Category Archives: Banking

Russia warns US and Europe over reports Ukraine may get its seized assets

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Kremlin threatens ‘serious consequences’ if there is an unprecedented seizure of Russian assets held abroad

The Kremlin has threatened Europe and the US with “serious consequences”, including tit-for-tat financial seizures or even a break in diplomatic relations, if Russian assets held abroad are given to aid the Ukrainian budget and war effort.

A spokesperson for Vladimir Putin told reporters on Friday that if the Biden administration and European leaders planned to seize Russian central bank assets believed to be in excess of $300bn (£236bn) that were frozen after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, they should “realise that Russia will never leave those who do it alone”.

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Cambridge University reportedly could drop Barclays in favour of greener bank

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UK lender is a major European funder of oil and gas projects and university has said it does not want to back fossil fuel expansion

Cambridge University could cut ties with Barclays after more than 200 years over the bank’s refusal to stop financing new oil and gas projects, according to the Financial Times.

It reported that Cambridge is looking for an institution with robust climate policies to manage “several hundred million pounds” in cash and money market funds – a mandate expected to cover more than £200m in assets and generate about £10m in fees a year.

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Australia news live: Reserve Bank to deliver year’s last interest rates decision as economists tip no change

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Poll finds 28 of 30 economists expect central bank to keep cash rate steady at 4.35%. Follow the day’s news live

Good morning, and happy Tuesday.

I’m Emily Wind and I’ll be with you on the blog today – many thanks to Martin for kicking things off.

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Digital pound should not be considered until risks addressed, MPs warn

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Treasury select committee highlights concerns over data privacy and increased possibility of bank runs

The idea of creating a digital pound should not even be considered until the UK government and Bank of England address concerns over data privacy and the increased risk of bank runs, a parliamentary committee has warned.

MPs on the Treasury select committee said that while it was true that the rollout of a central bank digital currency could trigger fresh innovation and competition in the payments sector, serious questions remained about whether the positive effects outweighed the risks and costs.

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How the climate credentials of Australia’s big banks stack up

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ANZ stands out as ‘laggard’ while Commonwealth Bank and Westpac have restrictions on facilitating bonds for fossil fuel clients

There is a growing gulf between the climate policies of Australia’s big banks, with some pledging to severely limit future financing for fossil fuel projects, while others have left the door open, according to an analysis of updated lending policies.

Part of the discrepancy lies in the banks’ approach to arranging bonds, which are used by companies to access financing along with, and sometimes instead of, a direct loan.

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Thousands of HSBC customers in UK unable to access online banking services

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Consumers report problems using bank’s app on one of the busiest shopping days of year, Black Friday

Thousands of HSBC customers reported they were unable to access its online and mobile banking services on one of the busiest online shopping days of the year – Black Friday.

More than 4,000 customers said they could not access their accounts via the HSBC app on Friday, according to Downdetector, which tracks and collates website outages and complaints.

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Australian banks buckle to pressure over scams and vow to block transfers to suspect accounts

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Consumer groups have long lobbied for institutions to crack down on scams by rejecting transfers if name and bank details of recipient don’t match

Australian banks have buckled under pressure and will do more to fight scams by introducing technology that will block customers from transferring money to some fraudulent accounts.

The banks had initially resisted calls – including from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Consumer Action Law Centre (Calc) – to block transfers if the name and bank details of the recipient did not match.

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Chinese shadow bank admits £30bn shortfall after ‘management ran wild’

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Zhongzhi, a wealth manager with links to China’s ailing property market, says it is ‘severely insolvent’

One of China’s biggest financial conglomerates with links to the country’s ailing property market has admitted a shortfall of nearly £30bn as it warned investors that it is “severely insolvent”.

Zhongzhi, an asset and wealth management company in China’s shadow banking sector, said its total assets amounted to 200bn yuan (£22.5bn) against obligations of up to 460bn yuan, in a letter to shareholders issued on Wednesday.

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Eurozone banks starting to show ‘stress’ as loan defaults rise, ECB warns

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Rising interest rates have boosted profitability but are likely to limit demand and increase risk of bad debts, says central bank

The balance sheets of eurozone banks are showing “early signs of stress” after a rise in loan defaults and late payments by customers, the European Central Bank has warned.

Higher interest rates have boosted banks’ income and profits for the time being, the ECB said, but lenders are facing pressures from higher funding costs, worsening asset quality and lower lending volumes.

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BoM provides El Niño update – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Birmingham says China ‘doesn’t appear to be acknowledging the facts’

Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham is speaking with ABC RN and is asked about sonar pulses from a Chinese warship that left one Australian naval diver injured.

The Australian navy and Australian defence force operates always with professionalism, and I’m confident that Australia’s version of events is a credible.

