Twitter storm after Halifax Bank announces staff can wear badges with pronouns on June 29, 2022 Halifax Bank has caused a social media storm after announcing its employees will have the option to include pronouns on name badges. Twitter users reacted furiously after the bank shared an image on social media showing a staff member’s badge, including ‘she/her/hers” and “Pronouns matter. #ItsAPeopleThing”. The post has had more than 5.5k replies so [...]
Subprime lender Amigo Loans launches new loan product after learning from ‘mistakes of the past’ June 28, 2022 Payday lender Amigo Loans has said it has “learnt the lesson from the past” ahead of the launch of a new guarantor loan product for “underserved” customers. The Bournemouth firm is set to offer customers two new loan products after it was blocked from trading by the UK’s financial watchdog in March 2020. The new [...]
Russia defaults on international debts after being cut out of financial system by Western sanctions June 28, 2022 Russia yesterday defaulted on its international debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution after being unable to pay its creditors due to the impacts of Western sanctions. Ratings agency Moody’s yesterday said Russia’s failure to make payments on two Eurobonds worth $100m officially constitutes a default after its extended deadline to make the [...]
Credit Suisse becomes first Swiss bank to be convicted in Switzerland’s own courts June 27, 2022 Credit Suisse has become the first of Switzerland’s domestic banks to be convicted of a corporate crime in any of the country’s own courts, after a judge today found the Zurich financier guilty of failing to prevent laundering of Bulgarian drug money. A court in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona fined the bank 2m [...]
City exclusive: Fear and uncertainty present opportunities in credit markets, argues fund grandee June 27, 2022 War in Europe, a supply-chain squeeze, and the shift to monetary tightening have created fresh uncertainty in credit markets. Irrational exuberance seems to have been replaced by irrational pessimism. And, as a result, the market has become far more opportunistic. According to City insider and fund manager Daniel Dolan, portfolio manager of the iMGP US [...]
Martin Gilbert calls on City to champion older workers June 27, 2022 Asset management veteran Martin Gilbert has called on City firms to champion older workers amid a slide in the amount of over-55s working in UK.
Shock in fintech sector: City watchdog FCA launches tax evasion probe into billionaire founder of Wise June 27, 2022 The money transfer giant Wise revealed this morning that the FCA has launched a probe into its billionaire co-founder and chief executive over his status as a so-called deliberate tax defaulter. Wise said the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched an inquiry into Kristo Kaarmann’s “regulatory obligations and standards”. It comes after Kaarmann was named [...]
Interest rate hikes could trigger chain of bankruptcies in shadow banks June 27, 2022 Interest rate hikes from central banks across the globe could trigger a chain of bankruptcies in the global “shadow banking” industry, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has warned. In an interview with The Times, Claudio Borio, head of the BIS’ monetary and economic department, said “shadow banks” – including hedge funds, pension funds, and [...]
Exclusive: Sunak to unveil plan to slash EU financial services rules in Mansion House speech June 24, 2022 Rishi Sunak will unveil his plan to slash EU financial services regulations in a major set piece Mansion House speech next month. City PM understands the chancellor will announce details of his Financial Services and Markets Bill at the City’s annual Mansion House bankers’ dinner on 19 July and will introduce the legislation to the [...]
Barclays makes major lending push with £2.3bn deal for Kensington Mortgage Company June 24, 2022 In a major push to broaden its lending offering, banking giant Barclays said this morning it has agreed a deal worth around £2.3bn to buy specialist lender Kensington Mortgage Company. Barclays said the acquisition will allow it to offer more mortgage options to the self-employed and people who have multiple or variable incomes. The bank [...]
