NatWest boss refuses summons by MPs probing savings rates February 1, 2023 The boss of NatWest has refused a request to appear in front of MPs to answer questions on why banks are being slow to pass on higher interest rates to savers. Chief executive Alison Rose has told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee that she does not have the time to speak to them next [...]
FCA must increase staff pay or it risks failing the public, Unite says February 1, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) needs to offer its staff a better pay package or it risks becoming unable to deliver in the public interest, union Unite said. The FCA, which regulates the conduct of around 50,000 financial services businesses, has been in dispute with its workers over pay and conditions. It said it told [...]
Virgin Money has customer boom as higher interest rates benefit Branson’s bank February 1, 2023 Virgin Money’s customer base continued to grow in the first quarter of its financial year as the challenger bank said it expects to benefit from higher interest rates for the remainder of the year. There were around 27,000 new personal current accounts opened in the period, 44 per cent more than last year. This, the [...]
City will be shaken up by AI – so we asked ChatGPT for an equities strategy February 1, 2023 Artificial intelligence and machine learning is set to transform trading over the next three years, a JP Morgan survey shows, as traders anticipate the potential for new technologies to shake up trading floors. Over half of traders surveyed in JP Morgan’s eTrading survey predicted that AI and machine learning will be the most influential technology [...]
UBS posts profits of £1.4bn as banking giant reaps rewards of cost cutting and a reported client exodus from rival Credit Suisse January 31, 2023 UBS beat analysts’ profit estimates as a drop in expenses and a significant influx of new assets helped offset a fall in revenue. UBS’s profits rose 23 per cent to $1.7bn (£1.4bn) in the fourth quarter of the year, ahead of an estimated $1.3bn. Net interest income at the Swiss lender fell year-on-year compared to [...]
Banks struggle with digital transition as new data shows 10 per cent of customer records are duplicated January 30, 2023 Major banks are struggling to manage their digital records as new data shows that around ten per cent of customer records are duplicated. Quantexa, a data analytics firm, asked 356 IT and data experts working in the UK, USA and Canada how many customer records were duplicated in their respective sectors. In the banking industry, [...]
Persimmon and Barratt to sign Gove’s cladding contract as others stall for time January 30, 2023 A handful of developers plan to sign the government contract to fix buildings affected by cladding and other fire risks in the coming weeks. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove gave developers a six-week deadline to commit to more than £2bn of repairs to fix the issues in buildings taller than 11 metres. This comes on [...]
Later life lending: Livemore secures £250m from Citi as it aims to hit £1bn in mortgage lending January 30, 2023 Livemore, a later life mortgage specialist, has secured a credit facility of up to £250m from Wall Street lender Citi as it seeks to hit £1bn in mortgage lending. “We are thrilled to receive this credit facility from Citi, which will support our growth and expanded product offering, so we can continue to serve the [...]
FCA to take swift action against firms flouting consumer duty rules, lawyers warn January 29, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority is expected to take swift action against firms that fail to comply with new rules to protect savers and retail investors, City lawyers have warned. The City watchdog announced a major overhaul to consumer regulation last summer in the new Consumer Duty, which is set to shift greater onus onto companies [...]
Fleet Street site amongst a host of Barclays bank branch closures January 28, 2023 Barclays has announced the closure of 15 branches across the country, meaning over 100 banks are slated to shut down so far this year. The bank is set to close 14 branches across England and one in Wales from late April to the first few days on May. Sites in London, Gosport, Bridgwater and St [...]