From Ukip and bird flu to RBS and Lidl: 10 things we learned this week November 21, 2014 1. Ukip got its second member of parliament. Mark Reckless retook the seat he'd held as a Conservative. But that was really the side show to accusations of snobbish tweets and comments around immigration that were so inflamatory Ukip distanced itself from them. 2. Bird flu returned to the UK. It's unlikely to pose [...]
Scottish independence: RBS confirms plan to move to England if there’s a Yes vote September 11, 2014 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed it will re-domicile to England if the Scots vote to abandon the United Kingdom on 18 September. In a statement issued this morning RBS said: RBS has undertaken contingency planning for the possible business implications of a 'Yes' vote. RBS believes that this is the responsible and [...]
Government shows some appreciation to business world with peerages for Michelle Mone and Ruby McGregor-Smith – but they’re in the minority August 27, 2015 It's a surefire sign the pomp and circumstance of an election has drawn to a close when the government unveils its list of dissolution peerages. Included in this year's list were the usual suspects – including some of the Liberal Democrats' fallen brethren (Ming Campbell, Lynne Feathersone) as well as former chancellor Alistair Darling and [...]
Who made the FCA’s 2014 naughty list: Which institutions received the biggest fines last year? January 6, 2015 2014 was a busy year for the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which brought in a record £1,471,431,800 in fines – more than twice the previous record year. However, £1.1 billion of the FCA’s naughty list was made up by just five banks, and these record fines have sparked fears of conduct [...]
Punch gets approval for debt restructuring September 17, 2014 PUNCH Taverns yesterday announced that noteholders as well as its shareholders had approved its £2.3bn debt restructuring proposals, subject to the consent of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank. It has been selling off hundreds of pubs to help bring down debt and shore up its balance sheet. Shares closed up 3.9 per [...]
Shareholders to take on Lloyds over HBOS deal October 27, 2014 FORMER Lloyds TSB shareholders are gearing up for legal action over the ill-starred acquisition of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), in one of the largest funded actions ever started in the UK. Lawyers acting for thousands of retail and City institutional investors are looking for millions of pounds from the bank over claims it misled [...]
How an independent Scotland can keep the pound – and have more stable banks August 20, 2014 When Scottish voters go to the polls in their independence referendum next month, they may ultimately make their decision on the basis of a single question: if we voted Yes, what currency would we use? The question has massive implications for Scotland’s economy, and since the “Plan A” of a formal currency union between Scotland [...]
RBS slapped with higher-than-expected £56m fine for 2012 IT glitch November 20, 2014 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has agreed a £56m settlement with financial regulators for an IT system failure in June 2012 – £6m more than the £50m penalty analysts had expected. The glitch, which began during a software upgrade to the bank's payment processing system, left over six million of its customers unable [...]
Scottish independence: Lloyds and RBS to move HQ to London if Scots vote Yes September 10, 2014 Lloyds Banking Group will move its official headquarters out of Scotland if the country votes for independence in next week’s referendum. The banking group which owns Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland largely operate from its London headquarters, however the bank’s registered offices are in Edinburgh. Lloyds confirmed that its contingency plans in the [...]
Which banks failed the European stress tests? Italy came out worst, followed by Greece and Cyprus October 27, 2014 25 banks failed the EU-wide stress tests carried out by the European Central Bank (ECB), according to results released this morning. The aim of the tests was to assess the resilience of EU banks to adverse economic developments and determine whether they could withstand another financial crisis. Based on banks' financial health at [...]