TSB recovers from IT meltdown to return a profit January 30, 2020 TSB returned a profit and a healthy balance sheet in 2019 after it stemmed losses from its failed IT migration. The bank reported that profit before tax for the year to 31 December 2019 was £46m, compared to a pre-tax loss of £105.4m in 2018. It said it was “primarily driven by the non-recurring effect [...]
DEBATE: Are technology companies a threat to central banks? January 30, 2020 Are technology companies a threat to central banks? Bhavin Patel, head of fintech research at OMFIF, says YES. Tech companies are rapidly developing solutions to overcome shortfalls in the monetary system and proving flexible in tailoring their services to converge with consumer trends. Wide-scale adoption of privately-issued digital coins is growing more probable, particularly in [...]
Deutsche Bank crashes to massive €5.7bn loss January 30, 2020 Deutsche Bank slipped to a larger than expected loss of €5.7bn (£4.8bn) last year, as the costs of its turnaround drive hit profits. The German banking giant has now posted losses for five consecutive years. Deutsche has struggled with misconduct scandals, failed US growth plans and an abortive merger with rival Commerzbank. Chief executive Christian [...]
Prudential appoints former government minister Baroness Vadera as new chair January 30, 2020 Insurer Prudential said today it had appointed former banker and government minister baroness Shriti Vadera to chair its business. Vadera will join from Santander UK where she is chair. She is also senior independent director of mining giant BHP Group. Vadera was a UK government minister between 2007 and 2009, working on issues such as [...]
Coinbase expands institutional crypto asset storage internationally January 30, 2020 Coinbase is expanding its institutional crypto asset storage service internationally, establishing an office in Ireland in a bid to capitalise on growing demand for digital currencies from institutional investors. Coinbase Custody International will be based in Dublin, expanding an existing office in the city. While its main arm, based in San Francisco, does serve Europe-based [...]
Lloyds Bank announces 56 branch closures this year January 29, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group has announced today that it will close 56 branches across the UK. The bank will close 31 Lloyds, 10 Halifax and 15 Bank of Scotland branches between April and October of this year. The financial services union Accord said in a statement: “We fully appreciate that the demand for high street branch [...]
City economists urge Bank of England to avoid interest rate cut January 29, 2020 For the whole of 2019, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) held interest rates steady despite a slowing economy as parliament wrestled with Brexit. Yet with Britain now leaving the EU, there is a real possibility the MPC will cut rates for the first time in four years tomorrow, in what will be [...]
Santander annual profit falls 12 per cent on one-time charges January 29, 2020 Spain’s biggest bank Santander suffered a 12 per cent fall in profit in 2019 as the lender was hit by goodwill and restructuring costs and low interest rates. It pulled in record annual revenues, however, supported by solid expansion in the Americas, its yearly results showed today. The figures Profit before tax at the lender [...]
‘Pack of cards would have started to tumble’ if Barclays failed to secure Qatar cash, court hears January 28, 2020 Barclays would have been left in a dire position if it had failed to get Qatar to commit to two multi-billion pound financial crisis fundraisings, the Old Bailey heard today. A barrister for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today began the closing argument for the prosecution in the landmark trial of three senior former Barclays [...]
FCA has not brought a single prosecution under new anti-money laundering powers January 28, 2020 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has not brought a single prosecution under new tougher criminal powers to combat money laundering that were introduced in 2017, a freedom of information (FOI) request shows. The FCA has the power under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 to criminally prosecute a person or organisation it suspects of not putting [...]