PBC governor directs earthquake relief in Chonqing
by Richard Kilner
Story link: PBC governor directs earthquake relief in Chonqing
Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, the leader of the People’s Bank of China, has personally headed the Disaster Relief Working Group in its work providing relief in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Sichuan Province recently.
Governor Zhou has inspected the Chonqing Operations Office, and directed the efforts of the group.
At the Chonqing Office a donation from […]
Citigroup name new Indian M&A chief
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Citigroup name new Indian M&A chief
Sameer Nath has been appointed by Citigroup to serve as the bank’s mergers and acquisitions manager for its Indian investment banking unit.
He brings with him six years of experience in the technology investment banking sector, working with Indian and US clients.
Nath will report directly to Pramit Jhaveri and Steve Wallace, Citigroup’s Indian global banking chief […]
Moody’s issues negative credit rating for UK banks
by Gill Montia
Story link: Moody’s issues negative credit rating for UK banks
Moody’s Investors’ Service has reported that its outlook for the direction of credit conditions in the UK banking system is negative.
The credit rating agency has based this view on the likelihood of an economic downturn, which combined with high levels of consumer debt in the UK, could lead to a rise in bad debts and […]
World Bank fights food crisis with $1.2bn
by Richard Kilner
Story link: World Bank fights food crisis with $1.2bn
Yesterday, the World Bank Group declared it would be supporting the worldwide efforts to stem the ever-rising price of food and alleviate the global food shortage through the creation of a financing facility of over a billion dollars aimed at meeting the world’s immediate needs.
In addition to the $1.2bn facility, the World Bank Group has […]
Barclays cuts unauthorised overdraft fees
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays cuts unauthorised overdraft fees
As the High Court case over unreasonable bank charges lapses into an appeal that could delay the outcome for months, Barclays has announced that it is reducing its overdraft fees.
From 18th August, the bank’s £35 charge will be cut to £8 and its 11 million current account holders will also be offered a temporary […]
Adair Turner appointed FSA chairman
by Gill Montia
Story link: Adair Turner appointed FSA chairman
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has appointed a new chairman.
Adair Turner, a former director general of the CBI, has been appointed by the Treasury for a five year term and will take over from Sir Callum McCarthy in September of this year.
Mr Turner currently heads a Government committee on climate change but will be relinquishing […]
World Bank projects to boost Chinese energy efficiency
by Richard Kilner
Story link: World Bank projects to boost Chinese energy efficiency
On Tuesday a trio of projects aimed at bolstering China’s energy efficiency were approved by the World Bank.
The three projects will receive loans of $441m, approximately a third of the World Bank’s lending to China this year.
David Dollar, the organisation’s country director, explained that through greater efficiency and less pollution, not only would the Chinese […]
Barclays revises PPI ahead of Competition Commission report
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclays revises PPI ahead of Competition Commission report
Barclays has dropped the payment protection insurance (PPI) that had been tied to its Firstplus mortgage range.
The bank says it is in the process of revising its entire PPI range, so that it can offer customers a pick-and-mix choice of life, accident and sickness and unemployment cover.
The move comes ahead of a report from the […]
Identity theft cases rise 66%
by Gill Montia
Story link: Identity theft cases rise 66%
A new report from credit agency, Experian, reveals a 66% increase in identity theft cases.
Last year, 6,000 consumers who had fallen victim to the crime contacted the company’s fraud team, compared with 3,500 in 2006.
Experian has used data gathered from 10,000 victims to produce an identity fraud propensity model that pinpoints the types of people […]
JPMorgan appoint Government Relations leader
by Richard Kilner
Story link: JPMorgan appoint Government Relations leader
JPMorgan Chase has announced the appointment of Peter L. Scher to the post of executive vice president of Global Government Relations and Public Policy.
Scher’s appointment is effective from 16 June, and will see him responsible for supervision of State, Federal and International Government Relations.
In his capacity serving the Executive Committee he will report to William […]
Financial Ombudsman complaints rise 30%
by Gill Montia
Story link: Financial Ombudsman complaints rise 30%
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which resolves disputes between consumers and financial firms, recorded a 30% rise in complaints in the 12 months to March 2008.
Disgruntled consumers made 123,089 complains and 794,648 enquiries.
The mortgage and banking sector generated a three-fold increase, while insurance disputes doubled.
However complaints about mortgage endowments fell during the period, by 70%. […]
Soprano and TynTec form partnership
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Soprano and TynTec form partnership
Soprano Design, which provides infrastructure and applications for mobile enterprise messaging, has announced that it is to form a partnership with mobile messaging services provider TynTec in order to offer mobile finance services on a worldwide basis.
Together the two firms will introduce the world market to a combined text transmission service and mobile banking applications.
The […]
Banks report sharp rise in deposits
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks report sharp rise in deposits
Latest figures from the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) show a sharp rise in deposits during April.
UK consumers invested a record £5.8 billion in personal bank accounts during the month, up from £2.8 billion in March and well ahead of the six month average of £2.4 billion.
The credit crisis has left banks keen to attract money […]
Faster Payments Service begins roll out
by Gill Montia
Story link: Faster Payments Service begins roll out
The much delayed Faster Payments Service, which promises to speed up cash transfers has become operative from today.
Once fully rolled out, payment made by Internet or telephone should arrive at their destinations within hours while regular standing order payments made on bank working days will be dealt with in 24 hours.
The system has been designed […]
UBS warns of future property market losses
by Gill Montia
Story link: UBS warns of future property market losses
UBS, the Swiss investment bank that has been hard hit by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, has warned that it could be facing further losses in property markets outside the US.
So far the bank has written down around $38 billion in relation to the US crisis and is now in the process of raising […]
EIB intends to widen Brazilian involvement
by Richard Kilner
Story link: EIB intends to widen Brazilian involvement
The coming week will see the European Investment Bank dispatch an important delegation to Brazil.
The delegates will be engaged in discussions aimed at considering ways in which the EIB’s activities within the country can be expanded.
Both state and federal level representatives of the Brazilian authorities will be meeting the EIB’s party, with an emphasis upon […]
Banks delay High Court charges case with appeal
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks delay High Court charges case with appeal
High Street banks are set to delay the outcome of the High Court case brought by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to establish the legality of their charges for unauthorised overdrafts.
Consumer group Which? has reported that Mr Justice Andrew Smith, who is hearing the case, has accepted that the banks have a right to […]
Deutsche Bank make quartet of appointments
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Deutsche Bank make quartet of appointments
Deutsche Bank has announced a number of key hires in its North American Foreign Exchange business.
Greg Fiori joins the firm from JP Morgan, and assumes the roles of director and spot trader, with responsibility for Australia and New Zealand spot business.
Fiori, whose role is New York-based, will report directly to Greg Knight, director and […]
Nationwide profits rise 17% despite 40% decline in lending
by Gill Montia
Story link: Nationwide profits rise 17% despite 40% decline in lending
Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, has reported that new mortgage lending dropped by 40% in the twelve months to the beginning of April, to £6.7 billion.
Despite this dramatic fall, underlying pre-tax profits rose 17% to £781.1 million
The year saw customer deposits increase threefold, to £9.1 billion, as worried savers transferred cash from Northern Rock […]
HBOS sells mortgage backed bonds
by Gill Montia
Story link: HBOS sells mortgage backed bonds
HBOS could be leading the way out of the credit crisis. The bank, which is the owner of Halifax, and is the UK’s largest mortgage lender, has sold mortgage backed bonds worth £500 million.
The deal has become headline news because it is the first sale of its kind by a UK bank since the US […]
