Banks

London Inter-Bank Offer Rate, or LIBOR, is to remain the benchmark to be used in transacting business amongst financial institutions, incumbent Managing Director of the Financial Service Authority, Martin Wheatley, recommended.  This followed an independent review of the tainted benchmark commissioned in response to the recent rate-rigging scandal that has instigated a series of investigations...

Lloyds (LSE:LLOY), RBS (LSE:RBS) and Barclays (LSE:BARC), always leaders in the banking industry are leading it in an unenviable and potentially disastrous category:  PPI miss-selling complaints. The complaints The FSA reported this morning that overall complaints had risen a whopping 129% in the first six months of 2012.  With more than 2,230,000 complaints in the […]

The Bank of England has named the banks and financial institutions that took part in a new lending scheme  UK’s central bank formulated to boost the cash-starved British economy.  Whilst they were named, it is up to these institutions how to allocate the funds. Five of the six biggest lenders in the British market, namely: […]

RBS (LSE:RBS) Group CEO Stephen Hester presented a progress report on the restructuring process of the bank at a conference in London.  He concluded that RBS “is nearing the point of becoming a recovered bank, and well on the way to becoming a good bank.” His PowerPoint presentation demonstrated milestones reached, and objectives yet to reach […]

Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) share price reached a 52-week high of 40.01 pence just a week ago on September 14th.  Despite dropping back modestly during the week, it has pushed back to 40.02 at early afternoon today following news that former exec Jessica Harper has sold her home and is moving into a prison cell […]

The impending IPO of the Direct Line Group may be the biggest buzz around London since the Olympics.  In an attempt to gain some insight about what may really happen, I took a stroll over to 221B Baker Street to visit a friend of mine, a certain Mr. Holmes, who has proven rather proficient at […]

The consumer watchdog agency, “Which?”, has announced the launch of a new, major campaign calling for banking reform in the UK.  The campaign, called “Big Change” reveals some startling statistics about the banking industry and promotes a three-pronged solution.  It’s an admirable campaign.  There’s only one problem:  It won’t work.  The Banks will refuse to […]

Have you been short of banking stocks recently. How is that working out for you? What has been surprising in terms of the banking sector in the recent past is the way that while one would have thought intuitively that the Libor scandal might have done from some or all of the contenders in this […]

On August 1, 2012, I wrote an article about Royal Bank of Scotland Group (LSE:RBS).  In it I said that buyers would gain upper hands, especially following a long period of bearish run. The technical analysis used showed that the stock was supposed to rally after an extended downward movement. The technical reason behind this […]

British taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE:RBS) unveiled its plan to float its insurance business in compliance with its commitment to the European Commission after the bank was rescued for a £45 billion bailout in 2008, the bank said earlier today. Direct Line Group, Britain’s largest motor, personal, home, and commercial insurance business, is to […]