UK banking sector still under a cloud
While Royal Bank of Scotland shares increased today they were the only benefactors in the UK banking sector after a very downbeat report regarding bad debts. Amid suggestions that Royal Bank of Scotland will be able to spin off a number of overseas activities to pay down its current debt pile, other banks were not so lucky with the likes of Standard Chartered, HSBC and Barclays coming under pressure.
Many people believe that the current enthusiasm for the UK banking sector may well be a little premature as we are yet to see a crystallisation of all losses on loan books across the board. It will be interesting to see how the short to medium term pans out because many people believe that there is more short-term pain to come in the property sector and unemployment is set to rise even further. This will place yet more pressure on UK banks and is certain to see an increase in bad debt write-offs.
Perhaps this is part of the reason why the UK banks have not been forthcoming with increased liquidity at a time when the government and the Bank of England has been injecting more capital into the market.
Share this..
Related stories
Student loans slated by credit charity
Credit Action has said that students are too willing to take on debt and that student loans just perpetuate the problem.Despite the fact that Credit Action believes that paying the loan back does not take much of a toll on graduates financially, it could affect career prospects and effectively teaches young people that debt is acceptable.Chris Tapp, associate director of Credit Action, said: "What...
Read More£6bn lost on cancelled holidays
With a recent study revealing that over £6 billion was lost last year through people cancelling holidays they have already booked, Britons have been reminded of the importance of taking out a comprehensive travel insurance policy.According to the insurer More Than, who released the findings, while many people book their holidays well in advance, many fail to take out insurance and therefore leave...
Read MoreHBOS Calls It A Day On 53 Estate Agency Branches
News that HBOS has closed down 53 of its Halifax estate agency branches was not totally unexpected but may not be the last of the closures. The move has resulted in 100 job losses with news that elsewhere in the group 450 employees have been relocated to different areas of the company. While this news is still being digested it also seems as though HBOS will consider 'selective asset disposals'...
Read MoreMixed signals in the UK property sector
While there has been significant discussion regarding the performance of the UK property sector we appear to be seeing the start of a recovery in the UK mortgage sector. New mortgage approvals rose by 4% in March which when taken with the increase in February starts to build a little momentum for the mortgage industry and the wider property sector.
While nobody is suggesting that th...
Bonfire of the quangos
Vince Cable, the business secretary, has this week announced plans to abolish a number of quangos looking into intellectual property, international trade and the disposal of electrical waste. While many of these quangos operate behind-the-scenes, and very rarely invite publicity, the four business quangos under review cost in the region of £8.6 million year to run. So who will replace these opera...
Read More