BANKING
Tide opens up its app to customers of rivals
Tide has said it is ready to open its services to non-account holders in a move some analysts say could be a game-changer for open banking. The fintech firm will allow small and medium sized firms connect their existing bank accounts to its platform without leaving their current provider. Oliver Prill, Tide CEO said: “With established businesses generally not switching banking providers or having multiple banking providers, we reached the conclusion that the only material way competition can be introduced for the established businesses is to allow them to virtually switch to use the Tide platform without actually switching bank accounts.”
Virgin Money confirms swing to black
Virgin Money has announced pre-tax profits of £417m for the year to the end of September. This compares with a loss of £168m loss a year earlier. Chief executive David Duffy said: “In 2021, the group achieved a strong improvement in financial performance, and I'm excited about the next phase as we become a growth-oriented digital bank offering a best-in-class customer experience.” Duffy has seen his pay package more than double to £2.7m, double the £1.35m he received last year. It has been boosted by the vesting of a share-based incentive scheme from 2018, according to the bank’s annual report, released yesterday.
INTERNATIONAL
Jamie Dimon apologises twice after CCP joke
Jamie Dimon has apologised twice after the JP Morgan boss joked that the Wall Street giant would outlast China’s Communist party. Speaking at the Boston College Chief Executives Club, a business forum, Dimon said that JP Morgan hoped to be in China “for a long time” and quipped: “I made a joke the other day that the Communist party is celebrating its hundredth year. So is JP Morgan. I’d make a bet that we last longer.” He added: “I can’t say that in China. They are probably listening anyway.” After issuing an initial statement of regret, Dimon penned another, more effusive version acknowledging that he “should never speak lightly or disrespectfully about another country or its leadership”. Separately, the FT looks at how the Chinese operations of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are faring.
TCS reports record Q3 profit
TCS Group Holding reported a 31% increase in its third-quarter profit hitting 16.5bn roubles $221.8m while total revenue increased by 48% to 71.7bn roubles thanks to diversified revenue streams. The group, which runs Russia's largest online bank, Tinkoff, confirmed its 2021 profit guidance at no less than 60bn roubles.
Regulators to probe if EU banks played down loan-loss provisions
The European Banking Authority is to examine whether lenders downplayed the potential cost of bad loans during the pandemic by failing to use the “collective assessment” method included in accounting standards introduced three years ago.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
LV= sale will cost members £43m
The members of LV= will have to pay an estimated £43m in fees and expenses for the mutual insurer’s £530m takeover by American private equity firm Bain Capital. The sum was disclosed by consultants Milliman, who were hired to evaluate the sale for the mutual’s members. Gareth Thomas, a Labour MP who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for mutuals, said: “It’s another indicator that demutualisation leads to great outcomes for advisers ... and nothing like the same benefits [for] ordinary customers and members.” All members will receive a £100 one-off payment from the sale, while most of its with-profits members will also benefit from modest uplifts to their policy payouts. The £42m in transaction costs equates to about £37 per person.
Brewin Dolphin funds rise 20% to £56.9bn
Brewin Dolphin has reported funds under management of £56.9bn, an increase of 19.5% on last year. In its full year results for the year ended September 30, the wealth manager said total funds were up from £47.6bn in 2020. Financial planning income grew 25.7% to £41.6m, driven by 1762 from Brewin Dolphin and the Wealth Core propositions. CEO Robin Beer said looking ahead to 2022, the wealth manager’s priority was to complete the final phased rollout of its new custody and settlement system, which it expects to complete in summer 2022.
UK fintech Freetrade seeks to double valuation in fundraising
Freetrade on Wednesday launched its seventh round of fundraising from the public since its founding in 2016. The trading app will seek a £650m valuation as it plans a push into cryptocurrencies.
LEISURE & HOSPITALITY
Nando's suffers challenging year
Nando's has suffered "the most challenging year" in its history after reporting a £242m pre-tax loss for the latest financial year to February 2021, following a £99.4m loss the previous year. The company saw revenues fall by 39.3% to £665m for the latest year, after all its markets were impacted by restrictions. The group also revealed it cut its capital investment by almost half - dropping to £54.2m from £97.4m a year earlier - as it sought to conserve cash.
MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing orders soar to highest level since 1977
British industry has recorded a boom in orders in November with growth hitting its highest measure since 1977. The monthly manufacturers' order book balance of the Confederation of British Industry leapt to +26 in November, up from +9 in October – double the average forecast of +13 in a Reuters poll of economists. CBI deputy chief economist Anna Leach said: “It's good to see strong order books and output growth in the manufacturing sector holding up as we head into winter. But intense supply side challenges continue to put pressure on firms' capacity to meet demand.”
RETAIL
Lidl to increase UK stores
Lidl has said it plans to increase the number of its UK stores to 1,100 by 2025, up from the 880, creating 4,000 new jobs. It comes as the grocer reported that revenues increased 12% to £7.7bn in the 12 months to the end of February, leading to a pre-tax profit of £9.8m, compared with a £25m pre-tax loss in the previous year.
SPORT
Review calls for Premier League clubs to pay transfer tax
A fan-led review into English football governance has recommended that Premier League clubs should pay a 10% levy on top-flight transfers. The transfer tax would be used to distribute more cash to lower-league clubs and the grassroots of the game. Other recommendations in the report, led by the Conservative MP Tracey Crouch, include a call for an independent regulator to oversee finances and decide whether owners and directors were fit to hold their role.
RFU warns that recovery will take 'years'
The Rugby Football Union has lost £120m in revenue as a result of the pandemic adding that it would take years to recover.
ECONOMY
Scotland's economic recovery slows
New Scottish Government figures reveal that the country's economy grew by 0.4% in September, slightly below the 0.6% growth figure for the UK as a whole, leaving Scottish output 1.1% below pre-pandemic levels. The monthly figures also revised down figures for July and August, with a 0.1% fall and 0.1% increase respectively downgraded to a 0.3% fall and 0.1% fall. Among the factors identified as contributing to the slowdown were low wind speeds impacting wind energy generation and coronavirus-related absences from schools.
Rate hike in the medium term, says Tenreyro
Bank of England policymaker Silvana Tenreyro told a discussion organised by the Oxford Economics Society that she expects interest rates to rise back to pre-pandemic levels of 0.75% from 0.1% now. But when that happens is open to question – and is likely to be in the “medium-term” she said.