Goldman Sachs has warned Brexit might force it to restructure August 5, 2016 Bank of England hysteria aside, the fallout from the Brexit vote has been seen by many as relatively minimal. But now Goldman Sachs has added its voice to the doom-mongers, admitting it may be forced to restructure "certain of our operations" if the outcome of Brexit negotiations isn't to its liking. In a US filing last night, the [...]
RBS calls time on Williams & Glyn IPO as it opens discussions with rival bidders August 5, 2016 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has ditched its plans to spin off Williams & Glyn as a standalone bank and will instead sell the division directly to one of its rivals The government-owned lender, which reported a £2bn loss for the first half of the year, blamed IT difficulties for the hold-up, saying it was proving [...]
RBS share price down on £2bn loss and Brexit warnings August 5, 2016 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported a whopping £2bn loss for the first six months of the year, as it continues to pay the price for wrongdoing during the financial crisis. The bank also warned investors that, given the result of the EU referendum, it was unlikely to hit its medium-term targets and [...]
Mark Carney says UK banks have “no excuse” to stop lending after his new stimulus package August 4, 2016 Announcing a new massive stimulus package and a cut to interest rates, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has told banks they have no excuse to stop lending to the real economy. As part of today's package a new £100bn scheme was announced which will see the Bank printing cash in order to finance cheap [...]
Wells Fargo has shrugged off the Brexit blues as it says it experienced “no material impact” on its business August 3, 2016 US banking giant Wells Fargo & Co said yesterday that it did not experience any material impact on its UK or other foreign businesses as a result of the pro-Brexit vote last month. Wells Fargo said the higher end of its potential litigation losses in excess of its liability for probable losses was about $1bn [...]
This might be the reason HSBC’s shares are up despite profits going down August 3, 2016 HSBC did not perform particularly well financially during the first half of 2016, revealing this morning that pre-tax profits dropped 29 per cent. The picture was even bleaker on a quarterly basis, where profits plunged 45 per cent, failing to meet analysts' already glib expectations of a 40 per cent drop. However, there was some [...]
Profits dive 46 per cent at Standard Chartered but share price jumps August 3, 2016 Standard Chartered's share price has jumped even as it reported a 46 per cent fall in profits and said it was not yet ready to reinstate an interim dividend. The emerging markets focused bank reported pre-tax underlying profits of $994m (£745m) in the first six months of the year, down from $1.8bn in the comparable period of 2015, [...]
Bank shares across Europe have opened steadily after HSBC results August 3, 2016 European banks have stopped the rot after two days of dramatic selling across the continent, as a share buyback at HSBC helped buoy investor sentiment. The UK's largest listed lender reported a steeper-than-expected 29 per cent fall in profits, but intends to snap up around $2.5bn (£1.9bn) of its own shares and maintain its dividend. [...]
HSBC calls for “calm consideration” following Brexit vote, as profits slide thanks to uncertain environment August 3, 2016 HSBC has today revealed its pre-tax profits have fallen 29 per cent during its first half of 2016, while suggesting it will be taking a cautious but calm approach to the Brexit vote. The figures The bank reported profits before tax for the first six months of the year of $9.7bn (£7.3bn), down 28.7 per cent from $13.6bn, calling it [...]
Bank of England stress tests “worse than useless” according to free market think tank August 3, 2016 The Bank of England's stress-testing regime is “worse than useless” according to a new report from free market think tank the Adam Smith Institute. The tests gave the UK's banking system a clean bill of health in 2015, but the think tank argues that the regime is riven with fundamental flaws. And days after alarm bells were [...]