Beijing wants banks and insurers to bolster investment in stock market as it helps to replenish cash reserves
China will inject $54bn (£40bn) into its financial sector as Beijing attempts to shore up banks and insurers in the face of faltering economic growth.
A host of financial institutions said they were due to receive billions of yuan in capital from state institutions including the ministry of finance and even the company that runs the country’s tobacco monopoly.
Continue reading...Bank says gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily and the move will allow it to respond more rapidly in a ‘crisis situation’
The Dutch central bank says it has moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”.
De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily than those held in New York and Ottawa.
Continue reading...Bangladeshi complainants allege Rampal power station’s pollution and climate risks threaten the Sunderbans, a world heritage site
Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to millions of people in Bangladesh and India.
Three complainants from the region have submitted a case to the UK government’s Office for Responsible Business Conduct, alleging that the British bank breached international guidelines by underwriting companies involved in the emission-heavy Maitree super thermal power project, also known as the Rampal power plant.
Continue reading...Exclusive: New entrants the only cohort making more loan applications amid interest rate rises and tax changes, mortgage broker says
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First home buyers are still taking out a large number of loans, with government backing, even as investors step back from Australia’s property market.
New entrants are now the only cohort applying for more loans than they were in June, according to new data from the mortgage broker network Loan Market.
Continue reading...ABS data shows an almost 9% slump in new lending to investors after three interest rate hikes this year
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In what one economist is describing as a “tiny step” toward a fairer housing market after decades of bad policy, property investors are shying away from established homes, and putting money into new builds instead, new data shows.
New lending to property investors fell sharply in the three months to June, slumping almost 9%, ABS data showed, while the number of total new home loans dropped by 5.4% in the June quarter.
Continue reading...Several firms promised to disrupt the consumer credit market by offering consumers their purchases instantly and the bill later. Did it work?
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Afterpay has never turned a profit in Australia. Last month, it spent millions to take over a Sydney Olympic Park arena.
The company says Afterpay Arena will be the first venue where Australians can “buy now, pay later” for their event tickets, merchandise, dinner and even alcohol.
Continue reading...Levy could raise £19bn to help pay for Andy Burnham’s support for those struggling with bills, say campaigners
Campaigners have renewed calls for a windfall tax on UK banks that could raise £19bn towards Andy Burnham’s cost of living agenda, after HSBC raked in $10.1bn (£7.5bn) worth of profits in the second quarter of the year.
Bosses at HSBC reported on Tuesday that profits rose 60% year on year in the three months to the end of June, helped by fees from wealth management and insurance business, as well as higher interest rates, which allow the bank to charge more for loans and mortgages.
Continue reading...Disclosure from 2021 investigation marks first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump
Capital One Financial hit back on Friday against a lawsuit over its decision to close the Trump Organization’s bank accounts years ago, stating that it did so after a review by anti-money-laundering experts.
The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money-laundering concerns to Donald Trump’s family business. Capital One is seeking to dismiss the case by casting doubt on claims of illegally debanking – or denying services on religious or political grounds – the Trump Organization.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Latest Guardian revelation about gift from cryptocurrency tycoon comes as Reform UK leader forces byelection
The £5m gift to Nigel Farage by a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency by bankers who were concerned it may have been laundered money, the Guardian can reveal.
The disclosure will put further pressure on the Reform UK leader, who is awaiting a decision by the standards commissioner over whether his failure to declare the money breached parliamentary rules.
Continue reading...Central bank’s financial policy committee members voice concern on trimming big lenders’ financial buffers
The Bank of England is planning to loosen capital requirements for major UK lenders, even as policymakers expressed concern about the threat to financial stability from rapid AI developments and debt-fuelled stock investments.
The central bank said on Tuesday it was looking to remove and loosen some rules introduced after the 2008 financial crisis that determine the size of the financial cushion required to absorb losses and protect consumers and taxpayers when things go wrong.
Continue reading...Group confirms it will stop opening new accounts under the name and move existing ones to Lloyds
Lloyds Banking Group has announced it is axing the Halifax brand, scrubbing the 173-year-old former building society’s name from UK high streets.
