ECB: Record-low interest rates causing ‘excessive risk-taking’ November 20, 2019 Record-low interest rates in the Eurozone have led to “excessive risk-taking in some sectors” which could threaten financial stability, the European Central Bank (ECB) has warned. The ECB defended low rates in its latest financial stability report, however, saying they were necessary to support economic activity in the struggling Eurozone. Read more: ECB warned over [...]
HSBC investment banking boss to lose role in shake-up November 20, 2019 HSBC’s investment banking boss is reportedly set to be replaced as part of a shake-up under interim chief executive Noel Quinn. The lender’s head of global banking and markets Samir Assaf is to be moved to a non-executive role, according to the FT. Read more: Softbank in talks over KPMG’s private members club Assaf has [...]
Three more companies ditch sponsorship of Prince Andrew’s Pitch@Palace scheme November 19, 2019 Three more companies said they would no longer support Prince Andrew’s entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, a day after KPMG jumped ship. International banking giant Standard Chartered was the first to pull the plug. A spokesman confirmed: “We won’t be renewing the sponsorship when it ends in February.” Read more: Corporate sponsors look to desert Prince Andrew’s [...]
TSB IT meltdown: Former and current bosses criticise damning probe into online outages November 19, 2019 Past and present TSB bosses have criticised parts of a damning independent probe into the bank’s catastrophic IT meltdown last year. City law firm Slaughter and May has concluded that TSB’s board lacked “common sense” in the run-up to an IT outage which left 2m TSB customers without access to online banking. Both TSB and [...]
Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia’s fintech startup Snoop gets watchdog approval November 19, 2019 Fintech startup Snoop, launched by ex-Virgin Money boss Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has won approval from the UK’s financial watchdog to handle customer data, a key step in the company’s ambitions. Snoop is an app that pledges to use consumer’s financial data to deliver “personalised insights to help consumers avoid rip-offs and make the most of [...]
TSB IT meltdown blamed on data centre test failure November 18, 2019 The IT meltdown that left nearly 2m TSB customers without access to online banking is set to be partly blamed on the company’s failure to test one of its new data centres. A long-awaited inquiry by City law firm Slaughter and May has concluded that the decision to test only one of the new data [...]
How the pound could react to a Tory General Election victory November 18, 2019 Buffeted by Brexit and a global economic slowdown, the pound has had a wild ride in 2019. Now, City economists believe sterling is at a crossroads, with the upcoming General Election poised to send sterling soaring – or diving. A Conservative majority could fire the pound above $1.40, analysts said, but a Labour victory may [...]
Creative monetary policy alone won’t spur sustainable economic growth November 18, 2019 The latest decision from the European Central Bank to reactivate quantitative easing to revitalise the comatose Eurozone economy has been met with scepticism — this time even by central bankers in the Eurozone. The doubters within the central banking community are now openly voicing their disagreement with such monetary policy tools. Monetary policy in the [...]
TSB’s IT boss ‘kept board in dark’ ahead of tech meltdown November 17, 2019 TSB Bank’s head of IT reportedly failed to warn board members about “shortcomings” with the testing of a new technology system days before it suffered a huge meltdown. TSB is facing a lengthy investigation by City law firm Slaughter and May into the botched rollout of a new IT system that caused nearly 2m customers [...]
Lloyds shareholders lose £385m HBOS High Court case November 15, 2019 Lloyds shareholders today lost a £385m High Court case against the bank’s acquisition of HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. England’s highest court rejected a claim from a group of 5,803 investors that they were “mugged” when the bank recommended the 2009 deal without revealing the state of HBOS’ finances. Read more: First [...]