A woman withdraws money from a bank in Athens. Photograph: John Kolesidis/Reuters Police are urging Greeks to keep their money in bank accounts rather than putting it at risk of theft, amid further uncertainty about whether the austerity-struck country will remain in the eurozone.Greece's banks are likely to be shored up on Friday or Monday with €18bn (£14bn) of bailout funds they have been due to receive for weeks but which were held up by political uncertainty caused by inconclusive elections. Greece goes to the polls again on June 17, further stoking fears about its future within the euro.The scale of withdrawals from Greek banks – almost 25% of deposits have been taken out in the past two years – and fears that other countries ... Continue reading →
A debate over the merits of "free" banking was raging on Thursday after top banking regulator Andrew Bailey faced criticism after appearing to call for an end to non-fee paying current accounts to prevent mis-selling of financial products.Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer body Which?, said it was a "myth" that banking was free. "Consumers pay over £9bn a year in fees and lost interest on their current accounts. The idea that if banks charged more, they would stop trying to mis-sell other financial products is completely unfounded," he said.Bailey is acting head of the body that is to become the Prudential Regulation Authority, which is to be set up in the Bank of England to oversee the banking industry, following the resignation of Hector ... Continue reading →
Nick Robertson of online fashion retailer Asos at a clothes shoot. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian The top management of online fashion retailer Asos are being handed a share-based payout of more than £66m from a three-year performance plan.Chief executive and founder Nick Robertson is receiving almost 1.5m shares worth nearly £25m while his three fellow directors are sharing more than £25m, with a further £6m being handed to an undisclosed number of unidentified senior employees.The Aim-listed company, which on Thursday reported a near-doubling of pre-tax profits to £30m, is also beginning the search for a new chairman to replace Lord Alli who is leaving after 12 years. Media entrepreneur Alli will remain until a successor is found.The valuations of the share awards are ... Continue reading →
BT boss Ian Livingston was paid £7.7m last year. Photograph: Stuart Wilson/Getty Images Ian Livingston, the boss of BT, took home £7.7m last year, when he was among 1,000 top managers to share in a £90m share bonanza.Livingston, who is credited with turning around the telecoms company, received £4.7m from the £90m pot which paid out this month following the implementation of a three-year turnaround plan.Some 20,000 employees are also expected to receive an average tax-free profit of around £8,000 in the summer from a three-year share save plan put in place when BT's share price was 68p. It was trading at 207p this morning. Another save as you earn scheme is running for another two years. It was put in place when the share ... Continue reading →
The sharks are circling: allowing banks to charge for accounts in credit is just another way to maximise profits. Photograph: Amos Nachoum/Corbis Sharks are lean, mean hunting machines with one aim in life – to ensure the survival of the species. Banks have proved slightly less efficient at ensuring their own survival, but they do seem to hunt customers with one fervourous aim: to maximise profits for shareholders.So I am somewhat surprised by the idea that if banks start charging for current accounts they will stop mis-selling other products.Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England's executive director and acting head of the body that will become the Prudential Regulation Authority, the banks' future regulator, has previously suggested free banking for customers in credit is a myth.I ... Continue reading →
The Bank of England building in the City of London. Andrew Bailey, the executive director, also warned on the eurozone. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian The Bank of England's executive director has raised the prospect of official intervention against free banking in an effort to clamp down on mis-selling of financial products.Andrew Bailey also highlighted the debate about the speed at which banks are being required to hold more capital.Having urged banks to construct contingency plans for the break-up of the eurozone, the top banking regulator also reiterated that the "biggest risk to stability that we face" came from the euro area.He said: "Whatever happens in the euro area, there is a cost of adjustment, and that, too, will act as a drag on ... Continue reading →
Nationwide Building Society has old a third of new mortgages. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA Nationwide Building Society has written a third of all the new mortgages taken out this year as traditional lenders scaled back in the moribund housing market.As the country's largest building society announced a fall in profits for the year to 4 April to £203m from £307m, it also unveiled plans to move into the small business banking market next year, an area traditionally dominated by the big four clearing banks.The Swindon-based building society insisted that it had not relaxed its lending criteria as it admitted that its gross mortgage lending - the volume of new loans - was up 44% at a time when lending across the market was up 5%.Chris Rhodes, ... Continue reading →
Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/REUTERS Bob Diamond, the chief executive of Barclays, knew he was facing a sceptical audience when he set "citizenship" as one of the his four priorities on taking the helm last year."We're not doing this as something that is this year's initiative," he said after his invitation-only citizenship day event on Wednesday. "Judge us years from now – in the quality of our business, on our relationship with shareholders, our reputation , and most importantly, are we a better business and better citizens?".To be fair, Barclays is not the only bank with reputational issues. The entire industry has been tarnished with the same brush after the 2008 crisis. Any attempt to improve its image should be given a chance.The ... Continue reading →
