British business backer BBBI reports pre-tax profit of £40m as it gets behind 12,000 firms September 20, 2016 British Business Bank Investments (BBBI), the commercial arm of the government’s economic development lender, British Business Bank, today reports a pre-tax profit of £40m for the year to 31 March. BBBI, which invests in small business finance providers, will today also report annual income of £45.5m in the full year and a dividend of £32m to [...]
Why Stateside aggression is increasingly familiar to European investors September 20, 2016 An abundance of liquidity relative to opportunities has led to investors agreeing to lend to companies at relatively high leverages without the usual conditions that enable them to renegotiate terms when the businesses underperform. Almost all deals syndicated that are taking place in Europe this month are covenant-lite, which means that investors will be unable to [...]
Mobile lender Atom in £100m funding drive September 19, 2016 Mobile money lender Atom Bank is gearing up for a fresh £100m funding drive. The app-based bank is preparing to approach backers to shore up its balance sheet against early-stage losses and regulatory capital requirements. Atom began accepting deposits earlier this year and is planning to start mortgage lending in coming months. Read more: How nine challenger banks [...]
Moody’s says UK banks don’t need EU passporting rights September 19, 2016 Leaving the EU Single Market and losing passporting rights would be far from a disaster for Canada, leading analysts at Moody's have found. The new research comes amid ongoing wrangling between the UK and Europe, between government ministers and across different industries all competing to put their views about what deal Theresa May should [...]
Bundesbank chief Jens Weidmann claims London banks will consider Frankfurt after hard Brexit September 19, 2016 The head of the German Bundesbank has said Frankfurt will open its arms to any banks or businesses that decide to leave London in the wake of the EU referendum. Jens Weidmann also warned that if the UK leaves the EU's Single Market – the so-called "hard Brexit" option gaining traction in parts of the Conservative Party [...]
Eight years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, FutureBrand’s Tom Adams says that perceptions of banks’ brands are improving September 19, 2016 Eight years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, FutureBrand’s global head of strategy Tom Adams reflects on how the public perceives financial services organisations. In 2014, when his global brand consultancy first began polling professionals in 17 countries to see how they perceived the firms in PwC’s list of global top 100 companies by market capitalisation, [...]
Central banks have been “overburdened for far too long” by markets, says Bank for International Settlements September 18, 2016 Recent financial market events have demonstrated how dependent they have become on central banks, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has said. And central banks have been “overburdened for far too long”, said Claudio Borio, head of BIS’ monetary and economic department. “Developments in the period under review have highlighted once more just how dependent on central [...]
Jayne-Anne Gadhia: Three things you didn’t know about the chief executive of Virgin Money September 18, 2016 Previously dubbed the “first lady of UK finance” and one of City PM’s Power 100 Women, Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia has been at the group’s helm since 2007. She led the charge last year when Virgin Money launched its £1.25bn flotation and tried her hand at guest editing City PM for a day [...]
Head of Germany’s central bank warns EU against further integration after Brexit September 18, 2016 The head of Germany’s central bank has warned the EU against pushing for further integration after the UK’s Brexit vote. Jens Weidmann, the president of Deutsche Bundesbank, said this approach “no longer resonates with the public”. In a meeting with media organisations including the Guardian, Weidmann said: “For many of its citizens, Europe has indeed [...]
Premier listing: Fund manager plots London Stock Exchange flotation September 18, 2016 Fund management company Premier Asset Management is considering a float on the London Stock Exchange this year. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Numis are advising the firm on the possible initial public offering (IPO). The flotation discussions come nine years after Guildford-based Premier was taken private by Electra Partners. Read more: Another London Stock Exchange strike: Hollywood [...]
