Category Archives: Banking

Lloyds backs Reeves budget plans despite mooted tax increases

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Bank expects ‘constructive, pro-growth agenda’ by chancellor next week and seeks to be part of it

Lloyds Banking Group has backed the Labour government’s forthcoming budget and played down the impact of any tax increases, which it said would probably be part of a “constructive, pro-growth agenda”.

The chief financial officer of the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, William Chalmers, said he would welcome a budget package that was consistent with government pledges to kickstart growth and investment in key areas such as energy, infrastructure and housing.

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Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon hit branches of Hezbollah-linked bank

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Strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley early on Monday morning, hitting buildings belonging to the Hezbollah-run banking institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

At least 10 airstrikes were carried out in the southern suburbs of the capital, with an entire building collapsing and a jet of fire streaming into the air in the Chiyah neighbourhood. A building close to Lebanon’s only commercial airport was also struck, video footage showing a smoke plume billowing while a nearby plane sat on the runway.

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UK interest rates to fall to 2.75% by next autumn, Goldman Sachs predicts

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Economists at investment bank say markets are underestimating likely extent of action by Bank of England

Interest rates are on course to fall to 2.75% by next autumn after the Bank of England reduces the cost of borrowing at each of its nine next meetings, a leading investment bank has predicted.

Economists at Goldman Sachs said that, according to their assessment of the long-term level of interest rates consistent with achieving the government’s 2% inflation target, markets were underestimating the likely extent of the action by Threadneedle Street’s nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC).

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Commonwealth Bank says it has resolved duplicate transaction issue after funds wiped from accounts

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CBA says ‘the process to reverse these transactions has been completed’ and any fees charged will be refunded

The Commonwealth Bank says it has resolved the error which left customers’ balances lower than they should have been after the bank charged some transactions twice, and left some worrying about how they would buy essentials and pay rent.

The duplicates involved transactions from recent days and resulted in some people having their bank accounts overdrawn.

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Shoppers to no longer pay fees when using debit cards under new Albanese government plan

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Treasurer says uncovering ‘unfair’ practices also part of proposed surcharge revamp designed to give consumers better deal and cut small business’s costs

The federal government is preparing to ban debit card fees and instruct the consumer watchdog to investigate excessive card costs, as the unpopular system of transaction charges gets set for an overhaul.

The proposed changes would mean consumers no longer pay a fee when using their debit card to buy their morning coffee or make a major retail purchase. Credit card fees would still apply.

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Many cheered when banks eliminated ATM fees in 2017 – but now it’s a struggle to find one

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Bank-owned ATM numbers are down almost 60%, with many spots now taken by privately-owned machines charging about $3 per withdrawal

It is getting increasingly difficult to find an ATM and harder still to find one that doesn’t charge fees, prompting warnings that the push toward a cashless society is neither equitable nor wise.

Bank-owned ATM numbers are down almost 60% since 2017, according to regulatory data, with many spots now taken by third party-owned machines that typically charge about $3 a withdrawal.

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Labour to announce £10bn AI project in Northumberland backed by pro-Trump billionaire

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Stephen Schwarzman’s Blackstone Group will fund data centre bringing 4,000 jobs to north-east England

Keir Starmer is set to announce the creation of a £10bn AI datacentre, bringing 4,000 jobs to north-east England, which will be funded by a private equity firm run by a big Donald Trump supporter.

The prime minister is due to host chief executives in New York on Thursday, where he is trying to drum up interest in foreign investment into the UK. He will hail the investment in an “artificial intelligence datacentre” – due to be built in Blyth in Northumberland by Blackstone – as a “vote of confidence in the UK”.

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Co-operative Group returns to profit as almost £40m lost to shoplifting

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Mutual reports half-year pre-tax profit of £58m despite soaring wage bill and rising cost of theft at retail stores

The Co-operative Group has laid bare the impact of shoplifting as it said the cost of crime in its stores soared by almost 20% to £40m in the first half of the year.

The member-owned mutual has spent £18m so far this year on measures to protect staff in its food business, including rolling out body-worn cameras and fortified kiosks.

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Ex-NatWest CEO who left after Nigel Farage row to advise law firm

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Alison Rose appointed as diversity and inclusion adviser at leading firm Mishcon de Reya

Alison Rose, the former chief executive of NatWest, has taken a job as an adviser to one of the UK’s top law firms as she tries to return to the City after a career-damaging row with Nigel Farage last year.

Rose is joining Mishcon de Reya as a diversity and inclusion adviser, a role that will involve mentoring some of the firm’s partners. She will also work closely with the equity, diversity and inclusion committee at the firm, which is known for having represented Diana, Princess of Wales during her divorce.

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Santander to insist UK workers are in office three days a week

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About 1,000 of those affected work in London and 4,500 at the bank’s new Milton Keynes headquarters

Santander has joined the ranks of employers herding reluctant British workers back to the coalface, telling office staff they must turn up in person for at least three days a week on average.

While the bank’s back-office staff will still be able to work from home more regularly than before the pandemic, the minimum requirement now tips the balance in favour of the traditional workplace rather than home.

