Now Nationwide is testing behavioural biometrics instead of pins and passwords for logging on to online banking April 10, 2016 Pins and passwords are so passe. Nationwide is the latest financial institution to explore new ways of verification and authentication, testing out a new method of accessing your bank account based on how you use your phone – from the way you hold it to the speed you type. And with 70 per cent of us [...]
European banking shares skid lower as FTSE 100 sinks June 10, 2016 European banking shares finished sharply lower today, making their biggest intraday decline since the beginning of February. The Stoxx 600 Banks index finished 4.2 per cent lower, its biggest one-day fall since 11 February. It was pushed down by the likes of Deutsche Bank, which skidded 4.6 per cent to €14.06, and Credit Suisse, which fell 3.8 per cent [...]
Bungles and blunders: From the life insurance scandal to confusion over HSBC, here are Financial Conduct Authority boss Martin Wheatley’s worst moments July 17, 2015 As Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive Martin Wheatley takes his final bow, many in the City will be celebrating – after all, this is the man who famously promised to “shoot first and ask questions later” when it came to regulating the finance sector. Read more: George Osborne ousts Wheatley from the FCA [...]
Ten reasons Britain is better off remaining in the EU – and Brexit would be the biggest own-goal in history June 22, 2016 This referendum could be the most important vote you ever cast. The last opportunity we had to give our view on the European question was in 1975, when many of today’s electorate were not yet born. As it happens, this was one year before I set up my own business, Travelex, at the age of [...]
Mastercard plots £1bn bid for Vocalink after banks told by regulator to give up stakes in payments handler March 3, 2016 Mastercard is plotting a bid for bank-owned payments handler Vocalink, it has been reported. Sky News said the credit card issuer has approached the board of Vocalink over a deal that could be worth up to £1bn. The approach comes shortly after the new payments industry regulator said Vocalink’s current ownership structure is "hampering competition and [...]
Bankers prepare for job losses as optimism falls to lows not seen since the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis April 4, 2016 British bankers are bracing themselves for the largest round of job cuts since the height of the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis as banks struggle to find their way back to profitability and optimism over future earnings shrinks. Bankers fear the axe is set to fall mostly on bloated back office operations, IT departments and in [...]
How to make a success of your failed New Year’s resolutions February 1, 2016 Were you one of the many workers who, on Monday 4 January, pledged that 2016 would be different? That this would be the year that you master the art of delegation, improve productivity, network in your lunch break and make it home for baby’s bath time? And as we hurtle into February, are you one [...]
Fifa crisis: UK banks HSBC, Barclays, and Standard Chartered get drawn into corruption scandal June 1, 2015 Three of Britain’s leading banks are conducting investigations into whether they cleared payments related to the ongoing Fifa corruption scandal. HSBC, Barclays, and Standard Chartered are all understood to have launched internal probes, after the FBI arrested current former Fifa executives and associates. Barclays and HSBC yesterday declined to comment. Standard Chartered said [...]
Fifa crisis: Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered to launch internal review following FBI investigation May 31, 2015 Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered are all believed to have launched internal investigations into their role in the Fifa corruption scandal that has engulfed world football this week. The British banks were all named in the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) lawsuit against 14 people – including nine Fifa officials – for racketeering, wire fraud and [...]
RBS is axing 600 jobs and shuttering 32 NatWest branches, according to the Unite union April 14, 2016 Royal Bank of Scotland has told staff it will be making 600 job cuts and closing 32 branches in its NatWest subsidiary, according to the Unite union. The closures are broken down to 18 branch closures in the bank's northern region, and up to 217 job losses. A total of 220 branches will change their opening hours. In the Midlands [...]