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Wells Fargo workers at two US branches of bank launch efforts to unionize

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Employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Bethel, Alaska, make rare move to organize staff in financial industry

Workers at two Wells Fargo bank branches are planning to launch unionization efforts on Monday in a rare move to organize staff at a financial services company.

Employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Bethel, Alaska, said they would notify the National Labor Relations Board that they plan to hold elections to decide whether to unionize, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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UK savers urged to act quickly for best returns as rates drop

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NS&I, Shawbrook and Tandem among providers to make reductions amid flurry of such moves

Savers have been urged to act quickly if they want to get the best returns on their money after a flurry of interest rate cuts on top-paying accounts.

This week NS&I reduced the rate it offers on its three-year green bonds from 5.7% to 3.95%, while Shawbrook, Tandem and Ford Money were among other providers making cuts.

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Nigel Farage to sue NatWest and wants a class action over bank account closures

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Closures at subsidiary Coutts led to resignation of Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest

Nigel Farage is to launch a legal battle with NatWest over the closure of his accounts at its private bank subsidiary Coutts. The debanking scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Alison Rose, the chief executive of NatWest, in July and the departure of Peter Flavel, the chief executive of Coutts, soon after.

The former leader of Ukip and the Brexit party said he is instructing lawyers to take action against NatWest, with the aim of turning it into a class action.

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‘Call their bluff’: shopping around on home loans can save money – even with high interest rates

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Many mortgage lenders reporting increased competition, meaning savvy borrowers can negotiate for a better deal

In real estate, everything is negotiable, including your mortgage.

While many lenders have withdrawn cashback incentives in recent months, there are still large discrepancies between the best and worst mortgage offers in the market, which means many borrowers are paying too much.

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Ransomware attack on China’s biggest bank disrupts US Treasury market

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American arm of ICBC is latest victim of hackers and is investigating

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s US arm was hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted trades in the US Treasury market on Thursday, the latest in a string of victims ransom-demanding hackers have claimed this year.

ICBC Financial Services, the US unit of China’s largest commercial lender by assets, said it was investigating the attack that disrupted some of its systems, and making progress towards recovering from it.

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French police detain Russian tycoon over alleged financial and sanctions violations

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Alfa Bank founder Alexey Kuzmichev was sanctioned by EU for ‘well-established ties’ to Vladimir Putin

Police in France have detained the Russian tycoon Alexey Kuzmichev and raided two of his properties in connection with alleged tax evasion, money laundering and sanctions violations.

The French financial prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that searches had taken place a day earlier at Kuzmichev’s Paris home and an estate in in the Mediterranean Var region.

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Australia’s banks face unprecedented wave of threats, RBA warns

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A rush on withdrawals among the possible dangers as sector likely to see risks with ‘a different complexion’ in coming decade, assistant governor says

Australia’s banking industry faces emerging threats from potential rapid-fire bank runs to climate change and geopolitical tensions that are without historical precedents, a senior Reserve Bank official has warned.

Brad Jones, an assistant RBA governor, told a Sydney conference on Tuesday that “the emerging risks we are likely to confront over the next decade have a different complexion to those of recent decades” and that what passes for resilience today will likely need to evolve over time.

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Higher interest rates help HSBC to more than double profits

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Bank criticised by MPs for being too slow to reward savers as it announces 15% rise in net interest income and $3bn share buyback

Higher interest rates helped HSBC to more than double its profits and hand over $3bn (£2.5bn) to shareholders, as MPs criticised the largest UK banks for being too slow to reward savers.

The London-headquartered bank said it was launching a share buyback, and paying a dividend worth 10 cents a share, after what its chief executive, Noel Quinn, hailed as “three consecutive quarters of strong financial performance”.

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NatWest decision to close Nigel Farage’s bank accounts was lawful, says report

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Investigation for bank finds however that there were ‘serious failings’ in handling of Coutts move and treatment of ex-Ukip leader

NatWest group’s decision to close Nigel Farage’s accounts at its private bank Coutts was lawful, but there were “serious failings” in its treatment of the former Ukip leader, an independent review has found.

Lawyers hired by NatWest determined that Coutts had a “contractual right” to shut Farage’s accounts, and had done so because the bank was losing money by keeping him as a client.

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UK house prices will not stop falling until 2025, Lloyds predicts

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Britain’s biggest mortgage lender forecasts 5% drop over this year and another 2.4% decline in 2024

UK house prices will continue to slide this year and in 2024 and will not start to recover until 2025, Lloyds Banking Group has forecast.

The lender, which owns Halifax and is Britain’s largest mortgage provider, said that by the end of 2023 UK house prices would have fallen 5% over the course of the year and were likely to decrease by another 2.4% in 2024.

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