Category Archives: Banking

Australia news live: Woodside doubles profits thanks to record production of oil; funnel-web spider shortage threatens antivenom program

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Australia’s largest oil and gas producer has doubled its profits to $5.6bn. Follow today’s news live

Senate estimates will be back under way today, and AAP has flagged a little of what we can expect:

Creative Australia bosses, including the chief executive, Adrian Collette, will front an estimates hearing and it’s expected they’ll be questioned about the selection body’s shock decision to ditch the Venice Biennale team.

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HSBC net zero goal delayed 20 years, as CEO offered 600% bonus

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Bank is criticised for pushing climate targets to 2050 and watering down environmental goals

HSBC has been criticised after it delayed key parts of its climate goals by 20 years, while watering down environmental targets in a new long-term bonus plan for its chief executive, Georges Elhedery, that could be worth up to 600% of his salary.

The London-headquartered lender said it was reviewing its net zero emissions policies and targets – which are split between its own operations and those of the clients it finances – after realising its clients and suppliers had “seen more challenges” in cutting their carbon footprint than expected.

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Rare metal assets, 4,000 workers, a Canary Wharf HQ… but does this billion-pound firm really exist?

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A bizarre mining business’s fake audit reveals the potential for fraudsters at Companies House

At first glance, there is nothing remarkable about Gofer Mining plc. It appears to be just another multibillion-pound corporate giant, with London headquarters in Canary Wharf and interests stretching from Tibet to Ukraine.

Its lengthy financial accounts are full of prosaic details about ­mineral weights, rare metal assets and ­exploration plans.

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Rothschild braces for more ‘skeletons in the cupboard’ over conduct of late chair

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Exclusive: Bank holds crisis meeting to discuss response to news that Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left after allegation of sexual misconduct

Senior bankers at Rothschild & Co gathered on Tuesday in a meeting room at its St Swithin’s Lane headquarters in the heart of the City of London to discuss a memo that would shake the storied financial group to its foundations.

The memo, to be sent to staff on Wednesday morning, would admit for the first time that their celebrated former leader, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, had left the bank in 2004 after an allegation of sexual misconduct.

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Evelyn de Rothschild left bank in 2004 after sexual misconduct complaint

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Rothschild & Co investigated complaint against the late financier in 2003 and he left shortly afterwards

The financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild left the bank that bears his family name in 2004 after an investigation into a sexual misconduct complaint, it has emerged.

Staff at Rothschild & Co were told on Wednesday that the late banker, who was a financial adviser to Queen Elizabeth II, left in March 2004 after the complaint in late 2003.

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Ex-Barclays CEO gears up for explosive trial over City regulator’s allegations on Jeffrey Epstein ties

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Court papers seen by the Guardian mean Jes Staley’s appeal against FCA ruling will demand answers on links to sex offender

The former chief executive of Barclays, Jes Staley, is gearing up for an explosive trial next month, that will force him to address evidence suggesting he hid the depth of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the sex offender he referred to as “family”.

Court documents seen by the Guardian reveal myriad allegations made by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), including that Epstein messaged Staley about sex, women and foreign holidays, while working behind the scenes to bolster Staley’s career by liaising with government officials, business leaders and royalty.

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Australians paid 10% more in bank fees last year, Reserve Bank says

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Rise was partly due to more households using their credit and debit cards overseas as travel bounces back, analyst from central bank says

Australian households paid almost 10% more in bank fees in the 2023/24 financial year, with credit card and personal loan use soaring amid the rising cost of living.

That contributed to banks enjoying a 5% jump in fee revenue in 2023/24 – the first annual increase in fee earnings in seven years, the Reserve Bank said in its January bulletin.

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UK mortgage rules could be eased to increase growth

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FCA also aims to change law to try to prevent a repeat of mass compensation schemes for consumers such as PPI

Mortgage rules could be loosened by the City regulator as it comes under government pressure to increase economic growth and home ownership across the UK.

The move to “simplify responsible lending” for property purchases is part of a range of proposals put forward by the Financial Conduct Authority in an attempt to prove that the watchdog is not standing in the way of the Labour cabinet’s “growth mission”.

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Lloyds bankers could face bonus cut if not in office two days a week

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Group reviews office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets forsenior employees

Senior bankers at Lloyds could be at risk of having their bonuses docked if they fail to follow company orders to be in the office at least two days a week.

Lloyds Banking Group – which owns the Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland brands – has confirmed it is reviewing office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets for its most senior employees. That includes hybrid staff who, in 2023, were ordered to be in the office at least 40% of the time, which typically amounts to two days a week for those on full-time contracts.

