City exclusive: London court issues arrest warrant for high-profile venture capitalist Julie Meyer February 23, 2022 The High Court has issued an arrest warrant for Julie Meyer, the founder and CEO of Swiss investment fund Viva Investment Partners (VIP), after she failed to attend a court hearing last week. The decision to issue a warrant for Meyer’s arrest comes after the High Court this month handed the high-profile businesswoman a [...]
Champagne in Canary Wharf as Barclays profits more than double to £8.4bn but Jes Staley’s bonus suspended February 23, 2022 Barclays has revealed pre-tax profits soared to £8.4bn in 2021 as it released cash set aside for pandemic loan losses and notched up record investment banking earnings. The banking giant more than doubled profits from £3.1bn in 2020 thanks to the release of £700m in bad debt provisions, compared with £4.8bn set aside for Covid [...]
FCA brings in consultants to tackle authorisation backlog as it races to recruit new staff February 23, 2022 The UK’s financial industry regulator has brought in consultants to help it tackle the backlog in new authorisations, as it pushes forwards in its efforts to recruit new staff. Speaking to the Treasury Committee, Sheldon Mills, executive director of the FCA, said the watchdog had hired consultants as it aims to cut the authorisation backlog, [...]
Metro Bank says turnaround plan is working after cutting losses to £245m February 23, 2022 Metro Bank has said its turnaround plan is working, despite losing £245.1m last year, after its revenues increased 17 per cent despite the economic impacts of Covid-19. The London retail bank said its efforts to cut costs and win over customers had started to work, after it set out its turnaround plan, to rejuvenate its [...]
Barclays freezes share awards for ex-boss as Staley fights Epstein probe February 22, 2022 Barclays has frozen share awards to Jes Staley, its former chief executive, as he contests the an investigation into his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.
HSBC profits double to £13.9bn as lender rebounds from pandemic slowdown February 22, 2022 HSBC has reported profits more than doubled last year as the lender recorded stellar growth across its divisions, driven by the release of expected credit losses stored up over the pandemic and a higher share of profits from the firm's associates.
Named and shamed in ‘global game of chess’: The Russian banks and businessmen the UK has imposed sanctions on February 22, 2022 Five banks named by Boris Johnson earlier today only have a small footprint in the UK, although the largest one Promsvyazbank did have ambitions to float on the London Stock Exchange a decade ago. The sanctions imposed on the five banks and three Russian businessmen are unlikely to have a significant effect on British businesses [...]
UK customers of Monzo hit by SMS-based phishing attack February 22, 2022 UK customers of all-digital bank Monzo are being targeted with an SMS-based phishing campaign, aiming to steal sensitive information from their accounts, according to various reports this morning, including Computing magazine. One of the most important aspects of creating a Monzo account is verifying a customer’s device, normally done through a ‘golden link’ sent to [...]
Barclays prepares to name Anna Cross as first female chief financial officer February 21, 2022 Barclays is reportedly lining up Anna Cross as its next chief financial officer, in a positive step for gender diversity in top banking roles
Morses Club shares tumble 63 per cent as ex-boss dumps £200,000 of shares before profit warning February 21, 2022 The boss of one the UK’s top doorstep lenders dumped around £200,000 of his stake in the firm just before it sounded the alarm on profits to investors today. Paul Smith, chief of Morses Club, a high-cost consumer credit provider, ditched more than half of his stake in the firm last Thursday. Smith unexpectedly left [...]