Moody’s forecasts fast growth for Islamic banking in next five years August 15, 2019 Islamic banking within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will grow substantially over the next five years, according to Moody’s Investors Service. The US agency is forecasting financial expansion in many of the CIS counties during the years ahead as a result of government initiatives built to nurture the sector. Read more: Challenger bank Monzo [...]
Rabobank profits fall by a quarter as lender hit with charges August 15, 2019 Pre-tax profit at the Dutch lender Rabobank fell by 26 per cent in the first half of the year, the company said today, after it was hit with impairment charges and struggled with low interest rates. Read more: Four lenders awarded £40m from RBS banking competition funds The figures Rabobank’s operating profit before tax dropped [...]
ECB tells banks in Britain to speed up Brexit preparations August 14, 2019 Banks have been urged to speed up their Brexit preparations by the European Central Bank (ECB), which warned yesterday that London-based firms are falling behind on potential plans to move jobs. The Eurozone’s top banking watchdog has called on firms to step up their contingency plans as the UK nears Downing Street’s 31 October deadline [...]
Standard Chartered eyes growth in private banking with hiring spree August 14, 2019 Standard Chartered is set to embark on a recruitment spree in Asia as part of a plan to grow its private banking assets to roughly $100bn (£82bn). Over the next two to three years the lender is set to hire 30-40 private bankers every year to bulk up its private bank assets by 50 per [...]
Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud awarded £40m from RBS banking competition fund August 14, 2019 Four UK financial firms have been handed a combined £40m today from an RBS fund aimed at boosting business banking competition. Atom Bank, iwoca, Modulr Finance and Currencycloud were awarded the new capital as part of an effort to boost lending and payments services to SMEs in the UK. Read more: Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency [...]
City watchdog delays new online payments rules after industry appeals for more time August 13, 2019 The financial regulator has agreed to delay new rules on online payments for 18 months after industry bodies called for more time to adapt to the changes. The new rules, known as strong customer authentication (SCA), will create an additional layer of verification for online payments to help reduce fraud. Read more: City watchdog launches [...]
Financial Conduct Authority looking into Muddy Waters short attack on Burford Capital August 12, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it is making “wide-ranging enquiries” into the circumstances surrounding the publication of a shortselling report on Burford Capital by Muddy Waters. US shortseller Muddy Waters launched a short attack on the litigation finance company last week, tweeting that it would shortly be announcing a new short position before [...]
Burford Capital alleges ‘market manipulation’ ahead of Muddy Waters short attack August 12, 2019 Burford Capital said it has identified evidence consistent with “illegal market manipulation” of its shares in the run up to a short attack on the company by Muddy Waters. The litigation finance company said it had analysed trading data from the 6 and 7 August with the help of a market manipulation expert, and had [...]
RBS to select Alison Rose to become first female chief executive August 10, 2019 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to pick Alison Rose to become its new chief executive. Rose will become the first woman to lead one of the UK’s biggest high street lenders and is likely to be named as Ross McEwan’s successor in the coming weeks, Sky News claim. Read more: Outgoing RBS [...]
German government mulls sale of stake in struggling Commerzbank August 9, 2019 The German government is weighing up the sale of its 16 per cent share in Commerzbank, the country’s second-biggest lender, and is seeking expert advice on the future of its stake. Read more: Commerzbank warns its 2019 profit target now looks ‘ambitious’ Shares in Commerzbank have fallen almost 40 per cent over the last year. [...]