Four things you need to know about today’s CMA retail banking report August 9, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published its long-awaited final recommendations for the UK's banking sector. Since the probe first launched in July 2014, the competition watchdog has faced intense scrutiny from all sides, with smaller institutions hoping the CMA will break up the “Big Five” banks – RBS, Lloyds, HSBC, Santander and Barclays [...]
CMA puts plans for changes to account switching that could cost up to £10bn on the back burner August 9, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today released the final report on its retail banking investigation, with a big focus on making switching bank accounts easier for customers. One of the "more fundamental changes" to the switching process would be the introduction of account number portability (ANP), which would "mean that a customer would effectively take their [...]
How nine challenger banks reacted to the CMA’s report on current accounts August 9, 2016 Nine challenger banks including TSB and Metro Bank have slammed the findings of the UK's competition watchdog in its investigation into the retail banking sector, arguing the review has missed “a golden opportunity”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report, published this morning, called on banks to implement an “open banking” standard by 2018, allowing customers to monitor and access all [...]
Barclays to fork out another $100m in the US over Libor-rigging scandal August 8, 2016 Banking giant Barclays is pay out a further $100m (£76.7m) for its role in the Libor-rigging scandal. The settlement covers 44 US states for Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc, it was revealed in a statement from the New York Attorney General's office. Other states included in the settlement include California, Florida and Washington. "There has to [...]
Government could pocket £2.7bn in profit if it sold Lloyds shares now August 8, 2016 The government could rake in more than two billion pounds in profit if it shed its remaining shares in Lloyds Banking Group today, new research has found. The analysis by Hargreaves Lansdown discovered, thanks to a cocktail of dividends, fees received for underwriting loans and previous share sales at higher prices, it could turn a profit of £2.7bn if it [...]
Banks got a boost from brokers’ ratings August 8, 2016 Banks were the kings of the stock exchange today after their shares received a valuable thumbs up. Barclays closed up 3.6 per cent at 157.40p, no doubt buoyed by Exane BNP upgrading it to outperform from neutral. [stockChart code="BARC" date="2016-08-08 12:22"] Barclays was the second-highest riser in the FTSE 100, following fellow bank RBS, which closed up [...]
Lloyds Bank faces legal action over equal pensions for men and women August 8, 2016 A trade union at Lloyds Bank is undertaking legal action to address the pension pay gap between men and women. The case could set a precedent for other companies, potentially costing them over £13bn, the FT has reported. Read more: Lloyds Banking Group to cull a further 3,000 jobs Lloyds Trade Union has described the gap [...]
The solution for undercapitalised European banks? Stop paying dividends, say academics August 7, 2016 Undercapitalised European banks have been condemned for paying out billions of pounds worth of dividends last year. New research has found 28 of the 34 publicly listed lenders that underwent European Banking Authority (EBA) stress tests, the results of which were published last month, paid out €40bn (£34bn) in 2015. The study – by Sascha [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore expected to show it can outpace the big players this Thursday August 7, 2016 Aldermore is expected to report a large leap in pre-tax profits when it reveals its half-year results on Thursday. Results released by banking's big players over the last fortnight have been rather gloomy, with HSBC and Barclays both reporting substantial slips in their profits and RBS revealing a £2bn loss. Meanwhile, even though Lloyds Banking [...]
Investment banks to earn a pretty penny off back of Monte dei Paschi rescue deal August 7, 2016 Investment banks are expected to pocket big fees from a proposed emergency plan for Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The troubled bank recently revealed it was ironing out a €5bn (£4.2bn) rescue deal to bolster its capital with the help of Mediobanca and JP Morgan, although the deal is still tentative and may yet fall through. However, sources have [...]