UBS chief’s pay rose 11 per cent to £10.9m but wider bonus pool dropped to £2.75bn March 6, 2023 UBS boss Ralph Hamers received a boost to his annual pay to the tune of a cool £10.9m, reflecting the bank’s strong performance in 2022, but its overall bonus pool fell. Hamers pocketed CHF12.2m (£10.9m) in 2022, eleven per cent more than last year, with the figure including his base salary and the cash performance [...]
The financial crisis lurking in the shadows: Why regulators must now turn their attention to shadow banking March 6, 2023 Some would argue that predicting the next financial crisis is a near impossible task. But Nobel-prize winning economist Douglas Diamond said in October last year: “The last [financial crisis] started in the banks, it stayed in the banks. This one’s going to start in the shadow banks and the companies.” Shadow banking encompasses a variety [...]
Banks must pass on rate hikes to savers – or risk a windfall tax, warn experts March 5, 2023 Banks should pass on higher interest rates to savers in order to stave off pressure for a windfall tax, a host of experts have warned. Calls for a windfall tax on the banking sector have grown after most of the UK’s largest lenders recorded strong profits in their latest results. After a decade of ultra-low [...]
MPs demand action on fraud reimbursement as they criticise ‘half-baked’ plans March 4, 2023 MPs have slammed proposals to reimburse fraud victims, describing the plans as “half-baked” without further action from the regulator. Under the plans being considered by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), banks and building societies will have to fully reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud where the loss is over £100. Last month MPs questioned [...]
Crypto: Nationwide bans credit card exchange payments and HSBC limits digital currency spending as consumer risk fears grow March 3, 2023 Several UK banks have restricted their customers from buying crypto assets as concern grows about the risks posed by digital currency to customers. In an email to customers earlier this week, Nationwide said it would not allow payments to crypto exchanges using its credit cards and would impose a £5,000 daily limit on current account [...]
Jack Dorsey’s Block puts £2m into Birmingham community lender breaking ‘new ground’ for industry March 2, 2023 A not-for-profit community lender in Birmingham has received £4m in funding, including £2m from ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s company, in a sign the local finance sector is set to enter a new phase. Block Inc, a mobile payments firm set up by Dorsey in 2009, is providing £2m to ART Business Loans, representing its first [...]
Hong Kong stock exchange operator to open London office March 2, 2023 Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) confirmed today that it will open an office in London in the first half of 2023. It said the new office will expand the group’s international reach and promote greater global connectivity. HKEX chief executive Nicolas Aguzin, said: “HKEX has strong ties with the financial community in London through [...]
UK trade data market not working ‘as it should’ as investors pay the cost of lack of competition, says FCA March 2, 2023 A new study from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found competition in the wholesale data market is “not working as well as it should”, leading to extra costs for investors and savers. Trading data includes information on the prices and volumes of financial products traded and supplied by venues such as stock exchanges. The [...]
Metro Bank loss narrows to £70.7m as bank vows to put compliance issues behind it March 2, 2023 Higher interest rates helped Metro Bank narrow its loss for the year as the bank attempts to put a series of compliance missteps behind it. Metro Bank’s pretax loss narrowed to £70.7m in 2022, as the bank saw revenue jump 31 per cent on the back of higher interest rates. The bank noted it was [...]
Small businesses call on Hunt to tackle ‘childcare crisis’ as economic impact grows March 1, 2023 One of the UK’s leading business groups has called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to immediately tackle the “childcare crisis” in the upcoming budget as the high cost of childcare is increasingly forcing parents out of the workforce. Childcare providers face insufficient funding, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) told CityAM, and are either having [...]
