Provident Financial issues profit warning as CEO steps down
Provident will now not pay an interim dividend and says a full-year dividend is unlikely
Euro falls on ECB warning currency could get too strong
European Central Bank policy makers warned that further rises in the euro could impact on the region’s recovery, with the currency falling to its lowest level this month shortly after. The ECB’s latest interest rate-setting meeting expressed concerns about the euro, which had hit a two-and-a-half year high against the dollar. The euro then dropped $1.1661 […]
RBS plans 900 job cuts
Unite union claims bank is planning to cut IT jobs in London by 40 per cent by 2020
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RBS takes legal steps for next Scottish independence vote
Bank has added another layer to complex restructuring process driven by ringfencing rules
Williams & Glyn cuts staff as RBS pulls sale
Profits at Royal Bank of Scotland arm Williams & Glyn have risen following a big drop in headcount, according to results published today. RBS’ half-year results show operating profit at Williams & Glyn rose £37m to £234m. This was driven by a £39m cut in operating expenses “reflecting a substantial reduction in headcount”, according to […]
Carney: Brexit is harming UK and transition agreement is needed
Mark Carney has told a press conference today that Brexit is harming the UK before it has even happened and that the country needs a transitional arrangement to its future relationship with the EU. The comments followed the Bank of England’s decision to hold rates at 0.25 per cent as it downgrades its forecast for […]
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Former Bank of England deputy urges interest rate hike
Former Bank of England deputy governor Sir John Gieve has said there is a “very strong case” for increasing interest rates as officials vote on the direction of monetary policy today. Gieve, speaking at an event organised by Fathom Consulting yesterday, said that Brexit had not caused a sharp hit to the UK economy, and […]
Hike base rate in early 2018, think tank says
The Bank of England should raise the base rate by 0.25 per cent in early 2018, according to a top economic think tank. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research originally recommended a rate rise in Q1 2019 but says the economy has been performing better than forecast. The think tank predicts the economy […]
Brexit to lift banks’ costs 4 per cent as extra 30 per cent capital needed
Latest estimates from Oliver Wyman warn over prospects for corporate and institutional led banks
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Barclays sets aside extra £700m for PPI claims
At the end of the first half of the year, the bank’s PPI provision stood at £2.1bn
Lloyds to pay £283m in redress over mortgage arrears errors
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside £283m to pay redress to around 590,000 customers for mortgage arrears errors. Lloyds will refund all fees for arrears management and broken payment arrangements from 1 January 2009 to January 2016. Mortgage customers involved in litigation with Lloyds over that period will also be refunded any litigation fees that […]
UK GDP growth ‘muddles through’ as latest data lands
UK GDP growth has “muddled through” in the second quarter hitting 0.3 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics’ first estimate. In line with consensus expectations, the figures are a slight improvement on the previous quarter. The UK delivered GDP growth of 0.2 per cent in Q1 and was the worst performing economy in […]
Citigroup to choose Frankfurt as EU base
Citigroup will decide this week to base its EU operations in Frankfurt after Brexit, according to reports. After the US powerhouse, which employs 9,000 people in the UK, had warned of moving “a couple of hundred” jobs away from London when the UK leaves the EU to create a new sales and trading hub, sources […]
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Tony Wickenden: Forcing clients to save is one of a planner’s top jobs
Helping clients to make the right choices for regular savings and lump sum investment is one of the key roles of financial planners. Making the wrong choices can cause serious financial detriment and this consequence, together with relative complexity over the choices and difficulty in “self-serving” the answers, are, in my view, the three key […]
Bank of England launches ‘stress simulation’ amid liquidity crunch fears
Bank moves to quell bond liquidity fears in the wake of property funds saga
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Bank of England divide deepens over interest rates
The gap is widening between those on the MPC who back record low interest rates and QE and those who think the economy does not need the extra stimulus
UK awaits services PMIs as manufacturing and construction disappoint
UK construction has followed manufacturing with disappointing June PMIs. Services PMIs released on Wednesday will round out the trio of surveys. The construction index fell back to 54.8 in June after a jump to 56 in May. The slowdown was across all sectors. EY Item Club chief economic adviser Howard Archer says the softer construction PMI […]
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John Chatfeild-Roberts: Balancing investment risk as the Brexit clock ticks
Investors should capture performance in the good times, but also manage risks in our challenging global economic and political environment When a letter signed by Prime Minister Theresa May was delivered to President of the European Council Donald Tusk at the end of March, it formally triggered the now-famous Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and started the […]
Have UK equities survived their Brexit slump?
