Critics accuse Bank of England of using its forecasts to play with politics November 28, 2018 The Bank of England sparked a row today after publishing analysis of its ‘worst case Brexit scenario’ just 13 days ahead of a crucial Parliamentary vote on Theresa May’s deal. The controversy was sparked when governor Mark Carney unveiled the Bank’s latest ‘stress test’ assessment of the UK’s ability to withstand dramatic economic shocks, including [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney tries, and fails, to prevent Brexit analysis frenzy November 28, 2018 House prices plummeting 31 per cent. Unemployment shooting up to 9.5 per cent. GDP collapsing by 4.3 per cent amid a sharp recession. These were the scenarios the Bank of England used to conduct its mandated “stress test” for some of the UK’s biggest financial companies back in 2016. Last year, the wonks at Threadneedle Street [...]
Major UK banks pass ‘worst case scenario’ no-deal Brexit stress tests November 28, 2018 All of the UK’s major banks passed a beefed-up stress test as the Bank of England heralded the resilience of the UK financial system, it was revealed today. The seven banks – Nationwide, Santander UK, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Lloyds, Barclays, and RBS – had three and half times the capital ratio than before the global [...]
No-deal Brexit could result in eight per cent hit to UK economy, warns Bank of England November 28, 2018 A no-deal Brexit could cause the UK economy to fall eight per cent in a single year, the Bank of England warned today, leading to crashing house prices and surging unemployment. However, in a boost for the Prime Minister, the Bank said her withdrawal agreement and a close economic relationship with the EU could boost GDP by [...]
DEBATE: Should Margaret Thatcher be considered as the scientist to be featured on the new £50 note? November 28, 2018 Should Margaret Thatcher be considered as the scientist to be featured on the new £50 note? Emma Revell, communications officer at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. People will argue that science isn’t what Margaret Thatcher was most known for, and they’d be right. But the same could be said of Roger Bannister, a [...]
Tech outages at financial firms double as watchdog warns of data breach risk November 27, 2018 IT failures at financial institutions have more than doubled in the last year, the Financial Conduct Authority has revealed, as firms fight to update their legacy technology to keep apace with fintech startups. In the 12 months to October, the UK's financial firms reported a 138 per cent increase in technology outages to the FCA, as [...]
Donald Trump dumps on Theresa May’s Brexit deal November 26, 2018 Donald Trump gave Theresa May a Brexit headache on Monday evening, describing the agreement reached between London and Brussels as "great for the EU." The US President also warned the government's proposed deal with the EU could prevent a future trade deal between the UK and US. Trump's comments came as the Prime Minister was [...]
Barclays fights off cyber attack attempts every day, says digital defence head November 26, 2018 Barclays fights off attacks from cyber criminals every single day, according to the head of the bank’s cyber security operations centre. Former Europol cybercrime centre head of operations Paul Gillen told City A.M. that the number of attempts against the lender each day was “substantial”. However, the attacks vary in degree with the most common [...]
EU offers reassurances to the Square Mile that UK clearing can continue post-Brexit November 23, 2018 The EU has begun work to allow UK clearing to continue in the event of a no-deal Brexit, addressing Square Mile fears that the European market could be cut off in March next year. The European Securities and Market’s Authority (ESMA) confirmed today that it will “adopt a temporary and conditional equivalence decision” to minimise [...]
Mark Carney says a no-deal Brexit would be the ‘worst outcome’ for the Bank of England November 20, 2018 Mark Carney today told the Treasury Select Committee that a "no-deal" Brexit would be the "worst outcome" for the Bank of England. The BoE governor said he expected May's draft withdrawal agreement to "support economic outcomes" and welcomed the transition period, which is due to end in 2020. The transition period begins on 29 March 2019 and lasts [...]