Banking Standards Board chair Dame Colette Bowe signals a tougher stance on UK banks November 19, 2015 The Banking Standards Board (BSB), a City body tasked with restoring faith in the UK banking sector, gave its first indication that it will push for more banking regulation ahead of a major report due next year. BSB chairwoman Dame Colette Bowe, who took up the role in April, said in a speech at the Cass [...]
FTSE 100 index closes lower as miners and banks slide February 9, 2016 The FTSE 100 index extended its losses on Tuesday after having traded with some volatility over the course of the day. The UK's blue chip index fell 0.88 per cent to 5,632.19 points as banks and miners continued to tumble. “It’s becoming a ‘get yer hard hat on’ situation with bank stocks coming down left and right [...]
HSBC rocked by report into tax evasion scheme February 8, 2015 HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm helped wealthy customers evade millions of pounds in tax, documents have revealed. The files, which relate to accounts holding more than $100bn, show how the UK’s biggest bank helped clients evade tax, even collaborating with some to hide undeclared “black” accounts from their domestic tax authorities. Thousands of pages of [...]
HSBC: French prosecutor requests criminal trial over tax dodging allegations March 13, 2015 A French prosecutor has requested HSBC’s Swiss private bank be sent to a criminal trial to face charges over a suspected tax avoidance scheme. HSBC had been the subject of an investigation from French magistrates into alleged tax fraud involving 3,000 French taxpayers which ended last month. The under-fire bank now has [...]
HSBC bosses sorry about tax scandal at Swiss arm February 25, 2015 HSBC’S chief executive and chairman yesterday gave repeated apologies to MPs over tax evasion in its Swiss private banking arm. But scrutiny of the bank is not over yet – former global private banking boss Clive Bannister could be called up next by MPs. Chief executive Stuart Gulliver and chairman Douglas Flint told MPs they [...]
HSBC share price continues surge in London and Hong Kong after UK HQ review and potential Brit spin-off revealed April 27, 2015 Shares in HSBC have surged in early trading extending last week's gains, made after it was revealed the bank was considering relocating away from the UK. HSBC shares opened three per cent higher in London today following reports over the weekend that Britain's largest bank could spin off its UK business into a separate division and [...]
Bank shares fall after China’s central bank suspends at least three banks from some foreign exchange business, reports December 30, 2015 Bank stocks took a hit in early afternoon trading after the Chinese central bank suspended at least three foreign banks from conducting some foreign exchange business, according to reports. Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland were down 1.81 per cent at 304.5p per share, while HSBC shares fell 1.52 per cent to 536.35p per share and Standard [...]
Breaking the banks: Why are shareholders bailing out? February 10, 2016 The share prices of Europe’s biggest banks are now being discussed in historical terms. Deutsche Bank’s share price has dipped beneath its financial crisis nadir and its convertible bonds have plummeted. Standard Chartered’s stock is at its cheapest in nearly 20 years, joined in the carnage by the other major UK banks – HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays [...]
CMA rejects bank break-ups – but this one chart suggests big lenders are ripping customers off October 22, 2015 The competition watchdog may have ruled out breaking up Britain's biggest banks this morning – but this one chart shows customers are paying more money for poorer services from the "Big Four". The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) compared satisfaction ratings from the consumer group Which? with personal current account prices at different banks. They [...]
Zombie accounts take a bite out of UK savings October 30, 2015 On the eve of Halloween, almost half of UK savers are at risk of being bitten by zombies warns peer-to-peer lender, RateSetter. Two in five people have no idea about the rate paid on their savings and are in danger of being bitten by ultra-low interest rates, the study of over 2,000 people found. And scarily, that rises to almost half [...]