CDE News

EU Commission launches public consultation on the Mortgage Credit Directive review

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the Mortgage Credit Directive review. The Commission is seeking views on the functioning of and possible improvements to the existing framework.…

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EU pledges ‘faithful’ application of global bank capital rules from 2025

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The European Union published draft laws on Wednesday to "faithfully" implement the final batch of tougher global bank capital rules from 2025, two years later…

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EXCLUSIVE-HSBC moves more than 1,200 UK staff to permanent home working

LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - HSBC is moving more than 1,200 staff in Britain to permanent working from home contracts, in one of the strongest indications yet of how banks…

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BOV closes a number of branches, reduces services in others

Following the introduction of additional measures by the Government in light of developments related to COVID-19, particularly the increase in positive cases and the closure of schools and child care…

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Banks in EU to publish world’s first “green” yardstick from next year

Banks in the European Union would have to publish a groundbreaking "green asset ratio" (GAR) as a core measure of their climate-friendly business activities from next year, the EU's banking…

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ESAS’ Board of Appeal dismisses case against the EBA on alleged non-application of Union Law as manifestly inadmissible

The Joint Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs – European Banking Authority, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, and European Securities and Markets Authority) published today its decision in…

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EIB and Egypt work together to support private businesses and speed up the recovery of SMEs from COVID-19

The European Investment Bank is providing Banque Misr with a €425 million credit line to support Egyptian private small and medium-sized enterprises that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and boost their ability…

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Revolut accused of not paying out bonuses to employees

Popular digital bank Revolut has found itself in the limelight for the wrong reasons after failing to pay bonsues to its compliance employees, sparking a row which resulted in a…

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Italy business lobbies urge EU to ease credit default rules

Italy's main banking and industry associations have urged European Union authorities to temporarily ease EU bank rules on loan defaults and credit provisioning to help businesses cope with the impact…

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China could restrict bank tie-ups with fintech platforms, official suggests

BEIJING, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China's former finance minister Lou Jiwei suggested that China could restrict the number of banks a single fintech platform can partner with, to prevent any…

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British customers in EU will lose bank account if no deal is reached

Major UK banking companies are informing their British customers living in the European Union that their bank accounts will be closed by end of the year should no post-Brexit trade…

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Italian banks’ lending to businesses, domestic bond holdings up in July

Italian banks increased both their lending to firms and their domestic government bond holdings in July, data showed on Wednesday. A monthly Bank of Italy report on domestic banks' balance…

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Comuniq.EU – Banking

by Keith Zahra The European Central Bank has told banks not to pay any dividend payments until at least January and urged them to be “extremely moderate” when setting…

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Italian banks’ lending to businesses jumps in June, deposits grow

Italian banks increased their lending to companies in June, as business resumed after a government-imposed national lockdown was gradually lifted, data showed on Monday. A monthly Bank of Italy report…

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Britain’s banks brace for $22 billion loan losses as outlook darkens

Britain's banks took a gloomier view than almost all their European peers in their second quarter earnings, as coronavirus fears, Brexit and low interest rates caused them to bake tougher…

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HSBC first-half profit plunges 65%, warns loan losses could hit $13 bln

HSBC Holdings PLC warned of rising bad debt charges and a falling core capital ratio after posting a higher-than-expected 65% tumble in first-half pre-tax profit as the coronavirus pandemic hit…

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EU recovery plan will stimulate mergers between European banks – Santander

The European leaders' agreement on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus battered economies should help kick-start cross-border consolidation in Europe and complete the European banking union, Santander Chairman Ana Botin said. "What…

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EU Banking Authority seeks way to enhance Bank recovery and resolution

The European Banking Authority has launched a discussion paper exploring ways on how to enhance the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) framework on early intervention measures. The objective is…

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Spain’s banks look to make lockdown branch closures permanent

As Spain reopens after the COVID-19 crisis, its banking industry is seizing the opportunity to shrink its swollen branch network which has long been a drag on profitability, with just…

