EU tells banks to comply with sustainability disclosures despite lack of guidance October 30, 2020 The EU has told banks and insurers they must comply with the bloc’s new laws on sustainability-related disclosures from March, even though detailed guidance on how the rules work in practice will not be ready in time. Last year the bloc approved a law designed to increase transparency on how financial institutions consider sustainability risks [...]
Natwest returns to profit as virus loan charges fall October 30, 2020 Natwest returned to profit during the third quarter, reporting forecast-beating earnings after setting aside a smaller-than-expected sum to deal with bad loans due to the coronavirus pandemic. Natwest posted an operating profit before tax of £355m for the three months to September on an income of £1.9bn. The figure beat the bank-compiled analyst estimates of [...]
Credit Suisse profit drops as wealth management fees tumble October 29, 2020 Credit Suisse Group said it would renew dividends and begin a share buyback programme despite posting a 38 per cent drop in net profit for the third quarter as a surge in investment banking failed to offset a slowdown in wealth management. The Swiss banking giant reported a profit of 546 million Swiss francs (£461m) [...]
Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom October 29, 2020 Lloyds posted a forecast-beating profit for the third quarter as Britain’s biggest domestic lender cashed in booming demand for mortgages and set aside a smaller amount to cover bad loans. The bank returned to profitability in the three months to September after posting an unexpected loss in the first half. Lloyds reported a pre-tax profit [...]
StanChart considers resuming dividend after quarterly profit beats estimate October 29, 2020 Standard Chartered said it would consider resuming dividends after reporting a smaller-than-expected 40 per cent drop in third quarter profit as it lowered coronavirus loan loss expectations. The UK-based, Asia-focused lender posted an underlying pre-tax profit of $745m (£572m) for the three months to September, significantly ahead of bank-compiled analyst forecasts of $502m, Standard Chartered [...]
Deutsche Bank swings to surprise profit in third quarter October 28, 2020 Deutsche Bank reported a surprise profit for the third quarter this morning despite its ongoing restructuring and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The lender posted a profit of €309m as its net revenues grew 13 per cent year-on-year to €5.9bn during the quarter. It saw profit attributable to shareholders rise to €182m, compared with [...]
Goldman Sachs accused of covering up sexual misconduct allegation October 27, 2020 Goldman Sachs attempted to cover up allegations of workplace sexual misconduct by its head of litigation and fired a female lawyer for raising concerns over his behaviour, a lawsuit filed in New York claims. Marla Crawford, a former associate general counsel at the bank, alleged she was discriminated against and fired after complaining about the [...]
HSBC to overhaul business model as ultra-low interest rates hit profit October 27, 2020 HSBC is planning a coronavirus-induced overhaul of its business model, seeking to shift its main source of income from interest rate to fee-based businesses. Europe’s biggest lender will also accelerate a sweeping cost-cutting programme, despite reporting better-than-expected results for the third quarter. Read more: HSBC ‘to cut 300 jobs’ in overhaul of UK commercial banking [...]
Santander rebounds from historic loss as loan repayments pick up October 27, 2020 Santander returned to profit in the third quarter following a historic loss, upgrading its full-year forecasts as customers began to recover from the initial impact of Covid-19. Net profit at the Spanish lender trebled in the third quarter to €1.75bn compared to 2019, when Santander was hit by a large writedown in the value of [...]
Banks hike mortgage interest rates amid boom in applicants October 24, 2020 Banks are reportedly hiking mortgage interest rates in order to deter prospective buyers as they struggle to meet a spike in demand for home loans amid a buoyant housing market. Lenders are turning away mortgage business as the ability to process applications has been slowed by home-working during the coronavirus pandemic. The housing market has [...]