First deal for new UK Infrastructure Bank as it pumps £107m into green energy hub October 25, 2021 The brand new UK Infrastructure Bank said this morning it plans to invest £107m in the South Bank Quay development at Teesworks, a green energy hub in Teesside, North-East England, creating around 800 jobs. The deal marks the first investment for the bank, which launched in June of this year to finance innovative infrastructure projects, [...]
UK investors cheer third quarter dividend windfall October 25, 2021 As supply chain, labour and inflation storm clouds gathered on the horizon, City investors toasted an overflowing dividend pot and the end of this summer – boosted by the FTSE’s mining, oil and banking companies. Total UK dividends soared to £34.9bn in the three months to 30 September, up by nearly 90 per cent on [...]
TSB turns down ‘£1bn merger approach’ from Co-Operative Bank October 24, 2021 Co-operative Bank’s £1bn-plus offer for TSB has been rebuffed by its Spanish owners. Sabadell’s board decided to reject the offer at the end of September. The deal would have created a high street lender with 340 branches and over eight million customers, according to Sky News, which first reported the acquisition attempt. This would encompass [...]
Global deal making frenzy lifts Barclays profits to record high October 21, 2021 Barlcays has ridden the wave of a booming global deal making frenzy to post its strongest ever third quarter results. The UK banking behemoth registered a pre-tax profit of £6.9bn in the year to the end of September, its best take ever. The standout performance was driven by Barclays’ investment banking division posting its best [...]
UK banks’ earnings season is tough one to call October 20, 2021 Wall Street’s biggest banks have reaped the rewards of a booming deal environment, the release of loan loss reserves and swelling deposits. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan all flexed their muscles as they kicked off US earnings season last week. Now, it is the turn of their British pretenders, starting tomorrow with the [...]
Lloyds Bank and Halifax to close 48 branches with 178 jobs at risk October 20, 2021 Lloyds Banking Group said this afternoon it plans to close a further 48 branches, blaming declining visits by customers. The Unite union said the closure of 41 Lloyds Bank and seven Halifax branches will deny thousands of customers access to vital services and cash, and could lead to 178 job losses. Vim Maru, retail director [...]
MPs want answers from FCA over over NatWest money laundering case October 20, 2021 An influential group of MPs has written to the financial watchdog over its investigation into money laundering at NatWest. Treasury Committee chair Mel Stride has asked Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss Nikhil Rathi to explain why it took five years to secure a prosecution against the bank. Earlier this month NatWest admitted three counts of [...]
The UK’s smaller businesses are lagging in net zero push, says British Business Bank October 20, 2021 Smaller businesses are responsible for around half of the UK’s business-produced emissions, according to new research by the British Business Bank. Despite climate commitments like net zero pledges becoming more prevalent among businesses as the government embarks on its ‘green revolution’, only around half of smaller firms have decarbonisation or cutting their environmental impact as [...]
Taxing times: Sunak to slim down Bank Surcharge October 19, 2021 The additional tax on banks is set to slashed in the Budget, a boost for the capital’s lenders. The Bank Surcharge, an eight per cent top-up to corporation tax levied on banks, will be reduced to three per cent in the upcoming budget according to the Financial Times. The Chancellor has previously signalled that the [...]
FCA fines Credit Suisse over £147m for ‘tuna bond’ loan failures in Mozambique October 19, 2021 Credit Suisse has been fined over £147 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The investment bank has been punished for serious due diligence failings involving two loans worth over $1.3bn and a bond exchange arranged for the Republic of Mozambique. The fine settles a long-running US probe into Credit Suisse’s role in the Mozambique [...]