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Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD begins new round of job cuts

Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest bank, began cutting hundreds of jobs this week after the impact of the coronavirus crisis accelerated planned lay-offs, three sources said. Although the full scale of…

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HSBC to resume cutting around 35,000 jobs

HSBC is resuming a massive redundancy plan it had put on ice after the coronavirus outbreak, and will cut 35,000 jobs over the medium term, a memo seen by Reuters…

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UAE banks risk rise in bad loans

United Arab Emirates banks are at risk from a spike in bad loans over the next one to two years as the oil-producing economy is hit by a "triple…

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Santander to appoint HSBC’s Simoes as regional head of Europe

Spain's Santander announced the appointment of Antonio Simoes, head of global private banking at HSBC, as its regional chief for Europe at a time when the euro zone's No. 2…

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Commerzbank swings to worse-than-expected Q1 loss as pandemic bites

Germany's Commerzbank said on Wednesday it swung to a loss in the first quarter, as the lender undergoes restructuring and dealt with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The bank…

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EU Commission adopts banking package to facilitate lending to households and businesses in the EU

The Commission has today adopted a banking package to help facilitate bank lending to households and businesses throughout the European Union. The aim of this package is to ensure that…

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Malta: Banks say they have no details on how subsidised business loans will work

Maltese banks have not been provided details of how a government scheme to subsidise interest rates for businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic will function, their association said on Saturday.…

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Maltese Banks announce initiatives to support clients during COVID-19 crisis

Major banks in Malta have over the past few days launched a number of initiatives to support their personal and business clients during these challenging times. International banking regulatory authorities…

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Big banks brace for the coronavirus

Many of the City of London's biggest institutions are taking steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus. On Monday many of JPMorgan's UK-based staff are being temporarily moved…

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Founder of India’s fifth-biggest private sector bank arrested

The founder of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor, was arrested on Sunday on allegations of money laundering, after being questioned for over 20 hours by Indian authorities. "He has been arrested…

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Intesa Sanpaolo bid to take over rival UBI Banca

Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has launched a bid to take over its rival, UBI Banca for 4.9 billion Euros. Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said Wednesday Intesa Sanpaolo's planned takeover…

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Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to change its name

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it is to change its name to NatWest Group later this year as it commits to a new future following the taxpayer bailout of…

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Italian banks closing Iranian citizens’ accounts over US sanctions

Several Italian banks have closed or imposed restrictions on accounts held by Iranian citizens citing US sanctions against Iran and putting some people in a delicate financial situation. Several European…

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German digital bank N26 pulls out of UK, blames Brexit

The German digital bank N26 is has blamed Brexit for its decision to pull out of the UK and close more than 200,000 customer accounts. The lender has given customers…

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HSBC UK staff morale low in view of job cuts

Morale of the staff working at HSBC (in the UK) is low after its boss was ousted and staff prepare for a wave of job cuts, according to an internal…

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Italian bank UniCredit to lay off 6000 and close 450 branches

Italy's biggest bank UniCredit is to lay off 6000 staff in Italy and close 450 branches, it told unions on Monday. The payoffs and closures are contained in a 2019-2023…

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Visa backs payments start-up that powers popular fintech apps like Monzo and Revolut

Financial technology start-up Currencycloud, which powers cross-border payments for a number of popular finance apps, has raised $80 million in a funding round backed by Visa. Based in the U.K.,…

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Lloyds Banking Group and Microsoft form partnership to accelerate bank’s digital transformation strategy

Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft focused on accelerating LBG’s digital transformation. As part of the LBG’s commitment to invest £3 billion in technology, the…

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Financial institution failed to raise alarm over huge write-down of frozen Libyan assets

Abu Dhabi’s The National reports that a financial institution responsible for a huge write-down in the value of Libyan frozen assets held in the UK remains under investigation after it…

