RBS to introduce negative interest rates on corporate investment accounts August 19, 2016 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to start charging some of its top corporate clients to hold cash with the bank. RBS wrote to some of its largest investment banking customers this week to tell them it could no longer let them keep cash held as collateral in their accounts for free and will impose negative interest rates from [...]
Banks’ share prices dip after FCA announces PPI deadline August 2, 2016 UK bank stocks dipped in early trading today, after the City watchdog announced that it was pushing back its deadline for payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it plans to set a cut-off point for PPI claims that will fall by the end of June 2019 at the latest. Previously, banks had been [...]
BBC to launch new TV channel for Scotland with £30m budget February 22, 2017 The BBC has announced plans to launch a new TV channel for Scotland, with a budget equivalent to that of BBC4. Director general Tony Hall said today that the channel would launch in the autumn of 2018. Read more: Fake news and echo chambers help BBC Radio 4's Today hit audience record It will have [...]
Exorbitant interest rates have turned student loans into a ticking debt bomb September 1, 2017 Today the interest rate on student loans rises from 4.6 to 6.1 per cent. By comparison, the Bank of England held the base rate at 0.25 per cent last month. The highest level of interest you can get on a standard easy-access cash Isa is 1.03 per cent. You can take out a 10-year fixed [...]
Week ahead: Banks take centre stage for results and interest rates August 1, 2016 The Bank of England is widely expected to cut interest rates for the first time in seven years this week as it assesses the fallout from the UK’s vote to quit the European Union. The Bank held fire in July in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, catching some analysts off guard. Policy committee members [...]
Independent Scotland might have to ditch the pound, SNP’s Alex Salmond admits March 17, 2017 Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond has said Scotland could ditch the pound if it wins independence in a new referendum. The Scottish National Party (SNP) previously said it would continue to use sterling, but Salmond told the Financial Times he could change his view to reduce reliance on the rest of the UK for [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Lloyds, First Direct: Bank customer satisfaction survey shows that newcomers beat Big Four September 9, 2015 Newcomers beat out big banks for customer satisfaction, as the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has been voted worst provider again, showing it hasn’t been forgiven for recent IT glitches. None of the Big Four claimed any of the top three spots, showing that satisfaction with big banks is way down, according to uSwitch, which [...]
Persistent headaches: Five problems facing RBS chief exec Ross McEwan October 28, 2016 Ross McEwan may have been pleasantly surprised as he peaked through his fingers to see what had happened to the Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) share price this morning. Read more: RBS shares jump up and down to the noise of loss-making quarter Unfortunately for the chief exec of RBS, an initial jump of five per cent wobbled [...]
City Moves for 11 August 2016 | Who’s switching jobs August 11, 2016 The Crown Estate UK real estate business, The Crown Estate, has appointed Robin Budenberg as chairman. Robin is a prominent figure from the UK finance sector and his appointment follows the retirement of Sir Stuart Hampson. He is currently London chairman of Centerview Partners and a non-executive director for Charity Bank and the Big Society Trust. Robin is the [...]
George Osborne starts £2bn Royal Bank of Scotland sell-off August 4, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has kick started the government's first sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) today, a sale likely to raise £2bn for the government. UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the agency which holds the government's 79 per cent stake in RBS, announced its intention to sell about 600m shares, representing 5.2 per [...]