With UK banks expected to report strong half-year profits this week, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has defended accusations that its members are not lending enough to business. All UK banks benefited from implicit government guarantees at the height of the financial crisis and yesterday, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, warned that the Government [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has indicated its strong support for reformation of the country’s regulatory institutions to protect against the worst effects of future downturns and financial crises. The Coalition Government’s plans for a new regulatory structure that takes into account the global economic picture and government policy was welcomed by the BBA, which [...]
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 [...]
The Bank of China has called for reform of the internal systems and corporate governance structure of the Chinese banking sector. Although the rising superpower’s financial sector did not show the defects of the West, nor suffer the same degree of loss, in the recent financial crisis, the Bank of China has called for reformation. [...]
Angela Knight, the chief executive officer of the British Banking Association, has warned against kneejerk reform of banking regulation by the UK or the EU. Knight, who has previously worked as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, urged those considering reforms to look in detail at the possible impact of actions such as splitting up retail [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that the major UK-headquartered banks have agreed to “a tough new code” for financial reporting disclosure. The new regime forms part of proposals aimed at improving investor confidence and also makes it easier to compare and contrast banks’ performances. According to the regulator, the UK’s major banks are [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has responded to the FSA’s proposals on mortgage lending, published today, stating that banks pay “particular attention” to affordability in a way that is not limited to “salary multiples or loan-to-value ratios”. The body therefore “welcomes the FSA’s similar emphasis on the overall affordability of the mortgage for the customer”. [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has published its response to the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) discussion paper on banking regulation. The paper was circulated earlier this year to accompany the Turner Review, which recommends steps that the international community needs to take to enhance regulatory standards. While the BBA says it welcomes the FSA’s broad [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has published figures for August which show credit card spending holding steady at £7.3 billion, in line with recent monthly averages. Consumers repaid £7.4 billon during the month but the total outstanding debt rose by £400 million, to £33.6 billion, once interest and charges had been included. According to the [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has issued new guidance on the transfer of funds from Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs). Consumers have long been complaining that they are losing interest as a result of delays in transfers and the new regulations should reduce the time taken to complete the process. The BBA has joined forces with [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has completed an investigation into the UK banking sector’s provision of personal current accounts and has concluded that many consumers do not know how much they are paying in charges or the rate of interest they receive on their current account. There are estimated to be 54 million active [...]
A survey by price comparison website, uSwitch, suggests that millions of consumers have been issued with credit cards over the past year without giving proof of their financial status. uSwitch accused banks and retail stores of acting irresponsibly after its Credit Card Affordability Survey revealed that 84% of people questioned, who had been approved for [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) is introducing some changes to the way in which the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) is set. Since the onset of the credit crisis Libor, which defines the rates at which banks lend to one another, has remained high despite cuts in the Bank of England’s base rate. Some economists [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has announced that it is bringing forward its review of the way in which it calculates the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), the interest rate at which banks lend to one another. Three month Libor has seen record high levels since the onset of the credit crisis, and has remained [...]
Job losses accounting for around 15 per cent of the US and European investment banking industry have become a near certainty in the initial half of this year following the latest turmoil on Wall Street, senior bankers have cautioned. The US is anticipated to see the utmost cutback in headcount, at about 15 per cent, [...]
The banking industry is urging Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, to take a cautious approach to new legislation that is being drawn up as a result of the Northern Rock crisis. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has advised the Treasury that it could undermine creditors’ rights if it proceeds with a “special resolution regime” [...]
Shares in Northern Rock, the troubled mortgage bank, fell 6.5% on Thursday when it was revealed that the bank’s borrowing had increased to around £23 billion. Figures from the Bank of England covering the week to the 31st October show a £2.2 billion increase in “other assets”. Analysts have taken this to indicate that Northern [...]
