Why UK banks are not going to cause another financial crisis January 15, 2023 UK banks are better prepared to withstand a jump in home loan defaults, cooling fears of a repeat of the financial crisis, analysts have told Morning Wire Strict affordability rules implemented after the 2008 banking crash have strengthened lenders’ loan books, meaning they are well insulated from a potential rise in defaults caused by last [...]
Sign of the times: Bank branches shut doors in their thousands December 24, 2022 More than 5,000 bank and building society branches have closed over the past seven years, according to analysis from Which? The consumer group counted 5,162 bank and building society branches which have closed since January 2015. A further 206 branches are set to close by the end of 2023, according to the Which? findings, as [...]
Relief for mortgage prisoners: Six banks to begin lending on flats with unsafe cladding December 20, 2022 A handful of the country’s biggest banks will consider mortgage applications for some flats with dangerous cladding from January, in a sigh of relief for people trapped in unsellable properties. Lenders withdrew mortgage provisions for unsafe flats following the Grenfell Tower disaster, when 72 people were killed in a fire at a high-rise block in [...]
Lloyds swoops in for ING’s tech leader as its new COO December 15, 2022 Lloyds has swooped in for the top brass at ING as the lender announces a Ron van Kemenade as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will join next year from ING where was chief technology officer and a member of its executive committee. Charlie Nunn, CEO at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “This is a [...]
Difficult decision to come from Sunak and Hunt on bank surcharge October 30, 2022 The government has not ruled out reversing a tax cut on the UK’s biggest banks as it scrambles to overfill a huge hole in the public finances. Asked today by Morning Wire if chancellor Jeremy Hunt and prime minister Rishi Sunak would commit to cutting the bank surcharge, an effective windfall tax, the Treasury said [...]
Government eyes bank surcharge U-turn despite Lloyds profits tumbling October 27, 2022 Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, Lloyds Bank, has set aside hundreds of millions of pounds in preparation for a surge in loan defaults caused by the rising cost of living and higher interest rates squeezing household budgets. The lender today said it had banked £668m over the three months to September to absorb souring loans, primarily [...]
London’s FTSE 100 boosted by Truss trampled stocks regaining ground after Sunak victory October 24, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 today was lifted by stocks that have suffered during the last month’s financial market turmoil regaining losses. The capital’s premier index closed 0.64 per cent higher at 7,013.99 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, rose 0.76 per cent to [...]
Government puts bank windfall tax on table to help plug fiscal hole October 19, 2022 The government has put a windfall tax on the UK’s largest banks on the table, sending their shares plummeting today. London-listed Lloyds Bank, which is Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, plunged to the bottom of the FTSE 100 index today, shedding 4.11 per cent. Previously state-owned NatWest trailed closely behind on the biggest losers’ table, dropping [...]
London’s FTSE 100 dragged down by windfall tax rumours hitting UK banks October 19, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged lower today by investors ditching UK banks on fears they will be hit by a windfall tax by new chancellor Jeremy Hunt. The capital’s premier index fell 0.17 per cent to 6,924.99 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
London’s FTSE 100 weighed down UK banks tumbling October 12, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 was marred by the UK’s largest listed lenders falling sharply today on fears over borrowers struggling to pay home loans. The capital’s premier index fell 0.86 per cent to 6,826.15 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, dropped 1.73 per [...]