direct to Mark Weeks, the firm’s chief executive officer. Prior to joining ETF Securities, Butterfill worked at HSBC, and most recently at Coutts, as a multi-asset fund manager and global [...]
City Moves for 05 October 2015 | Who’s switching jobs October 4, 2015 EY The professional services firm has appointed Omar Ali as its new UK financial services leader. He replaces Chris Price, who will lead EY’s global people advisory services. Ali was previously UK banking and capital markets leader. He joined EY in 2001, becoming a partner at the age of 29 in 2006. He began his [...]
Interest-only loans are going out of fashion, as number of current loans drop 16 per cent September 22, 2015 Repeated warnings that interest-only mortgages are a "ticking time bomb" appear to be filtering through to the market, with figures out this morning showing a 16 per cent drop in the number of such loans outstanding. A quarter of the reduction is the result of loans reaching maturity and being redeemed while a further 40 [...]
RBS and NatWest to offer interest-only mortgages from 21 September to high earners September 10, 2015 RBS and NatWest will be offering their wealthier customers interest-only mortgages for the first time since December 2012. The loans, available from 21 September, will only be offered to those earning £100,000 or more a year, excluding bonuses, with a maxium loan-to-value of 75 per cent. Customers must also have an acceptable repayment strategy, such as savings or a [...]
New iPhone 6s release 2015: What 3D Touch and Apple’s new iPhone means for banking and the financial services industry September 10, 2015 The long-awaited iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus are finally here and, despite being somewhat overshadowed at yesterday’s launch by the iPad Pro and Apple TV, they certainly hold much promise for the banking sector. In particular they have the potential to significantly improve mobile banking, thanks to several new and updated features. Improvements in [...]
HSBC and NatWest online banking glitch: Bankers return unrested after bank holidays August 31, 2015 HSBC and NatWest faced the financial equivalent of leaving the oven on before going on holiday this weekend, as both banks suffered IT glitches over the bank holiday leaving over 275,000 customers without their wages. The fault meant that salaries were not transferred from HSBC business accounts to the accounts of employees, including those [...]
August Bank Holiday 2015 blues for Barclays, RBS and NatWest staff as local branches stay open August 27, 2015 In these modern times of accessibility and 24-hour contact, is the Bank Holiday becoming part of Britain’s history more than a cultural event? Three lenders were excited to announce the desecration of the sacred so-called bank holiday weekend by opening branches across the country. While execs and chairs head off to their homes in the [...]
Pocket money inflation exceeds parent wage hikes August 18, 2015 Bad news for working parents: the average allowance for UK youngsters is growing at an unprecedented rate, and it’s even outstripping their parents’ wage growth this year. Average pocket-money for eight-15 year olds has soared by 448 per cent in nearly 30 years, compared with just a 193 per cent increase in parents’ income over [...]
RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank online banking system was targeted by a deliberate denial of service attack July 31, 2015 RBS has said its online banking system was brought down by a deliberate denial of service attack directed at the website. RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank' websites and apps went down for nearly an hour this morning. Hundreds of customers complained that they could not use the banking group's online systems while others said [...]
This chart shows how many current account switchers Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have lost July 29, 2015 New rules which make it easier for customers to change current accounts resulted in a four per cent increase to 1.1m switches, compared to 1.06m during in same period a year earlier. The rules, introduced in October 2013, allow customers to switch accounts within seven working days, with all outgoing and incoming payments transferred automatically. [...]