Credit card firms must cut fees for those in persistent debt, says watchdog February 3, 2020 Credit card providers must cut or stop fees for those who are caught in a cycle of persistent debt, the financial watchdog has said. In a letter to the chief executives of credit card firms this morning, the Financial Conduct Authority said lenders must come up with a repayment plan for customers who have been [...]
New RBS boss Alison Rose to be based solely in London February 2, 2020 New Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Alison Rose is to be based solely in London, even though the state-owned lender is headquartered in Edinburgh. Rose’s employment contrast lists RBS’s office on Bishopsgate as her sole place of work, the Sunday Times reported. Her predecessor, Ross McEwan, had a contract for London and Edinburgh. Rose, [...]
Watchdog probes jump in sterling before Bank of England rate decision January 31, 2020 City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority has opened an investigation into the jump in the value of the pound shortly before the Bank of England’s interest rate decision yesterday. The Bank confirmed it asked the FCA yesterday to investigate the unusual spike in the value of sterling. The value of sterling jumped about 15 seconds [...]
TSB recovers from IT meltdown to return a profit January 30, 2020 TSB returned a profit and a healthy balance sheet in 2019 after it stemmed losses from its failed IT migration. The bank reported that profit before tax for the year to 31 December 2019 was £46m, compared to a pre-tax loss of £105.4m in 2018. It said it was “primarily driven by the non-recurring effect [...]
DEBATE: Are technology companies a threat to central banks? January 30, 2020 Are technology companies a threat to central banks? Bhavin Patel, head of fintech research at OMFIF, says YES. Tech companies are rapidly developing solutions to overcome shortfalls in the monetary system and proving flexible in tailoring their services to converge with consumer trends. Wide-scale adoption of privately-issued digital coins is growing more probable, particularly in [...]
Deutsche Bank crashes to massive €5.7bn loss January 30, 2020 Deutsche Bank slipped to a larger than expected loss of €5.7bn (£4.8bn) last year, as the costs of its turnaround drive hit profits. The German banking giant has now posted losses for five consecutive years. Deutsche has struggled with misconduct scandals, failed US growth plans and an abortive merger with rival Commerzbank. Chief executive Christian [...]
Prudential appoints former government minister Baroness Vadera as new chair January 30, 2020 Insurer Prudential said today it had appointed former banker and government minister baroness Shriti Vadera to chair its business. Vadera will join from Santander UK where she is chair. She is also senior independent director of mining giant BHP Group. Vadera was a UK government minister between 2007 and 2009, working on issues such as [...]
Coinbase expands institutional crypto asset storage internationally January 30, 2020 Coinbase is expanding its institutional crypto asset storage service internationally, establishing an office in Ireland in a bid to capitalise on growing demand for digital currencies from institutional investors. Coinbase Custody International will be based in Dublin, expanding an existing office in the city. While its main arm, based in San Francisco, does serve Europe-based [...]
Lloyds Bank announces 56 branch closures this year January 29, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group has announced today that it will close 56 branches across the UK. The bank will close 31 Lloyds, 10 Halifax and 15 Bank of Scotland branches between April and October of this year. The financial services union Accord said in a statement: “We fully appreciate that the demand for high street branch [...]
City economists urge Bank of England to avoid interest rate cut January 29, 2020 For the whole of 2019, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) held interest rates steady despite a slowing economy as parliament wrestled with Brexit. Yet with Britain now leaving the EU, there is a real possibility the MPC will cut rates for the first time in four years tomorrow, in what will be [...]