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HSBC on hiring spree to drive UK wealth division ambitions

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Exclusive: Europe’s biggest bank hopes to double UK arm of its wealth and private banking operations

HSBC is recruiting hundreds of bankers to serve rich clients in the UK as it looks to head off growing competition from British rivals and take a larger slice of the wealth management market.

Europe’s biggest bank is hoping to fortify the UK arm of its wealth and private banking operations by bulking up its team of relationship managers, who offer bespoke services and advice to rich clients in exchange for lucrative fees.

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Banks warned over denying sex workers business accounts

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FCA gives detailed guidance to lenders after hearing lack of access could lead to ‘significant harm’ for individuals

The City regulator has warned UK banks over denying accounts for sex workers, after hearing that a lack of access to business banking could lead to “significant harm” for individuals.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that while banks said they were able to provide accounts for the adult entertainment industry in theory, they were often denying or shutting down business accounts in practice.

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Chase warns against using system glitch to filch cash: it’s ‘fraud, plain and simple’

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Warning comes after viral TikTok posts where customers purportedly tried to withdraw more money than they had

The US banking giant Chase has made clear that taking advantage of a system “glitch” to extract cash was “fraud, plain and simple” despite it becoming a TikTok trend.

Chase Bank’s warning on Monday came in response to viral social media posts where customers purportedly tried to withdraw more money than they had in their accounts by exploiting a banking system delay.

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Commonwealth Bank CEO labels Greens’ tax policy ‘insidious populism’ after firm’s $9.8bn profit

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Matt Comyn tells parliamentary inquiry that criticism of business profits ‘erodes trust in institutions’

The Commonwealth Bank chief executive, Matt Comyn, has described a proposed excessive profits tax as “insidious populism” and labelled criticism of profitable businesses as “fact-free rhetoric” that is damaging trust in public institutions.

Appearing before a parliamentary inquiry on Thursday, the head of Australia’s biggest bank appeared frustrated by questions about payment surcharges and corporate relationships and abruptly turned his attention to address criticism of big business.

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Barclays enlarges half-year bonus pool for first time since 2021

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Rise to £675m after lifting EU bonus cap suggests lender may increase payouts to high-performing bankers

Barclays has bulked up its half-year bonus pool for the first time in three years, raising bankers’ hopes of bigger annual payouts after the lender formally scrapped the EU bonus cap this month.

The bank put £675m towards its bonus pool in the first six months of 2024, according to Barclays filings. That is up from the £665m put aside for its staff bonus pot, which is made up of cash and shares, over the same period in 2023. That bonus pool will continue to be built up until the end of the year, with staff able to be paid up to 10 times their salary now that the EU cap has been set aside.

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Bayesian yacht sinking: six presumed dead as divers try to access cabins

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UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and daughter among those thought to have been trapped when storm hit off Sicily

Six people are now presumed dead after the super yacht they were onboard sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily.

Divers tried in vain on Tuesday to gain access to the inside of the sunken 56-metre Bayesian luxury vessel, where rescue crews believe those missing may have been trapped.

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Australians’ mortgage payments hit high not seen since before GFC, data shows

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The average mortgage holder is parting with more than a fifth of their pre-tax income, double what they were spending in the 90s

Mortgage holders are spending well over 20% of their pre-tax income on their loans, representing one of the highest levels on record, data compiled by Commonwealth Bank shows.

It has rocketed in recent years amid rising interest rates and high living costs to a level last seen two decades ago when frothy property prices took hold before the 2008 global financial crisis.

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Wall Street banker bonuses forecast to rise 35% this year

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Surge caused by rebound in market activity very likely to influence payouts for European outposts of banks

Bonuses for Wall Street’s investment bankers are forecast to jump as much as 35% this year – although experts have warned that payouts could be knocked by stock market volatility and an economic slowdown in the US.

Fresh predictions suggest that staff across a range of financial firms – including hedge funds, asset managers and investment banks – will see payouts rise for the first time in two years. It follows a rebound in business confidence and market activity, with companies more willing to take risks amid easing inflation that has started to translate into lower borrowing costs.

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Labor’s planned anti-scam laws are too complicated, too lenient and too slow, advocates say

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Federal government’s promise to force banks to reimburse scam victims criticised as ‘too vague’ and ‘a mess’

The government’s proposed reforms to laws on financial scams let the banking system off the hook, are inferior to policies applied overseas, are complicated for victims and will not be legislated before Australians lose many more billions of dollars, according to consumer advocates.

The scathing criticism comes after an address by the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, who vowed on Wednesday to force banks, telcos and social media platforms to reimburse scam victims if their systems prove inadequate, as techniques used by fraudsters grow increasingly sophisticated.

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Standard Chartered plays down fears of US-China trade war under Trump

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Chief executive says tensions ‘not impacting’ business as bank reports pre-tax profits of $1.6bn for second quarter

Fears of a China trade war erupting under a second Trump presidential term are overblown, according to bosses at Standard Chartered bank, as they suggested that the country’s real estate woes were “largely in the rearview mirror”.

While the London-headquartered bank makes most of its money in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore, its chief executive, Bill Winters, played down the impact that increasingly strained relations between Washington and Beijing might have on the business.

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