KPMG warns of more losses for high-street banks
Accountants KPMG have today issued a damning report on the UK banking sector with a belief that bad loans will remain a significant issue for high-street banks for the foreseeable future. A weakening employment market and a property sector which has show signs of life, although never seems to turn the corner could be the catalyst for further large write-offs by the U.K.'s leading banks.
Already under pressure for not increasing liquidity in the mortgage market, UK banks could be squeezed from both sides if as expected bad loan provisions continue to rise and high-street operations suffer a further deterioration in trading. This is likely to have a major impact on the business arena with UK banks unlikely to release further liquidity until they see signs of improvement in trading.
It is difficult to see how or when UK banks will be able to increase liquidity in the consumer and business sectors because ultimately with further bad debts expected the trading environment does not encourage further investment. Maybe the recent move by the Bank of England to increase the quantitative easing fund by £50 billion is something which is required to support the UK economy in the short to medium term.
Share this..
Related stories
Premier League seeks to protect image rights
The Premier League is said to be in talks with HM Revenue and Customs regarding image rights for players plying their trade in the UK. There would appear to be two very different trains of thought from the Premier League and HM Revenue and Customs regarding the amount of tax due on image rights which are often paid to overseas operations. The tax figure in question is believed to be around £10...
Read MoreGoldman Sachs scrutinised by U.S. Senate
As the US authorities continue to chase Goldman Sachs, determined to bring the company into the court rooms of the US, yesterday saw a severe grilling for a team of four current and former employees of Goldman Sachs. Amid claims that the US authorities are using Goldman Sachs as something of a scapegoat there is no doubt that some of the barbed comments from Senate members were designed to grab th...
Read MoreGlobal pension schemes fall in value by £3.8 trillion
Respected consultancy and actuaries Watson Wyatt has today revealed figures suggesting that global pension arrangements have fallen in value by some £3.8 trillion over the last year. While the UK sector has had a very difficult time to say the least it would appear that the worldwide sector has performed considerably worse and there are serious concerns about the ongoing gap in pension liabilitie...
Read MoreShanks receives bid approach from Carlyle Group
After months of speculation it has been revealed that waste management company, Shanks has received a bid approach from Carlyle Group of £1.35 a share. It is believed that Carlyle has made a number of approaches over the last few months but this is the only one which has been announced to the market with Shanks directors not sure whether the earlier approaches were "serious enough". It would a...
Read MoreWhy are we seeing more job losses if the economy is improving?
Over the last few weeks we have seen an increase in job losses at some of the U.K.'s more prominent companies despite the fact that the UK economy has officially moved out of recession. Many people will be confused to see the UK economy on the up but job losses continue to be announced on a daily basis. So why are we seeing more job losses if the UK economy is improving? As we have mentioned on...
Read More