A new corporate-backed fintech lab has opened in London August 22, 2016 The investment firm behind one of London's top venture capital funds is doubling down on one of the hottest areas of tech with a dedicated lab specialising in all things fintech. Octopus Investments, whose venture capital firm Octopus Ventures backed successful startups such as Swiftkey (acquired by Microsoft), Magic Pony (bought by Twitter) and Zoopla, will launch a fintech [...]
Treasury committee chair Andrew Tyrie calls for prompt review on RBS share sale August 17, 2016 The chair of the Treasury Select Committee has today written to the National Audit Office (NAO), seeking a swift review on previous advice given on the government's sale of RBS shares. Andrew Tyrie has sent a letter to Sir Amyas Morse, comptroller and auditor general at the NAO, asking for the Morse's department to take a closer [...]
How one simple tech trick saved HSBC customers millions August 22, 2016 It may be all about open banking APIs and blockchain in the geeky world of fintech right now, but banking giant HSBC used one incredibly simple piece of technology that's been around for years to save its customers millions of pounds. The humble text message, first devised in 1984 with the first message making its [...]
More than a third of corporate debt is now with challenger banks, but London firms yet to be convinced September 5, 2016 Challenger banks are giving the incumbent players a run for their money, as figures out today show over a third (34 per cent) of UK business mortgages and charges are now issued by the smaller, newer lenders. In particular, 32 per cent of corporate debt is handled by what Avention, which carried out the research, classifies as smaller [...]
Co-op Bank considers bumping up base pay for executives to overcome bonus rules August 21, 2016 The Co-operative Bank is considering raising salaries to get around rules that hamper bonuses. It is understood the bank is looking for ways to increase pay packets in a bid to secure top talent, but is struggling to do so thanks to the bankers' bonus cap rules, which stems from an EU directive. More specifically, under the rules laid [...]
Competition and Markets Authority says provisional Ladbrokes-Gala Coral decision will be released in mid-May April 21, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it will release a provisional decision on the Ladbrokes-Gala Coral merger in mid-May. The provisional decision was originally scheduled to be released on 18 April or soon after. However, City A.M. learned last week that the decision had been pushed back and the previous mid-April deadline was [...]
Paysafe looks to pocket profits by bolstering its digital wallet business August 10, 2016 Payment solutions company Paysafe has revealed it hopes to rake in the cash from its digital wallet business, including launching a new mobile-enabled wallet in September. Joel Leonoff, Paysafe president and chief executive, described the product in the pipeline as being focused on generic goods, including pharmaceutical products, groceries and alcohol. "What we're building and what we're [...]
Competition warnings over OnTheMarket were pretty much inevitable April 22, 2016 Anyone with even a passing interest in technology and its history could have predicted this one: just as the Luddites were eventually overwhelmed by power looms, online property portal OnTheMarket was destined to stumble. And lo, yesterday it came to pass: the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) effectively took a sledgehammer to the site’s business [...]
What to expect from TSB’s latest results tomorrow morning, one year on from Sabadell’s takeover April 20, 2016 TSB, the challenger bank snapped up last year by Spain's Banco Sabadell for £1.7bn after being carved out of Lloyds Banking Group in 2014, will report its first quarter results tomorrow morning. Earlier this year TSB boasted that more than 1,000 new customers were joining it each day, and that it was beating its own target for customers switching [...]
Ladbrokes-Gala Coral merger faces delay in provisional decision from Competition and Markets Authority April 14, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has delayed a provisional decision on the merger of betting giants Gala Coral and Ladbrokes, an industry source has told City A.M. The decision was expected to be announced on 18 April or soon after, but this deadline is now "highly unlikely", according to the source. The final decision on the [...]