Banks braced for rise in PPI costs after surge of last-minute claims September 5, 2019 Britain’s banking sector is bracing itself for a multi-billion pound balance sheet backlash from a worse-than-expected rush of payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints that were lodged late last month. Some of the country’s largest banks are facing huge costs following a stampede of consumers making claims for mis-sold PPI in the run-up to the August [...]
Bailey’s FCA is in need of a remit reboot August 2, 2019 Several months ago it felt as if the top job in Britain’s banking system was Andrew Bailey’s to lose. A veteran of Threadneedle Street who is at ease among top City bosses, the head of the City watchdog has been the bookies’ favourite to replace Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England as [...]
Our Westminster politicians must pay heed to the Union November 14, 2019 Pollsters at election time are a funny breed. Like Father Christmas, they drop nuggets of data into the hands of grateful journalists and analysts hoping to make sense of what is going on around them, trying to drown out the noise of election campaigns and listen to what really matters. Yet the most interesting — [...]
RBS-backed digital banking startup Loot enters administration May 22, 2019 Loot, the digital current account for students, has called in administrators after it was unable to secure funding following the collapse of a potential sale to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS owned a 25 per cent stake in the fintech firm through Natwest’s digital bank Bo, which is currently under development and invested [...]
What 175 years of data tell us about house price affordability in the UK March 29, 2021 What we’ve learned from nearly 200 years of housing data – and is property really a better investment than a pension? We dug into the treasure trove that is the Bank of England’s Millennium of data resource to analyse the history of house prices. We found that the average house in the UK currently costs more than [...]
Data breach could be ‘fatal’ for Open Banking sector, treasury committee chair Nicky Morgan warns June 18, 2019 A single data breach at an Open Banking startup could “fatally” damage the developing sector, Nicky Morgan, the chair of the treasury committee, warned today. Open Banking, which allows users to view all their financial information in one place, relies on customers providing their data to a third party. Read more: Are Britain’s banks closed-minded [...]
RBS shares jump after Saudi bank merger boosts capital June 17, 2019 Royal Bank of Scotland shares have jumped this morning after the bank said a merger between two Saudi banks would boost its capital and reduce its risk weighted assets by £4.7bn. Saudi Arabia’s Alawwal Bank and rival Saudi British Bank (SABB) completed a merger yesterday, creating the third-biggest lender in the kingdom. Read more: Five [...]
Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, Halifax and MBNA ban bitcoin and other cryptocurrency credit card purchases February 5, 2018 Lloyds Banking Group has banned customers from buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using credit cards, as a wave of banks around the world fear being on the hook for big losses if the cryptocurrency sell-off continues. The ban, which comes into effect today across all of the British banking giant’s brands, will mean cryptocurrency exchanges [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland share price falls after posting “symbolic” first profit since financial crash February 23, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland this morning reported its first annual profit since 2007. The state-backed lender posted returns of £752m, well ahead of analyst expectations. But shares fell as markets opened, dropping by almost four per cent. Chief executive Ross McEwan said he was “pleased” the group had posted a profit, adding: This is a [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland teeters on edge of profit for first time in a decade as British big bank results season begins February 18, 2018 Investors will be on tenterhooks this week to see if Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has returned to profit for the first time after a decade in the cold, as Britain’s biggest banks report their full-year results. City analysts expect a net income loss of £984m, according to an average of estimates from S&P Global [...]