Lloyds Banking Group resurrects dividend as profits surge but miss forecasts
27th Feb 2015 07:21
Lloyds Banking Group has resumed payment of its dividend after six years with a small payment of 0.75p as its balance sheet grew more solid, though full year profits fell short of market forecasts. Underlying profits surged 26% to £7.8bn, broadly in line with consensus analyst estimates, as income e
Read moreLondon pre-open: Markets subdued ahead of data, German vote on Greece
27th Feb 2015 07:19
UK stocks were expected to open more or less flat on Friday after markets eked out another record close the previous session. Investors were likely to take a cautious approach ahead of a batch of economic data and a decision in German parliament on whether or not to approve Greece's bailout extensio
Read moreFriday preview: Lloyds hopes to recommence dividend as it reports full-year results
26th Feb 2015 15:51
Lloyds Banking Group is expected on Friday to announce its first dividend payment since its near-collapse in 2008 in its full-year results statement. The bank is waiting for the Prudential Regulation Authority to approve the resumption of a dividend. Analysts forecast a 1p per share dividend increas
Read moreLondon close: HSBC dampens sentiment as investors wait on Greek news
23rd Feb 2015 16:30
A plunge in the share price of HSBC, falling commodity stocks and a lack of news regarding Greece ensured that UK equity markets remained in the red on Monday, with investors cautious with shares near all-time highs. HSBC dropped nearly 5% after the global lender missed forecasts with a sharp drop i
Read moreSector movers: Banking sector falls as HSBC disappointment offsets gains elsewhere
23rd Feb 2015 14:56
A 5% drop in the share price of HSBC pushed the banking sector firmly into the red on Monday even though shares of other lenders were making gains. Lloyds and RBS were still in positive territory in afternoon trade and Barclays was more or less flat, but given HSBC's size the whole sector was regis
Read moreMorgan Stanley picks Lloyds and Barclays as banks play "catch up"
20th Feb 2015 15:53
Morgan Stanley thinks European banks might now "start to play catch up" after an unusual period of underperformance in an improving macroeconomic environment. Although Greek concerns remain, the US investment bank believes some concerns about the banking sector are easing, such as deflationary risks
Read moreBarclays, Lloyds and RBS cutting bonuses by 15%
19th Feb 2015 14:18
Three British banks are planning to reduce their bonus pot for 2014 by 15% compared with previous years, according to reports. Barclays, Lloyds Banking and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will award combined bonus pot worth £2.8bn. While Lloyds and RBS will collectively give £875m in bonuses, Barclays
Read moreRBS and Lloyds to maintain cap on cash bonuses
18th Feb 2015 14:51
Cash bonuses at Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group will remain restricted to £2,000. According to sources cited by Sky News, the two British lenders will keep the government-imposed cap on cash bonuses, which has been in place since 2010, though the Treasury is yet to officially confirm
Read moreLondon close: Greek fears rattle stocks, but miners limit downside
9th Feb 2015 16:35
London's FTSE 100 had trimmed losses by the end of the session but still finished in the red as ongoing concerns about the future of Greece weighed on market sentiment. "Eurozone equities are being ground down by Greek fears, and financial stocks across the EU are bearing the brunt of the sell-off,"
Read moreBarclays, HSBC, RBS have ratings cut by S&P
3rd Feb 2015 17:41
Standard & Poor's has downgraded a number of UK and European banks on Tuesday. Barclays and Lloyds were lowered by two notches to 'BBB', while Royal Bank of Scotland was downgraded two notches to 'BBB-' and S&P cut HSBC by a notch to 'A'. Standard Chartered was downgraded one level to 'A-', while t
Read moreSunday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, BT, Standard Chartered
1st Feb 2015 13:33
Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to pay a dividend for the first time since it was bailed out by taxpayers, the Sunday Telegraph reported. The board will sign off the group's annual results and then ask the Bank of England permission to pay a dividend before announcing results on February 27th. Llo
Read moreFCA hints at tighter regulations on PPI complaints
30th Jan 2015 10:22
The Financial Conduct Authority has introduced the possibility that it may enforce a time limit on complaints about payment protection insurance (PPI), the mis-selling controversy that has so far cost banks more than £17bn in compensation. The group said it intends to analyse complaint trends and "c
Read moreLondon close: Stocks end choppy session firmly lower as data disappoints
6th Jan 2015 17:19
It was a volatile day for the UK equity market with stocks swinging between losses and gains for most of the session, with a late sell-off sending the FTSE 100 firmly in the red by the close. Service-sector activity data from across the globe largely came in below expectations with weak figures from
Read moreTuesday newspaper round-up: Verizon-AOL, RBS, Tesco...
6th Jan 2015 06:43
Verizon Communications is in talks with AOL about a possible deal to take over the latter or set up a joint venture, The Telegraph said, citing reports. It is thought that Verizon wants to use AOL to expand its mobile video operations. RBS' deputy chief executive Chris Sullivan has left the bank "se
Read moreFTSE 100 movers: Energy stocks hit by drop in crude, Lloyds boosted by upgrade
2nd Jan 2015 14:22
Sainsbury was trading lower as hedge funds forecast that the supermarket group would be damaged by the grocery industry's escalating price war. Lansdowne Partners, Odey Asset Management and Marshall Wace all blamed the growing popularity of discounters Aldi and Lidl, who would hit profitability by f
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