UK banks set to report record profits of £37bn beating pre-financial crisis highs February 13, 2023 The UK’s top banks are set to unveil record profits in the next two weeks after sharp interest rate hikes boosted the lenders’ coffers last year. The big five FTSE 100 banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Standard Chartered – could post cumulative pre-tax profits of £37.4bn as they reveal their earnings for 2022, [...]
Credit Suisse claims it has turned a corner but investors are unconvinced February 9, 2023 Credit Suisse said today that it has turned a corner after a “horrific” 2022, but investors were less convinced as its share price dropped by nearly 13 per cent in afternoon trading. The sick man of European banking posted a CHF1.4bn (£1.3bn) quarterly loss today, bringing its total loss for the full year to CHF7.3bn. [...]
Standard Chartered shares jump as investors swoop on renewed reports of possible £28.8bn First Abu Dhabi deal February 9, 2023 Shares in Standard Chartered jumped around 10 per cent following reports from Bloomberg that First Abu Dhabi Bank was still interested in making an offer for the London-headquartered lender. According to Bloomberg, figures at First Abu Dhabi Bank were working on a possible takeover “under the code name Silver-Foxtrot” once the cooling-off period required by [...]
Credit Suisse: Beleaguered lender posts £6.6bn loss for 2022 as it undergoes ‘radical’ restructuring to create ‘new’ bank February 9, 2023 Credit Suisse slumped to a mammoth CHF7.3bn (£6.6bn) loss in 2022 as it posted yet another eye watering quarterly loss in the fourth quarter. Revenue at the bank fell 33 per cent compared to the same period last year while its loss between October and December was CHF1.4bn. The embattled Swiss lender had a “horrifying” [...]
HSBC complicit in suppressing human rights in Hong Kong, MPs allege February 8, 2023 MPs have accused HSBC and other British banks of tacitly endorsing the suppression of human rights in Hong Kong. “British banks such as HSBC Bank Plc have been complicit in suppressing the human rights of Hongkongers, by proactively supporting the National Security Law,” the Hong Kong All-Party Parliamentary Group said in a report published today. [...]
Covid loan crisis as taxpayers foot £4.4bn bill to cover losses with more still owed in arrears or defaults February 8, 2023 The cost of Covid-era loan losses to the taxpayer could total £11bn, according to figures released by the British Business Bank British banks have already been paid £4.4bn to cover losses including fraud with more in arrears or default. Of the £77bn issued across three different loan schemes, according to figures published , £4.4bn has [...]
Barratt: ‘Uncertainty’ pushes housebuilder’s sales reservations down 44 per cent but pre-tax profit rockets to £521m February 8, 2023 Barratt Developments posted profit before tax of more than £520m as the company suggested that its outlook for the year was improving, despite sales at the beginning of 2023 lagging behind last year. The housebuilder’s revenue increased 24 per cent in the six months to December 31 from the same period last year while its [...]
Digital pound needed to ‘anchor’ monetary system as Bank likely to set £20,000 limit on holdings: John Cunliffe February 7, 2023 John Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England, said a ‘digital pound’ would be needed to maintain trust in the UK’s monetary system while he set out limits for its use to preserve financial stability. Speaking at UK Finance, Cunliffe said the Bank could not ignore the possibility that the use of cash would [...]
Bank chiefs hit back at accusations of profiteering on higher interest rates February 7, 2023 Chief executives from the UK’s four largest lenders today hit back at accusations from MPs that they were too quick to charge customers more interest on their mortgages without offering higher rates on savings accounts. The bank chiefs were asked why interest rates on instant savings accounts remain around one per cent while the Bank [...]
Barton to replace Meehan as Victorian Plumbing finance chief February 7, 2023 Victorian Plumbing Group’s finance chief, Paul Meehan, has told the board he will be stepping down from his role at the end of March in order to pursue other opportunities. Meehan will be replaced by Daniel Barton, currently the group’s director of finance. Barton will be appointed to the board on 1 April. Barton joined [...]
