Sparks fly as Provident accused of ‘scaremongering’ over hostile Non-Standard Finance bid May 10, 2019 Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has hit out at the management of Provident Financial, accusing it of “scaremongering” in a bid to fend off a hostile takeover. NSF, which launched the £1.3bn bid in February, today accused Provident of going “to great lengths to deflect attention from its flawed strategy, regulatory breaches, broken promises and underwhelming financial [...]
Atom Bank to raise £50m after major shareholder BBVA decides against full takeover May 9, 2019 Atom Bank, an online-only lender, is preparing to launch a £50m fundraising bid after its main shareholder abandoned a full takeover of the company. The bank has started speaking to investors over the fundraise in recent weeks, Sky News reported today. Read more: How Monzo plans to save you money on your energy bills It [...]
Metro Bank shares plunge to all-time lows as hedge funds circle ahead of £350m rights issue May 9, 2019 Metro Bank shares plunged to all-time lows today as hedge funds ramped up bets against the challenger bank ahead of a £350m rights issue. Hedge funds have now shorted 12.5 per cent of the bank’s shares, making it the most shorted UK stock. Read more: Metro Bank's shares in meltdown after profits halved The dog-loving [...]
The City powers the UK economy – it must not fall into Labour’s hands May 8, 2019 Despite the best efforts of a few valiant voices, the City (and its interests) received a shameful lack of attention during the Brexit debate and has been largely left to fend for itself ever since. Read more: What the next Bank of England governor’s CV looks like However, the race to succeed Mark Carney at [...]
Provident Financial says hostile bidder Non-Standard Finance is overvalued May 8, 2019 Provident Financial today said it had concerns about the valuation of Non-Standard Finance (NSF) which is trying to take it over. Provident said it had concerns NSF was undercapitalised, it said NSF’s business was facing “significant headwinds”, it said there was an overly positive perspective on NSF’s headline financial performance and said NSF was overvalued [...]
Standard Chartered given bloody nose as investors revolt over chief executive pension pay May 8, 2019 Standard Chartered shareholders have given the bank a bloody nose over a ‘stealth increase’ to chief executive Bill Winters’ pension. Investors holding more than 36 per cent of the UK-headquartered multinational bank’s shares voted against its directors’ pay report at its AGM today. Read more: Standard Chartered unveils $1bn share buy back plan Shareholder advisory [...]
Challenger bank Monzo teams up with challenger energy suppliers in bid to steal customers from Big Six May 8, 2019 Monzo customers will be able to use their apps to get a better deal on their electricity and gas, the company announced today. The challenger bank has teamed up with challenger energy suppliers Ovo and Octopus in a bid to lure more customers away from standard tariffs and the Big Six suppliers. Read more: Supercharged: Moneysupermarket booms [...]
Commerzbank profits and revenues slump weeks after Deutsche Bank merger talks collapse May 8, 2019 Commerzbank has reported sliding revenue weeks after merger talks with rival Deutsche Bank fell apart. The figures Revenue fell 2.8 per cent year-on-year to €2.16bn in the first quarter of 2019, from €2.22bn in 2018, driven by exceptional items. Read more: Deutsche Bank slashes revenue target after Commerzbank talks collapse Profit before tax plummeted 25.3 [...]
Treasury Committee chair Morgan criticises government over economic crime reforms May 8, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee Nicky Morgan MP criticised the government today for failing to create a register of politically exposed persons to help fight economic crime. Morgan was commenting on the government’s response today to the Committee’s recent report on economic crime. “It is disappointing that the government has chosen not to endorse [...]
UK adults could lose out on a combined £100m a year by not investing their savings May 8, 2019 UK adults could be losing out on a combined £100m a year by not investing their savings, according to research published today. A survey of over 2,000 adults by money app Yolt found one-in-four leave their savings in their current account and 14 per cent do nothing with their savings at all. On a nationwide [...]