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JP Morgan Chase requires all workers to return to office five days a week

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Executives acknowledge ‘not everyone will agree with this decision’ as bank calls time on remote and hybrid working

JPMorgan Chase is summoning all staff back to the office, becoming the latest corporate giant to call time on era of remote and hybrid working sparked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The US’s largest bank, which has some 316,000 employees worldwide, announced on Friday that all workers on hybrid work schedules will be required to return to the office five days a week from March.

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City regulator vows to ease ‘burden’ on UK banks amid government pressure

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Bank of England says it is rowing back on ‘overcooked’ regulations introduced after financial crisis

The Bank of England plans to slash the “reporting burden” on UK banks and allow insurers to make riskier investments without initial approval, as it comes under government pressure to ease regulations introduced after the financial crisis.

Sam Woods, a deputy governor at the Bank who leads its regulatory arm, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), said the central bank had rowed back on rules that appeared to be “overcooked”, as he suggested it might have gone too far and harmed the financial sector.

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All the 1 January changes in Australia: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also in 1 Jan changes

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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All the 1 January changes coming to Australia in 2025: Centrelink increases, import bans and pay rises

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Bigger Austudy and carer allowance payments, higher Medicare safety net thresholds and mandatory corporate reporting on climate also ahead

With the new year comes new policies, laws, taxes and reforms. Here’s everything to know about changes on 1 January, 2025 that could affect you.

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City regulators to start oversight of tech firms that provide ‘critical’ services to UK

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New powers come amid concerns that cyber-attacks and outages could put the country’s financial stability at risk

City regulators will begin cracking down in the new year on tech firms providing “critical” services to UK banks amid concerns that cyber-attacks and outages at companies such as Google or Amazon could put the country’s financial stability at risk.

From 1 January, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority will be handed powers to regulate companies that are becoming a crucial part of the day-to-day operations of the increasingly digital banking and payments sector.

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Japan’s Nomura bank boss takes 30% voluntary pay cut after worker tries to kill customer

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Wealth management employee charged with robbery, attempted murder and arson after home visit to elderly clients

The boss of the Japanese bank Nomura has apologised and taken a voluntary pay cut after a former employee was charged with robbery and attempted murder of a customer.

Kentaro Okuda, who has led Nomura since 2020, will take a 30% pay cut over the next three months, with several other senior managers at the bank taking similar reductions, the bank said.

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Vietnamese tycoon faces scramble to raise billions to avoid death sentence

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Truong My Lan must repay three-quarters of $12bn she embezzled from bank in a case that shocked the country

The Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan has lost her appeal against the death penalty for masterminding a multibillion-dollar fraud scandal – though she could still save her life if she can repay most of the funds she embezzled.

Lan, who founded the real-estate developer Van Thinh Phat, was sentenced to death in April for embezzling $12bn (£9.95bn) from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), in a case that shocked the country.

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Banks and bookmakers tricked by ‘sophisticated’ gambling syndicate may have breached anti-money laundering laws

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Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show syndicate placed bets with Sportsbet while using another person’s name

Banks and bookmakers that were hoodwinked by a gambling syndicate that created multiple accounts in other people’s names to hide their true identities may have breached their anti-money laundering obligations.

Guardian Australia has confirmed a gambling syndicate paid $1,000 to desperate men for their ID documents, which were used to create multiple bank and betting accounts in their names. Cash was deposited into these bank accounts and gambled with at least nine bookmakers.

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Barclays fined £40m for ‘reckless’ failures in 2008 Qatari fundraising

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Bank’s shares rise as it disputes FCA finding it should have disclosed more about deal during financial crisis

Barclays will pay a fine of £40m for “reckless” failures to disclose a fundraising deal with Qatar at the height of the financial crisis, after the British bank agreed to withdraw a legal challenge against it.

The FTSE 100 bank effectively won a discount of £10m by challenging the fine, but was found by the regulator to have committed serious misconduct. Barclays withdrew an appeal shortly before it was due to be heard on Monday by the upper tribunal, a court in London.

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UK bank fraud victims could face £100 excess on refund claims

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Despite new rules, many lenders have decided to implement the optional exemption

Some victims of bank transfer scams will not get a penny back despite beefed-up rules designed to better protect consumers from fraudsters, because several big banks have introduced an excess on refund claims.

New rules requiring banks and other payment companies to reimburse fraud victims who have been tricked into sending money to scammers took effect last month, and included an optional £100 excess that firms can apply to a claim.

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Australian businesses selling essential goods and services to be forced to accept cash payments

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Treasury confirms cheques will stay in circulation until 2029 but then cease to be accepted as legal tender

Businesses selling essential goods and services such as groceries, medicines and fuel will be forced to accept cash from their customers unless granted a special exemption, under a government mandate to take effect from 1 January 2026.

In a move designed to taper the phase-out of cash and ensure those who rely on it can still use it for the near future, the federal government will require certain businesses to take cash payments. But others, including many small businesses, will be exempt from the measure.

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