Data that shows the appetite for UK equities is back has left analysts and investors wondering whether the asset class has pulled through its Brexit slump. UK equity funds saw net retail sales of £114m in November, their first inflow of 2016. They had suffered £5.1bn outflows since the previous January, £3.8bn of which followed […]
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Mortgage market aims to ride out Brexit, tax changes and lending uncertainty
Mortgage market experts expect this year will bring consumer confidence worries, a boom in specialist lending, an increased regulatory burden and suppressed transactions. But they also showed a marked confidence about the future of the sector. Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair says he hopes lenders keep lending and consumer confidence remains high. He […]
Regulation: Key dates for advisers’ diaries in 2017
The domestic policy agenda means that the financial services industry faces another busy year of consultation and regulatory change in 2017. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the assured leadership of Andrew Bailey continues to consult on its future Mission. Key themes that have arisen through the consultation include clarity on the sense of direction […]
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Can May keep her cabinet in line to win a bespoke deal for financial services?
From endless trade disputes to long drawn out speeches from unelected bureaucrats clinging desperately to power – there are some stark similarities between the Star Wars saga and the EU. But as Disney’s latest instalment cleans up at the box office, Prime Minister May has her own cabinet rogues to keep under control. Whether its […]
Trump marks a turning point for fixed income
What an auspicious time to be writing about fixed income. The UK 10-year gilt yield almost touched an incredible 0.5 per cent in August after the Bank of England provided its monetary response to the EU referendum result. At the time of writing, the yield stands at 1.45 per cent, removing all the price gains […]
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Tony Wickenden: Expect May to move money from rich to poor
The recent Conservative Party Conference caused me to conclude (without amazing insight on my part, I must add) that the new Government is quite different from our last one. Fundamentally different. The world it is operating in is different. Thanks to the outcome of the EU referendum it is an even more uncertain one […]
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The Govt’s high stakes poker game on Brexit
At the Conservative party conference last week, Theresa May announced she will trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017 and that a Great Repeal Bill will be brought forward at the next Queen’s Speech. While some were calling for more time before pressing the big red Article 50 button (notably one Mr George […]
Gregg McClymont: BoE policy is hitting appetite to save
I have argued previously that the UK is a nation of savers, not investors. A colleague responded by pointing out that if this was true at all it was true only relatively speaking. He was right. So many financial services industry conferences I attend culminate in the cry that the UK does not save enough. […]
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Paul Lewis: The trouble with Govt tax allowances
We have heard very little recently of the Chancellor’s friend but fiscal drag has been beavering away largely unnoticed, raising or saving money for him. Fiscal drag raises extra money when tax allowances do not rise with inflation. That brings more people into the scope of paying that tax and more money for the Chancellor. […]
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Paul Lewis: Use housing gold mine to pay for long-term care
Changes in the way long-term care is paid for was the dog that did not bark in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement. It failed to get even a mention, despite many telling us there is a crisis in long-term care for older people. There have been calls for tax subsidies for those who save […]
Richard Buxton: QE is the wrong policy for today
It appears Prime Minister Theresa May has decided to put an industrial strategy at the centre of her “Government for everyone, not just the privileged few”. While it has been confirmed this is not about the Government “picking winners”, I am curious as to what exactly this strategy will be. It may be that once […]