Money markets crisis looms
by Gill Montia
Story link: Money markets crisis looms
Some City analysts are warning that this week, the money markets could experience the worst crisis for 20 years.
According to Lehman Brother, the investment bank, $113 billion of commercial paper (effectively money market IOUs) are due for refinancing in the coming days.
This refinancing will mainly come through London and exceeds the $100 billion that [...]
Medium-term funding in short supply
by Gill Montia
Story link: Medium-term funding in short supply
UK banks seeking medium-term funding are facing interest rates that are at a ten-year high.
The London interbank offered rate (Libor) for three-month sterling has reached 6.74%, its highest level since December 1998.
The Libor is fixed on a daily basis by the British Bankers’ Association and reflects the interest rates at which banks offer to [...]
SMEs lose banking price controls
by Gill Montia
Story link: SMEs lose banking price controls
The Competition Commission (CC) has lifted the temporary price controls that it applied to the UK’s four largest banks, in 2003.
The controls determined the way in which Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland group run business accounts for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The price controls were put in place following an [...]
Consumers woolly on online banking fraud
by Gill Montia
Story link: Consumers woolly on online banking fraud
Lloyds TSB has come up with some surprising results in a survey about online banking fraud.
Whilst 93% of respondents to the survey were aware that Internet banking fraud is not a victimless crime, 51% were not concerned about it.
Further investigations reveal that 26% of those surveyed were not concerned because “these things happen” in life [...]
Market turbulence may delay base rate rise
by Gill Montia
Story link: Market turbulence may delay base rate rise
Leading economists are of the opinion that the current turbulence in the financial markets is likely to delay the much expected autumn rise in the base rate, from its current level of 5.75%, to 6%.
The international financial markets have been destablised because of events in the US sub-prime mortgage market, where thousands of people with [...]
US crisis leaves debt markets short of cash
by Gill Montia
Story link: US crisis leaves debt markets short of cash
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has returned from his summer holiday to join Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, and Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, in considering the current collapse of confidence in international financial markets.
The crisis has been caused by lending in the sub-prime US mortgage market, [...]
Bank of England Governor warns against gradualism
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bank of England Governor warns against gradualism
The deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, gave a speech earlier this week in which he warned that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could lose its fight against inflation if it is hesitant in raising interest rates.
The governor spoke of the many uncertainties ahead that had to be considered when policymakers [...]
A&L’s pre-paid Visa aids business administration
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L’s pre-paid Visa aids business administration
Alliance & Leicester has launched a new Visa card which is likely to be of interest to people who run their own businesses.
The card is pre-paid and can therefore be used by employers to provide expenses for staff travelling in their jobs or undertaking purchases on behalf of their employer.
Once it has been loaded [...]
NatWest launches Start-Up service for new business
by Gill Montia
Story link: NatWest launches Start-Up service for new business
NatWest is supporting new businesses with the launch of its Start-Up service which promises entrepreneurs free banking for two years, plus support from a network of over 1,700 locally based business managers, who will be advising clients face-to-face.
The offer is aimed at businesses that have begun trading within the last 12 months and the free [...]
Lloyds’ Barometer Registers Decline in Business Confidence
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lloyds’ Barometer Registers Decline in Business Confidence
Lloyds TSB has published its Corporate Markets Barometer, which indicates that in June businesses in the UK were less confident about their trading prospects than at any time since February 2006.
The number of companies expecting their level of business activity to increase (rather than decrease) over the next 12 months fell 16% to 45%, representing [...]
Higher Interest Rate Forecasts Remain Solid
by Gill Montia
Story link: Higher Interest Rate Forecasts Remain Solid
There has been no change in the recent predictions that the Bank of England will raise its base rate to 5.75% on Thursday 5th July, when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) next meets.
Whilst the rate remained at 5.5% following the meeting of the MPC in June, four of the nine members of the Committee were [...]
Base Rate Rise Essential to Prevent Downturn
by Gill Montia
Story link: Base Rate Rise Essential to Prevent Downturn
The deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, has warned that interest rates need to rise in early July to ward off the prospect of an over inflated property marked and to slow the growth in borrowing for buyout and private equity takeovers.
Sir John believes that failure to act could endanger [...]
A&L Launches Wages Pre-payment Card
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L Launches Wages Pre-payment Card
Alliance & Leicester has developed a new system that is designed to allow migrant and temporary workers to have access to wages that, in the majority of cases, are being paid in cash or with a cheque.
The bank is launching a Visa pre-paid card, which will also have a number of benefits for companies [...]
