The City watchdog is looking for feedback on how best to protect consumers’ cash December 14, 2016 The City watchdog has today launched a consultation into how best to fund the safety net which compensates consumers when financial services firms find themselves in hot water, including measures which could lead those most likely to wobble the market paying more to keep it secure. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) noted the funding rules for the [...]
One in four caught out by current account fraud October 19, 2016 Around a quarter of Brits have fallen victim to a fraud involving their current account, research out today has found. Price comparison site USwitch also discovered that victims were parted with an average of £828, while one in five of those affected are still out of pocket following their bank's investigation. Meanwhile, over half (59 per cent) of [...]
Lloyds Banking Group could pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders despite fears of higher costs related to PPI claims February 21, 2016 Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly getting ready to pay out more than £2bn in dividends to shareholders, despite fears of further costs related to the mis-selling of loan insurance. The Sunday Times reported today that Lloyds chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is attempting to convince regulators that the bailed-out bank has enough capital to afford the [...]
Which stock market sectors will benefit as inflation heats up? March 6, 2017 We wrote last year about our expectation that inflation would soon start to re-emerge in Europe, and that banks were likely to be among the chief beneficiaries. This scenario has indeed come to pass, perhaps even more quickly than we had anticipated. With signs of inflation becoming ever more apparent, which other sectors should investors [...]
Government announces final details of Lloyds share sale October 7, 2016 Shares in Lloyds Banking Group have dropped two per cent after the government announced it will press ahead with plans to offload its remaining stake in the part-nationalised lender. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the plans during a trip to Washington this morning as part of his bid to reassure American financial companies that the UK [...]
Final cost to banks uncertain as PPI deadline set for 2018 November 26, 2015 The costliest financial scandal in UK history, mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) is to come to an end in 2018, after the regulator said people will have to make claims by then. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking to draw a line under the issue which has cost banks £28bn since it was first [...]
Here’s where Trump sits on the psychopath scale August 23, 2016 Is Donald Trump completely nuts? It's a question asked by a fair few people as the race to the White House heats up and the Trumpster's comments, on everything from immigration to his rival Hillary Clinton, elevate to ever more absurd levels for a Presidential candidate. Now academics at Oxford University have analysed Trump's tendencies toward the extreme, ranking him [...]
Barclays sells more of its non-core business, but not for as much as it might have hoped November 28, 2016 Barclays announced today it has dropped yet another of its non-core assets, this time its wealth and investment management business in Singapore and Hong Kong. Barclays completed the sale of the business, which serves high net worth and ultra high net worth clients, to the Bank of Singapore, the private banking subsidiary of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. The Bank of Singapore snapped [...]
City braced for rate cut as construction data and banking woes unsettle markets August 3, 2016 The FTSE 100 fell to a two-week low of 6,645.40 yesterday, spooked by a double whammy of gloomy UK construction data and faltering bank stocks. Official data shows that UK construction has shrunk at its fastest pace in seven years. Markets are now bracing themselves for tomorrow’s Bank of England policy meeting, at which governor Mark [...]
Business profits set to stumble in wake of EU referendum October 13, 2016 Corporate profitability held up in the three months before the EU referendum, new statistics have revealed, as companies showed little sign uncertainty was weighing on their ability to generate cash. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this morning profitability of private sector non-financial corporations, as measured by their net rate of return was 12.2 per [...]