Lloyds non-exec steps down
29th Jun 2015 12:26
Banking giant Lloyds Banking Group confirmed on Monday that Carolyn Fairbairn will step down from her role as non-executive director on 31 October. Fairbairn, who has been a member of the board since 2012, will become director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in November, the F
Read moreBarclays and Lloyds merit multiple expansion, Morgan Stanley says
25th Jun 2015 15:31
European Banks are undervalued as their risk profile and cost of equity have fallen sharply, one of the world's largest brokers said on Thursday. Lenders' move to de-lever has seen their beta, the most widely accepted measure of an investment's riskiness in comparison to the wider market, "fall dram
Read moreTuesday share tips: UK banks, Severn Trent
23rd Jun 2015 16:20
Banks may not be happy with the new 'ring-fencing' rules, but just a decade on from the financial crisis they need to learn live with them. Legislation passed in 2013 set out the need for lenders to separate their retail and small business operations by 2019. The aim was to avoid banks using retail
Read moreGoldman Sachs said to be advising government on sale of bank shares
19th Jun 2015 07:49
Goldman Sachs is reportedly set to advise the government on the sale of its remaining stakes in Britain's bailed-out lenders at the same time as one of its divisions tries to buy billions of pounds of bank assets from the taxpayer. According to Sky News, Goldman was hired as the privatisation advise
Read moreBroker tips: Lloyds, Betfair, Safestore, Danone
18th Jun 2015 11:45
Credit Suisse has lifted its target price for shares of Lloyds Banking Group from 72p to 80p to reflect strong revenues and lower impairments in the first quarter. The Swiss broker maintained a 'neutral' rating on the stock, but said Lloyds remains its "preferred UK bank". It said the lender is the
Read moreLloyds boss urges industry to get behind ring-fencing
18th Jun 2015 09:59
The boss of Lloyds Banking Group has called on the banking industry to stop complaining about regulatory changes and back moves to ring-fence high street banks from their investment arms. Speaking at the British Bankers' Association retail banking conference on Thursday, chief executive Antonio Hort
Read moreLondon close: FTSE 100 drops to January lows on Greek uncertainty, traders await FOMC comments
17th Jun 2015 17:16
UK stocks fell for the fourth straight day on Wednesday with London's FTSE 100 finishing at its lowest level in five months as Greece continued to fight with creditors to secure a bailout deal. Investors were also showing caution ahead of the conclusion of a monetary policy meeting at the Federal Re
Read moreUK and German banks exposed to Greece, but risk is mitigated, says Nomura
16th Jun 2015 14:30
As uncertainty over Greek solvency weighs on European banks, Nomura considered exposures and price reactions. It said that based on last week's Bank for International Settlements data for the full-year 2014, UK and German banks have the greatest exposures, although the Japanese broker reckons the ri
Read moreLondon close: Stocks cut gains after Greek talks stall
11th Jun 2015 16:46
Stocks managed to hold on to their gains at the end of the session despite news the International Monetary Fund had pulled the technical team which was negotiating with Athens in Brussels. RBS was among the best performers in London after the government announced plans to sell down its stake, while
Read moreGradual relaxation of the UK bank levy still likely, says Nomura
11th Jun 2015 09:56
Although Chancellor George Osborne was noticeably silent on the matter of the UK bank levy on Wednesday, Nomura still expects to see a gradual relaxation. "With a majority Tory government now in place, we expect a gradual relaxation of the UK bank levy over time," it said. Nomura said it suspects t
Read moreLondon pre-open: Greece continues to be in focus, US retail sales on agenda
11th Jun 2015 07:30
London's blue chips are expected to ignore strong gains seen in the US and Asia overnight, as investors await further details of reports that Germany is weighing up a pay-per-reform deal with Greece. City sources expect the FTSE 100 will start the day around 11 points lower than Wednesday's close of
Read moreCiti sees continued improvement in Lloyds's net interest margins
8th Jun 2015 11:19
Lloyds's net interest margins will continue growing this year, driving improved forecasts for earnings per share, analysts at Citi believe. The lender's reduction of its headline cash ISA savings rate in the second quarter of 2015 will lead to a two basis point improvement in its NIM, while the full
Read moreUK bank levy change would benefit StanChart the most, says SocGen
8th Jun 2015 09:30
Commenting on a Sunday Times report that George Osborne is to lay the groundwork for a review of the bank levy, Societe Generale said that Standard Chartered was likely to be the biggest beneficiary. SocGen explained that the current method of calculation puts UK banks at a disadvantage when operati
Read moreMonday broker round-up
8th Jun 2015 08:04
Shire: Deutsche Bank reiterates buy recommendation and 6,000p target. Bellway: Deutsche Bank stays at hold with a 2,326p target price, Citi reiterates buy. Halfords: Deustche Bank remains at hold and ups target to 480p from 460p. Churchill Mining: Northland initiates coverage at 'speculative buy'.
Read moreBroker tips: Betfair, Lloyds
5th Jun 2015 17:31
Shares in Betfair fell 5% on Friday after Numis Securities cut its rating on the stock to 'sell' from 'reduce'. Numis said it normally reserves 'sell' recommendations for companies that have fundamental problems, but Betfair is not one of those. "However, we have been meekly increasing our share pr
Read more