Banks left outraged as government rules they must run illegal immigrant checks on all current accounts September 22, 2017 UK banks are quietly outraged about new legislation which will force all banks to run checks for illegal immigrants against their current account customers. Read more: New government rules will force UK banks to search bank accounts for illegal immigrants The government has brought in rules requiring all banks to check their customers against a [...]
Big UK banks slip down in global ranking, but Metro and the challengers make ground July 3, 2017 Big UK banks are suffering compared with international rivals, according to a ranking of the world’s 1,000 largest lenders out today. HSBC remains Britain’s biggest bank in the global ranking, coming in ninth for the second year in a row. However, the lender – which topped the 2008 ranking – suffered its worst result in [...]
Banks must green up their act, for the sake of both planet and profit November 3, 2017 If you watch a TV ad for a UK high street bank these days, they are full of soft focus, half-speed footage of smiling, tanned pensioners vigorously enjoying their retirement, or shots of attractive young families surrounded by nature – all portraying vague notions of stability and future prosperity. But a new report from the [...]
Boom time: Clear Bank founder Nick Ogden on his efforts to start a British banking revolution January 15, 2018 Even in the ancient world of City banking, 250 years is a long time. Yet that was how long the UK has had to wait for a new clearing bank until Nick Ogden launched Clear Bank out of the blue last year. A decades-long consolidation of clearing banks – which provide banking services to other [...]
Bank shares across Europe have opened steadily after HSBC results August 3, 2016 European banks have stopped the rot after two days of dramatic selling across the continent, as a share buyback at HSBC helped buoy investor sentiment. The UK's largest listed lender reported a steeper-than-expected 29 per cent fall in profits, but intends to snap up around $2.5bn (£1.9bn) of its own shares and maintain its dividend. [...]
Three charts that suggest banks are stronger now than before Northern Rock October 10, 2017 September marked the 10th anniversary of the moment most people had their first inkling all was not completely well with the global financial system. On 13 September 2007, word began to spread that Northern Rock had asked for emergency funding from the Bank of England in its capacity as "lender of last resort", thus prompting [...]
HSBC had investigated foreign exchange trade and found no breach of conduct July 21, 2016 HSBC conducted its own internal investigation into a $3.5bn (£2.65bn) currency trade over which two of the bank's top traders were charged yesterday, it has been revealed. The Financial Times reported today that an internal investigation by HSBC three years ago found nothing wrong with the transaction. The bank allegedly conducted the review after a foreign exchange scandal erupted [...]
Greece announces new bond issue ending three-year market exile July 24, 2017 The Greek government has announced it will complete a new five-year bond issue, in its first such offering since 2014. Read more: Greece is exploring first new government bond issue since 2014 if it secures a debt relief deal, reports say Greece has also invited holders of its 4.75 per cent outstanding bonds, due to [...]
Bank of England gives fintech startups direct access to the UK’s RTGS payments system in latest innovation move July 19, 2017 The Bank of England has opened up the UK’s payments systems – the “plumbing” which facilitates same day money transfers between banks – to organisations that are not banks, giving fintech startups another step up in their challenge to traditional banks. Tech companies will no longer have to go through selected banks and other providers [...]
HSBC currency traders charged in New York in US rate-rigging investigation July 20, 2016 Two of HSBC's top currency traders have been charged in New York today as part of the US investigation into rate-rigging, currency fixing and market manipulation. One, Mark Johnson, the bank's London-based global head of foreign exchange was arrested at John F Kennedy airport yesterday by FBI agents and was charged this afternoon in a federal court in Brooklyn with [...]