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Britain’s biggest high street banks affected by cyber-attack

Britain's biggest high street banks have been left unable to process foreign currency orders following the cyber-attack on Travelex, which provides services for them. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds…

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HSBC kicks off year with Hong Kong branches closed, vandalized

HSBC is being drawn into Hong Kong’s political turmoil with protesters attacking some of its branches and graffiti daubed on the famous pair of lions that guard its city-center headquarters.…

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Money pumped into China’s economy in attempt to fight slowdown

China’s central bank has acted to pump more liquidity into the country’s economy in an attempt to prevent growth slowing in 2020. The People’s Bank of China is allowing commercial…

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Next Bank of England governor looks to ease rules after Brexit

Andrew Bailey, named on Friday as the next governor of the Bank of England, has signaled a readiness to diverge from EU regulations after Brexit. Bailey will be one of…

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HSBC Swiss unit to pay $192 million in US tax fine

The Swiss branch of HSBC's private bank has been fined almost CHF200 million by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) for having helped American clients evade tax between 2000 and 2010.…

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Switzerland grants 18 more countries access to bank details

The Swiss parliament has approved the automatic exchange of bank data with 18 additional countries from 2021. However, Turkey failed to make the cut. On Tuesday, the Senate followed the…

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HSBC to bring in single overdraft rate of 40% for UK customers

HSBC is to bring in a single overdraft rate of 39.9% for UK customers from March 2020, as much as quadrupling the rate it charges some customers. However, the bank…

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Italy’s UniCredit to axe 8,000 jobs

Italian bank UniCredit said Tuesday that it set to axe around 8,000 jobs and close around 500 branches in the next few years. The job losses will be concentrated in…

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HSBC set to replace investment banking chief

HSBC is planning to replace the long-serving head of its investment bank ahead of a big restructuring that will result in large-scale job losses at the unit he has…

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Danish prosecutor charges Danske Bank for overcharging customers

Danske Bank said on Thursday it has been preliminary charged by the Danish prosecutor for overcharging customers for an investment product. Denmark’s financial watchdog reported Danske Bank to the police…

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ECB says that EU banks are lagging in executing Brexit plans

European Union banks have put in place all the plans for Brexit but execution is lagging as lenders await the outcome of negotiations between Britain and the EU, European Central…

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Malta: Bank of Valletta appoints first ever foreign CEO

Ricky David Hunkin is to be appointed CEO of Bank of Valletta on January 1, succeeding Mario Mallia who is not seeking renewal of his term. The bank said that in his…

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Jail terms for 13 bankers over Monte Paschi scandal

Thirteen former bankers from Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Nomura and Deutsche Bank were sentenced to jail on Friday after a case that shook Italy’s establishment and fomented the rise…

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Euro zone corporate lending growth plunges in Sept

Bank lending to euro zone companies plunged last month, suggesting that the bloc’s economic slowdown is finally slowing lending after a period of surprising resilience, data from the European Central…

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Bank of England unveils new £20 note

The new 20-pound note was unveiled at the Turner Contemporary Museum in Margate, Britain. The 20-pound note is Britain's most common, and most forged. Security features on the next £20…

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HSBC to close down seven branches in Malta

HSBC announced on Thursday it would be closing seven branches in Malta and combine another two into a new Qormi flagship it will be open. It also said it would…

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World’s largest banks lagging in sustainable finance

Despite pressure from activists, investors and governments, the majority of world’s 50 largest banks have not made sustainable finance commitments to respond to the risks of climate change and continue…

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New Zealand announces plans to regulate conduct of banks, insurers

New Zealand announced that it plans to regulate the conduct of financial institutions with new measures including a ban on target-based sales incentives, following a review by regulators. The government…

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UK banks sign up to U.N.-backed responsible banking code

Britain’s banks will implement U.N.-backed “responsible banking” principles being launched next week that will influence lending and company behaviour, British banking trade body UK Finance said. The principles seek to…

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