‘Britcoin’: Bank and Treasury explore the need for a digital pound February 6, 2023 The Bank of England and Treasury are exploring launching a digital pound in a move that officials claim would firm up financial stability in Britain. “No decision has been taken at this stage,” the pair’s experts said yesterday, but added that what some are dubbing ‘Britcoin’ is “likely to be needed in the future”. The [...]
Rom-cons on the rise: Romance Scammers trick average victim out of over £8k February 6, 2023 Lonely souls looking for Valentine’s love are being warned not to fall prey to romance scams which have increased by over 30 per cent in the last year according to Lloyds bank. The rise of dating apps and social media has made romance scamming easier, as criminals can more easily fake their identity to gain [...]
Rothschild family in £3.3bn bid to take Rothschild & Co private February 6, 2023 The Rothschild family is attempting a buy-out of Rothschild & Co taking the French bank off the public market, in a deal valuing the company at €3.7bn (£3.3bn). In a statement released this morning, Concordia, the holding company of the Rothschild family and the bank’s largest shareholder, said it intends to offer €48.0 per share [...]
Regulator’s fraud reimbursement scheme is ‘fundamentally flawed’, top MP says February 6, 2023 The Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR) new fraud reimbursement scheme is “fundamentally flawed,” Chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin has said. The PSR is considering using its statutory powers to force Pay.UK – Britain’s interbank payments standards body – to amend its rules to ensure fraud victims are reimbursed by banks, according to draft proposals [...]
Business lending to drop at fastest rate in decades as recession fears intensify February 6, 2023 Bank to business lending is forecast to contract sharply in 2023 while mortgage lending will grow at its slowest pace since 2011 as fears of recession intensify, economists have predicted. According to the latest forecast from EY Item Club, an economic forecasting group, bank to business lending is expected to contract 3.8 per cent this [...]
Big Four look to hire London’s laid-off bankers to bolster their M&A teams February 6, 2023 The Big Four accounting firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – are seeking to hire laid-off bankers to bolster the ranks of their M&A advisory arms in the City. Top execs told City PM the world’s biggest professional services firms are seeking to capitalise on the downturn in big M&A deals by poaching talent [...]
City jobs surge in year after Brexit as Barclays, JP Morgan and Revolut accelerate recruitment February 6, 2023 Finance firms ramped up efforts to hire workers in the year after Brexit, with big banks Barclays and JP Morgan and fintech Revolut leading the charge, according to exclusive figures shared with City PM London banks, accountants and fintechs led the recruitment charge in 2022, offering more one in two of every vacancy in England [...]
Digital pound coming this decade, unpublished Treasury and BoE report suggests February 5, 2023 The Bank of England (BoE) and the Treasury are convinced that a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is becoming increasingly necessary, an unpublished report seen by the Daily Telegraph suggests. “On the basis of our work to date, the Bank of England and HM Treasury judge that it is likely a digital pound will be [...]
Barclays boss recounts criticism of refusing to stop work amid cancer treatment February 5, 2023 Barclays chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan said that some people accused him of “CEO swagger” when he said he intended to work through his cancer treatment. Writing in the Financial Times for World Cancer Day, Venkatakrishnan – who prefers to be known as Venkat – said he received some messages after his diagnoses that suggested his [...]
Over 500,000 US jobs created in January but what does ‘awe upside surprise’ mean for Fed’s rate hike cycle? February 3, 2023 More than half-a-million new jobs were created in the US this month, leading to renewed fears the Federal Reserve could hike up interest rates when it meets next month. Statistics from the US Department of Labor howed jobs rose by 517,000 in January, while the unemployment rate changed marginally, at 3.4 percent. This week the [...]