Less Ads, More Data, More Tools Register for FREE

Pin to quick picksBarclays Share News (BARC)

Share Price Information for Barclays (BARC)

London Stock Exchange
Share Price is delayed by 15 minutes
Get Live Data
Share Price: 206.30
Bid: 206.25
Ask: 206.35
Change: 0.30 (0.15%)
Spread: 0.10 (0.048%)
Open: 206.30
High: 207.10
Low: 205.70
Prev. Close: 206.00
BARC Live PriceLast checked at -

Watchlists are a member only feature

Login to your account

Alerts are a premium feature

Login to your account

Bank of England condemns UK banks' mis-selling of rate swaps

Tue, 15th Jul 2014 13:16

* BoE says UK banks have "dreadful record" of mis-selling

* Deputy governor Bailey promises more vigilance in future

* Lawmakers fear BoE complacent over high-frequency trading

* One MP calls Carney "sly", would not play cards with him

By David Milliken and Tess Little

LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) - The Bank of England said onTuesday that British banks had a "dreadful record" onmis-selling complex interest rate hedging products to smallbusinesses and warned that it would keep a close eye on them.

Before the financial crisis, many businesses bought theproducts to protect against interest rate rises, but ended upfacing crippling costs after the BoE cut rates to a record-low0.5 percent in March 2009.

Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), aregulator, ordered Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group toinvestigate nearly 30,000 cases of potential mis-selling.

To date the banks have paid out just a third of the 3.75billion pounds ($6.38 billion) they set aside to paycompensation.

BoE Governor Mark Carney, speaking to a panel of lawmakersabout financial stability, said there had been clear malpracticeand that firms' problems should not be viewed as an inevitableside-effect of low interest rates.

"This just goes right back into the mis-selling issue, andit's not a monetary policy issue," he said.

Andrew Bailey, the BoE deputy governor responsible for bankregulation, said the "dreadful record of British banks andselling hedging products to customers" meant he would be lookingclosely to see if they bent new rules meant to stop this.

"We will have to be very vigilant about this," he said.

British banks have also set aside more than 20 billionpounds to compensate individual borrowers who were mis-soldso-called payment protection insurance policies to help themservice loans if they fell ill or lost their job.

Some lawmakers were not happy with the BoE's assurances thatit was keeping an eye on allegations of malpractice inhigh-frequency trading of shares in London.

New York's attorney general has filed a securities fraudlawsuit against Barclays, accusing the bank of giving an unfairedge to U.S. high-frequency traders.

Carney and Bailey said the FCA was looking at high-frequencytrading in London, something that was not a BoE responsibility.

Some lawmakers said that kind of approach was responsiblefor the central bank's delay in spotting the risk of malpracticein currency markets, something it is now investigating.

Referring to a previous committee hearing where this topichad come up, Labour Party lawmaker George Mudie said Carney hadappeared disingenuous. "Your face ... was just so sly, I wouldhave never played cards with you," Mudie said.

Carney and Bailey said the current set-up - where the FCA isresponsible for rooting out malpractice and the BoE is in chargeof financial stability - had been agreed by lawmakers.

Two weeks earlier, Mudie's party colleague Pat McFadden haddescribed the BoE under Carney as an "unreliable boyfriend"because of the mixed signals he had given on interest rates. ($1 = 0.5877 British pounds) (Editing by Susan Fenton)

More News
26 Apr 2024 09:45

NatWest profit falls less than feared ahead of state escape

First-quarter profit down 27% in competitive market

*

Read more
26 Apr 2024 09:33

LONDON BROKER RATINGS: Peel Hunt cuts ConvaTec to 'reduce'

(Alliance News) - The following London-listed shares received analyst recommendations Friday morning:

Read more
25 Apr 2024 16:57

LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 shakes off red-hot US inflation gauge

(Alliance News) - London's FTSE 100 outperformed on Thursday, enjoying a solid rise on largely well-received corporate earnings and a share price jump for miner Anglo American after it received a takeover bid from peer BHP.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 15:14

London close: Stocks finish mixed as US GDP growth slows

(Sharecast News) - London's stock markets finished with a mixed performance on Thursday, as investors digested a slower-than-expected GDP growth reading from the United States, while a slew of well-received earnings underpinned the top-flight index.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 11:00

Where are Wall Street's analyst notes on Trump's Truth Social?

NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Trump Media & Technology Group is one of the most actively traded U.S. stocks, yet Wall Street's equity analysts are staying clear.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 09:19

Barclays Q1 profit falls 12% as trading slump hits

Q1 profit of 2.3 bln pounds, just above forecasts

*

Read more
25 Apr 2024 08:36

TOP NEWS: Barclays first quarter profit falls but beats expectations

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC on Thursday reported a fall in first quarter profits as a weak investment banking performance hindered performance.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 07:56

REPEAT: Miner Anglo American reviews takeover bid from rival BHP

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open slightly higher, after a busy start to the day, with corporate earnings and updates.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 07:43

LONDON BRIEFING: Miner Anglo American eyes rival BHP takeover

(Alliance News) - Stocks in London are called to open slightly higher, after a busy start to the day, with corporate earnings and updates.

Read more
25 Apr 2024 07:01

Barclays Q1 profits fall 12%

(Sharecast News) - Barclays Bank reported a 12% fall in first-quarter profit on lower income as customers shopped around for better savings rates and mortgage deals.

Read more
24 Apr 2024 22:47

Microsoft-backed Rubrik prices IPO above range at $32 per share, source says

NEW YORK, April 24 (Reuters) - Rubrik, the cybersecurity software startup that counts Microsoft among its investors, priced its initial public offering at $32 per share on Wednesday above its indicated price range, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Read more
24 Apr 2024 19:38

Barclays takes EUR260 million loss from Italian mortgage book sale

(Alliance News) - Barclays PLC on Wednesday said it would book a EUR260 million pretax loss after agreeing the disposal of its Italian mortgage portfolio.

Read more
24 Apr 2024 11:57

Thursday preview: US Q1 GDP, Barclays in focus

(Sharecast News) - Investors' attention on Thursday will be on a first reading for U.S. gross domestic product growth during the first quarter.

Read more
23 Apr 2024 13:26

Gazprom subsidiary ordered to stop Russian lawsuit against UniCredit

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - A subsidiary of Russia's Gazprom was on Tuesday ordered by the UK's Supreme Court to stop suing Italian bank UniCredit in Russia over an aborted gas project.

Read more
23 Apr 2024 08:26

Britain's FTSE 100 blue-chip stock index hits record high

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - Britain's blue-chip FTSE 100 index hit a record high on Tuesday, following last week's sharp selloff, as fears of the Middle East crisis escalating eased and investors looked ahead to top U.S. earnings later in the week.

Read more

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Quickpicks are a member only feature

Login to your account

Don't have an account? Click here to register.