The group will stop opening new accounts under the Halifax brand and kickstart a process of shifting existing accounts to Lloyds branding over the coming days.
Continue reading...Bill Winters faced backlash over remarks about some of near 8,000 staff set to lose roles to AI
The chief executive of Standard Chartered has apologised for referring to some of the almost 8,000 staff that are set to lose their jobs to artificial intelligence as “lower-value human capital”.
Bill Winters offered the apology after a backlash over comments he made earlier this week as the London-headquartered lender became one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut about 7,800 back-office roles, primarily in response to AI.
Continue reading...London-headquartered bank will reduce back-office jobs and aims to move some workers to new roles
Standard Chartered plans to cut more than 7,000 jobs over the next four years as it increasingly uses artificial intelligence.
The London-headquartered lender is one of the first major global banks to lay out plans to cut thousands of jobs, citing AI as a driver to make its operations slimmer as it seeks to increase its profitability and tackle competition.
Continue reading...SS and Glass Lewis back shareholder resolution amid fears over power wielded by Jamie Dimon, who holds both roles
Investors in JP Morgan have been urged to vote in favour of splitting the role of chief executive and chair at America’s largest bank, amid concerns over the power wielded by its billionaire boss Jamie Dimon.
ISS and Glass Lewis, which issue advice to some of the world’s biggest fund managers on how to vote at annual investor meetings, have thrown their weight behind a shareholder resolution that would ensure two separate people hold the office of chair and chief executive “as soon as possible”. Investors are due to vote on the resolution at the bank’s annual general meeting on 19 May.
Continue reading...Profits ahead of expectations but almost half of £283m impairment charge follows forecast reassessment
NatWest said the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East could cost it £140m amid slowing growth and rising inflation even as it reported profits ahead of expectations.
Overall, the FTSE 100 lender booked a £283m impairment charge and said that almost half of that was because of a reassessment of its economic forecast to “reflect increased geopolitical risk and weaker equity markets”.
Continue reading...Hundreds of senior staff in territory benefit from nearly £30,000-a-year grant per child not available to staff in group’s other hubs
HSBC is reportedly reviewing a perk that covers school fees for bankers in Hong Kong as part of a big overhaul of the bank under its chief executive, Georges Elhedery.
Europe’s largest bank is considering whether to scrap the perk for new employees or make changes to total compensation, Bloomberg News reported. No decisions have been made yet.
Continue reading...Treasurer Jim Chalmers says changes will help with cost of living and ‘Australians hate paying’ the surcharges
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Debit and credit card surcharges will be gone by October under Reserve Bank reforms, with big banks likely to foot the bill for the cost-of-living measures.
The new rules, announced on Tuesday, will enable businesses to remove added fees on Mastercard, visa and eftpos card payments.
Continue reading...City regulator reduces number of loan agreements in line for compensation from 14m to 12m
Victims of the car finance scandal will be in line for payouts worth £830 on average, as the City regulator tightened the rules of its compensation scheme to cover fewer contracts.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released the final details of its planned redress programme, saying it had narrowed the number of loan agreements eligible for payouts from 14m to 12.1m contracts.
Continue reading...Law firm is preparing claim on behalf of 30,000 consumers who fear the FCA’s redress scheme will shortchange them
Lloyds Banking Group is facing a court battle with 30,000 aggrieved car loan customers who are to abandon the City regulator’s official redress scheme amid fears it will shortchange consumers and favour lenders.
The claims law firm Courmacs Legal is planning to file a £66m omnibus claim on behalf of borrowers who believe they were financially harmed by car loan contracts set up by Lloyds’ motor finance arm, Black Horse.
Continue reading...Milan-based bank plans to up its near-30% stake in German lender to trigger formal talks despite strong opposition from Berlin
Two European banking powerhouses have become embroiled in a €35bn (£30bn) takeover battle after Italy’s UniCredit stepped up its long-running pursuit of German lender Commerzbank, despite strong opposition from the German government.
UniCredit first took a stake of 9% in Commerzbank in September 2024 and has since built up its holding to just under 30%. It said on Monday it was pushing to increase that holding further and push the rival lender into formal merger talks.
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