Andrew Bailey: Banks should ‘put their back into’ coronavirus lending April 17, 2020 Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has sternly told banks to “put their back into” lending to struggling firms during the coronavirus outbreak. Lenders have come in for criticism that they are being too slow at handing out money through government-backed support schemes designed to stave off business collapses. Last week, Morning Wire revealed that [...]
Exclusive: Lloyds staff facing redundancy fear being left jobless by bank amid pandemic April 17, 2020 Staff at Lloyds Banking Group who are being made redundant fear the bank will leave them jobless amid the savage economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The bank publicly committed last month to pause plans to cut 780 jobs amid surging customer demand and the economic uncertainty leavers would face. However, it has not [...]
Funding Circle receives accreditation for government’s CBILS coronavirus loan scheme April 17, 2020 Peer-to-peer lender Funding Circle said today it had received accreditation from the British Business Bank (BBB) to take part in the government’s coronavirus business interruption loan scheme (CBILS). It is the first alternative lender to receive accreditation to lend to customers via the emergency scheme which is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses stay [...]
Morgan Stanley profit drops by nearly a third April 16, 2020 Morgan Stanley today said profit for the first quarter fell 32 per cent as its advisory and wealth management businesses took a hit from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Morgan Stanley’s wealth management unit, which contributes roughly half of its total revenue, fell eight per cent to $4.04bn (£3.23), after it was hit [...]
Bramson calls coronavirus truce in Barclays battle April 16, 2020 Activist investor Edward Bramson has called a temporary truce in his battle with Barclays chief executive Jes Staley during the coronavirus pandemic. Bramson’s investment vehicle Sherborne said today it would withhold its vote against Staley at Barclays’ upcoming annual meeting in recognition of the difficulties posed by the coronavirus pandemic. Sherborne said it still thinks [...]
Coronavirus: UK banks expect surge of business loan defaults April 16, 2020 The UK’s banks and building societies expect to see a surge of businesses defaulting on their loans in the coming months, survey data has shown, as coronavirus sends the economy into a deep recession. Small businesses are expected to be the worst hit, with expectations of defaults hitting their highest since the financial crisis for [...]
Bank lobby chief says changes to coronavirus loan scheme may be necessary April 15, 2020 The head of Britain’s banking lobby group has said the government’s coronavirus business loan scheme may need to change in order to increase lending to smaller businesses. UK Finance chief executive Stephen Jones told the Treasury Select Committee today that the government may need to guarantee 100 per cent of loans for small businesses, instead [...]
Citi profit halves as US banks brace for coronavirus impact April 15, 2020 Citigroup’s profit slumped almost 50 per cent in the first quarter as it became the latest US bank to beef up its loan reserves in a bid to mitigate the impact of coronavirus. The bank’s net income dropped 46 per cent year on year to $2.5bn (£2bn), or $1.05 per share. This was down from [...]
Goldman Sachs profit nearly halves as coronavirus hits investment April 15, 2020 Profit at Goldman Sachs dropped more than 45 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 compared to a year earlier as the coronavirus slowdown hit the Wall Street giant’s asset management arm, its latest earnings report showed today. Goldman’s net earnings for the January to March period were $1.21bn (£970m), down 46 per cent [...]
Bank of America profit nearly halves after it sets aside $4.8bn to cover bad loans April 15, 2020 Bank of America said today its profit for the first quarter was down 45 per cent on the same period last year as it set aside billions to cover expected loan defaults. The lender said its earnings for the three months to 31 March were $4bn (£3.2bn), compared to $7.3bn for the same period in [...]