Metro Bank confirms £500m Cerberus loan sale talks July 22, 2019 Metro Bank shares rose more than three per cent this morning as the lender confirmed it is in talks to offload a portfolio of mortgages to a US hedge fund. The bank is reportedly preparing to sell £523m of buy-to-let mortgages back to Cerberus in order to strengthen its loanbook, after buying the mortgages off [...]
Woodford props up £50m funding for Atom Bank July 22, 2019 Digital banking stalwart Atom Bank has today raised £50m from its existing investors, including former star fund manager Neil Woodford. Woodford, who previously held a stake in Atom through his beleaguered Equity Income fund, has invested £10m in the fintech firm through his other listed entity Woodford Patient Capital Trust. The trader transferred his stake [...]
MPs turn up the heat on Standard Chartered boss over pension pay row July 22, 2019 Standard Chartered’s under-fire boss is facing mounting pressure from politicians following a major fallout with shareholders over his controversial pay packet. Chief executive Bill Winters has come under fire today from public figures over a pension pay row that has rocked the firm’s relationship with its investors over recent weeks. Read more: Judge dismisses Credit [...]
Metro Bank in talks to sell £500m of loans back to US hedge fund July 21, 2019 Struggling lender Metro Bank is set to sell £500m of mortgages back to US hedge fund Cerberus in a bid to shore up its capital position, according to Sky News. Read more: Metro Bank shares fall further amid boardroom bust-up In February 2018 Metro Bank bought £523m of buy-to-let mortgages, mainly made up of London [...]
Cashplus posts revenue record as it prepares to submit final banking licence July 21, 2019 Cashplus, one of Britain’s longest-established digital challenger banks, has hailed a record year of revenues, as it gears up to submit its final banking license in the coming weeks. The digital lender has told Morning Wire that revenues rose 19 per cent year-on-year to £45.6m in March, while operating profits rose for the eighth consecutive [...]
Judge dismisses Credit Suisse claims in £239m banking bonus row July 19, 2019 A UK court has dismissed an attempt from Credit Suisse to recoup £239m that it paid as a one-off tax on bonuses, closing the curtains on a decade-long tussle that was sparked by the financial crisis. Read more: Dixons Carphone executives delay bonuses The Swiss multinational bank has lost a legal battle with HMRC over [...]
Rothschild snaps up stake in Redburn as industry pressures drive consolidation July 19, 2019 Rothschild has snapped up a minority stake in equity research house Redburn, in the latest sign of industry consolidation amid regulatory pressures from EU legislation. The deal, which was struck for an undisclosed sum of money, will help Rothschild broaden its range of services and boost Redburn’s expansion plans, the two firms said earlier this [...]
Outgoing RBS boss Ross McEwan to take top role at National Australia Bank July 19, 2019 The outgoing head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is taking the reigns as new chief executive of the National Australia Bank (NAB). Ross McEwan, a banking veteran who is set to step down from RBS by April next year, has been poached by the NAB as it looks to recover from a financial [...]
Let’s end the government monopoly of financial regulation July 19, 2019 The growth of financial regulation seems inexorable. Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has noted that in 1980 there was one UK regulator for every 11,000 people employed in finance, compared to one for every 300 people by 2011. At that rate of growth, the number of regulators will overtake the number [...]
Watchdogs rebuff Bank of England’s criticism of Woodford fund scrutiny July 18, 2019 An international financial regulator has defended its current global rules for investment funds today in a pointed retaliation to recent criticism made by the Bank of England. Following the suspension of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund, the Bank of England said the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (Iosco) had not set out how such funds should [...]