Barclays’ 2016 pre-tax profits almost treble at £3.2bn, as it eyes an early close for non-core February 23, 2017 Barclays revealed this morning that its profits had shot up during 2016, and announced it would close down its non-core unit earlier than planned. The figures The banking giant reported a profit before tax of £3.2bn, up 182 per cent from £1.1bn in 2015. However, the figure missed the analysts' consensus, which had predicted profits before tax [...]
This is how City analysts reacted to Lloyds Bank’s results February 22, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group announced this morning that pre-tax profits had more than doubled last year, sending its shares up 3.6 per cent in early trading. The lender reported statutory profit before tax had gone up 158 per cent to £4.2bn in 2016, from £1.6bn in 2015. While this was slightly below analysts' expectations of a [...]
PPI still tops the list of most complained about financial products May 26, 2016 Consumers are still feeling the effects of one of banking's biggest scandals, with complaints about Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) still topping the list of woes heard by the Financial Ombudsman Service. A report released today by the Ombudsman revealed that it is still receiving up to 4,000 PPI cases each week and that half of all the [...]
Big five banks run up £100bn bill in bad loans and legal costs over the last five years February 16, 2017 The UK's big five banks, which report full-year results next week, have run up a bill of nearly £100bn over the last five years for a toxic mix of fines and bad loans according to a new analysis. However, the era of sour loans and megafines that dwarf the banks' dividend payouts could finally be [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]
The Financial Conduct Authority just spent £70,000 on a new logo, including hiring a Saatchi & Saatchi agency May 7, 2017 The industry-funded Financial Conduct Authority has spent almost £70,000 on a refresh of its brand, including a brand new logo designed by Saatchi & Saatchi, City A.M. can reveal. The FCA recruited B2B specialists Saatchi & Saatchi Pro ahead of its planned move from Canary Wharf to the edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park [...]
Lloyds Banking Group hires Professor Russel Griggs to oversee its HBOS Reading scandal review March 20, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group has appointed Professor Russel Griggs to oversee the independent review into the HBOS Reading scandal. Two ex-HBOS bankers were among six people jailed back in February for their roles in a ruse to drive small businesses into the ground for personal gain, running up nearly £250m in losses for the bank which had to [...]
Lloyds Banking Group snaps up Bank of America’s MBNA credit card firm for £1.9bn in first acquisition since financial crisis December 20, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group has beaten off other bidders to snap up Bank of America's UK credit card company MBNA for £1.9bn, in its first acquisition since it was bailed out by taxpayers in 2008. The UK lender emerged as the frontrunner to take over MBNA, which holds assets of £7bn, in late November. The takeover is a [...]
Co-op Bank stems losses to £477m but says legacy problems and lower for longer interest rates led to sale March 9, 2017 Co-operative Bank today said legacy issues and low interest rates had dragged on performance and prompted the lender's owners to put the bank up for sale. Although the bank reduced annual losses of £477m from £611m in 2015, it took a further £60m hit from its merger with Britannia Building Society and was slapped with an £82m charge following [...]
City watchdog dishes out £2.4m fine to CT Capital for historic failures to handle its PPI complaints process June 1, 2016 CT Capital has today been slapped with a £2.4m fine by the City watchdog for historic failings in its Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) complaint handling procedures. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued the £2,360,900 fine in relation to the mishandling of PPI complaints between May 2011 and November 2013, which resulted in customers missing out on redress repayments they were [...]