Exclusive: Building societies slash business lending by a third November 13, 2020 Building societies have slashed their business lending by a third in the five years, Morning Wire can exclusively reveal. According to new figures from accountants BDO, the amount of money lent by the UK’s biggest building societies has dropped from £11.8bn in 2015/16 to just £7.9bn last year. The fall in lending comes at a [...]
Building consensus on London’s housing priorities November 13, 2020 | Sponsored The housing market has the potential to play a significant role in the UK’s economic and social recovery from the pandemic – but housing in London faces a mounting number of challenges and uncertainties in doing so. That was the verdict of a roundtable held as part of a UK-wide initiative by Lloyds Banking Group [...]
DEBATE: Will the National Security and Investment Bill make it harder for the UK to remain a business hub? November 13, 2020 Max von Thun, senior associate at political advisory firm Global Counsel, says YES. Under the screening regime proposed by the new National Security and Investment Bill, a much higher number of deals will be subject to potential government intervention on national security grounds for up to five years after they have taken place. In addition [...]
When did central banks decide that abnormal monetary growth doesn’t matter anymore? November 13, 2020 With many countries’ economies still suffering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, or even — as in the UK — still under large-scale lockdown, another fall in spending and output in the autumn is expected. Worryingly, policymakers around the world only seem to be concerned about the short-term impact of the lockdowns, and appear [...]
Canada to be shut out of EU with no equivalence deal from January November 12, 2020 Brussels looks set to lock Canada out of European markets from 1 January, with the EU not planning on granting regulatory equivalence for the whole bloc before the end of the Brexit transition period.
British Business Investments invests in record number of firms November 11, 2020 The commercial arm of the government-backed British Business Bank has invested in a record number of firms but its rate of return has more than halved due to the pandemic. The British Business Investments (BBI) annual report shows an additional 15 commitments totalling £547m in the year to 31 March 2020. It brings the total [...]
‘Positive evidence’ on negative interest rates, says BoE policymaker Tenreyro November 11, 2020 Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro said there was “positive evidence” that negative interest rates could help banks and the wider economy amid the downturn caused by Covid-19. “The positive evidence related to negative interest rate policy comes from Europe, where it has worked fairly well,” Tenreyro said in an interview with the Yorkshire Post. [...]
China’s banking regulator urges anti-monopoly scrutiny in financial sector November 11, 2020 China should borrow the play-book of foreign countries and step up anti-monopoly scrutiny in the financial sector to protect the interests of consumers, a senior official at the country’s top banking watchdog said earlier today. The remarks by Liang Tao, vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), came a day after China published draft rules aimed [...]
Dutch bank ABN Amro beats profit expectations after smaller rise in bad loans November 11, 2020 ABN Amro reported expectation-beating results, despite posting a 46 per cent drop in third quarter profit as losses on bad loans due to the Covid-19 pandemic rose less than expected. The Dutch lender posted a net profit of €301m (£268m) for the three months to September, beating bank-compiled analyst forecasts of €111m, but almost half [...]
Barclays fossil fuel financing increases despite ‘net zero’ pledge November 11, 2020 Barclays has increased its financing of fossil fuel firms despite setting a ‘net zero’ goal for itself earlier this year following investor pressure, according to a new report. The bank, which is Europe’s largest fossil fuel financer, provided $24.58bn (£18.55bn) in underwriting and lending to major fossil fuel companies between January and September this year. [...]