Schroders Private Bank has received the Best Medium-Sized Business award at the 2009 Guernsey Awards for Achievement. Judges applauded its strong management style and commitment to the community. The bank says its success comes “against the back drop of fierce competition and the global financial turmoil”, apparently taking its chief executive officer by surprise. Commenting [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has come up with some new advice on avoiding fraud which has been developed in consultation with High Street banks, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Financial Fraud Action UK. There are seven guides in all, one offering advice to professionals on how best to safeguard vulnerable customers and six [...]
A research team at the University of Cambridge is claiming that Chip and PIN is broken. A technical paper published by the University’s Computer Laboratory explains that the technology is flawed because when a plastic card enters a retailer’s terminal, an electronic “negotiation” takes place regarding whether a signature or PIN is required to authenticate [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced its proposed annual funding requirement for 2010/11, which has increased to £454.7 million, up from £413.8 million in 2009/10. The regulator says the budget reflects its “determination to continue delivering intensive supervision and the substantial international regulatory reform agenda”. Overall funding for the year has risen by 9.9% [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has agreed the sale of its 70% stake in esure for slightly over £185 million, although the bank says the impact of the sale on its accounts is not expected to be material. The online insurer is being 100% acquired in a management buyout led by its chairman, Peter Wood, who already [...]
Nationwide Building Society has utilised the latest version of VeriFone’s PAYware Merchant software solution to enhance its cardholder data security, a major step in meeting Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. Nationwide serves a customer base of 15 million people who access its products and services in person, online, over the telephone [...]
The Treasury Committee has launched an enquiry into the abolition of the cheque, which is scheduled for 31st October 2018. The UK’s Payments Council Board recently named the date, pointing out that use of the 350-year-old system has been declining for years, falling by 40% since 2004. However, the needs of elderly and vulnerable people [...]
Investment bank Credit Suisse has released its financial results for Q4, and for 2009 as a whole. For the year, net income was recorded at CHF 6.7bn, with new assets worth CHF 44.2bn, and return on equity of 18.3%. In the final quarter of 2009, Credit Suisse made net income of CHF 0.8bn, with new [...]
Nationwide has been judged the winner of The Most Responsible Credit Card Lending Practices Award for the third year in a row, claiming a first for its unbroken record. The lender also picked up The Best Achievement in Customer Service Award at The Card Awards. The accolades recognise the building society’s “Working Together” responsible lending [...]
Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have received a blasting from MPs over the amounts they are lending. The banks are committed to funding mortgage and business loans of £14 billion and £25 billion respectively by the end of this month, in return for taxpayer support. However they will be falling short [...]
Swiss investment bank UBS has reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009. For the fourth quarter the bank made net attributable income of CHF 1,205m, with every business division managing to achieve a pre-tax profit in Q4. The profit margin marks a remarkable turn-around from the CHF 564m net loss incurred in [...]
Grant Thornton has warned “there is no light at the end of the tunnel for troubled companies that are relying on a fast economic recovery to help them repair their balance sheets”. The accountancy and recovery specialist is predicting record company administrations in England and Wales in 2010, following on from a 2009 total of [...]
Lloyds Banking Group has made a number of senior staff changes and appointments at its insurance division, while at the same time saying goodbye to the last remaining members of the old HBOS board. Ex-HBOS Jo Dawson, director of wealth and international, and Dan Watkins, managing director of mortgages, are leaving “to pursue other opportunities”. [...]
Santander is reported to be considering selling a stake in its UK operations. The bank, which is in the process of rebranding Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley (B&B) to the group name, is understood to be looking at a London listing, along with other fundraising options. Abbey was acquired by the Spanish [...]
Credit Suisse has been won the award for Best Private Banking Services Overall from Euromoney magazine. The award, in addition to others received by the bank, are based on the Euromoney Private Banking Survey 2010. The bank’s Private Banking CEO, Walter Berchtold, has expressed the firm’s pride at its services being recognised by Euromoney through [...]
London-based international middle market investment bank and institutional securities firm Piper Jaffray Ltd. has announced that it is bolstering its Institutional Equity Sales department with the appointment of Nimish Shah. Shah becomes principal of US equity sales with immediate effect. He joins Piper Jaffray from Cantor Fitzgerald, where he worked in the US equity sales [...]
Cattles has warned of job losses following changes at its Welcome Financial personal finance business. The troubled sub-prime lender says it is closing the unit to new lending following an extensive strategic review and discussions with its creditors. The group will therefore focus on collecting out Welcome’s existing customer loans over the next two to [...]
Banks could in future have to compensate customers whose transactions are delayed by anti money-laundering procedures that are poorly applied, The Times has reported. In the case of Shah and another v HSBC Private Bank (UK) Ltd, the Court of Appeal has ruled that Jayesh Shah and Shaleetha Mahabeer have the right to challenge HSBC [...]
