Atlas Mara profits plunge but Bob Diamond’s venture positive on rest of 2016 August 24, 2016 Atlas Mara announced today it was feeling positive about the rest of 2016, even though it reported a drastic drop in profits year-on-year. The figures The financial services company, which focuses its efforts on banking in Africa, reported net profit after tax of $1.2m (£0.9m) for the first half of 2016, down 70.7 per cent on the $4.1m profit reported the [...]
The hardest word: Full text of Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio’s letter to his staff over tryst allegations August 24, 2016 Lloyds boss Antonio Horta-Osorio has issued an apology to his staff after an alleged tryst with Russell Group boss Dr Wendy Piatt. Sky News reported last night that Horta-Osorio was preparing to write to his 75,000 staff expressing "deep regret" over the allegations, which surfaced earlier this month after he and Platt went on a business trip [...]
UK mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level in 18 months in July – meaning house prices could fall by five per cent next year August 24, 2016 The number of mortgages approved fell to their lowest level in 18 months in July, suggesting house prices could fall considerably by the end of 2017, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has said. Figures by the BBA showed 37,622 mortgages were approved in July, down from 39,763 in June and 41,620 in May. It's an impressive slide since [...]
One Savings bank shares are up nine per cent after releasing “another strong set of results” August 24, 2016 Shares in specialist lender One Savings bank jumped over nine per cent this morning after it released half year resilient results that it said were meeting all its targets. The figures Although statutory profit before tax leapt from £46.6m to £100.0m, underlying profits were less dramatic, increasing from £47.6m to £64.6m. New lending increased by 25 per [...]
Barclays becomes the latest bank to get on the CoCo bond bandwagon August 23, 2016 Barclays has today become the latest lender to launch a CoCo bond. The transaction for the bonds, which will be denominated in US dollars, has not been priced yet and is expected to launch in the near future, depending on market conditions. Contingent Convertible capital notes – or CoCos for short – are a type of [...]
This major European bank remains committed to Canary Wharf move despite Brexit vote August 23, 2016 Some may have predicted an exodus of bankers after Brexit, but one major European player has confirmed to City PM it still plans on keeping a UK presence. A spokesperson for Societe Generale has confirmed the bank intends to move into its Canary Wharf base in 2019, as had been previously planned. Soc Gen also acquired [...]
Where will Team GB store their medals? This challenger bank has a solution… August 23, 2016 It's a problem most of us could only dream of having – where does one store one's gold medals from the Olympics? Fortunately, a high street challenger bank has stepped up to the plate. Metro Bank has revealed to City PM it is offering complimentary safe deposit boxes to all of Britain’s 2016 Olympic medallists. "We [...]
This challenger bank is moving to a larger London HQ August 23, 2016 Hampshire Trust Bank has revealed today it will be moving to larger London headquarters to house its expanded team. The bank, which launched in its current format two years ago, is planning to make the move from its 7,500 square foot headquarters near the Barbican to a newly refurbished 21,000 square foot office on Bishopsgate. In its most [...]
Watch out Carney: Here’s what Japan’s central bank just said about fintech August 23, 2016 The Bank of England made history this summer with the launch of the first ever fintech accelerator by a central bank. But, forward-thinking Mark Carney is not the only governor eyeing the potential of the fintech sector and its future role in monetary policy making and central banking. Haruhiko Kuroda, the governor of the Bank of Japan, has indicated [...]
Bank of America escapes $1.3bn fine after court declines to go back on decision August 22, 2016 Bank of America has dodged a $1.3bn (£990m) fine, after a US court decided to drop the issue. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York opted not to reconsider its previous decision to overturn the bumper penalty the bank had been initially slapped with after a jury decided the lender was liable for mortgage [...]
