Barclays, CYBG, Santander, and Open Banking in banking this week

by | Jul 10, 2017 | Challenger banks

  • Barclays will be notified within two weeks on whether it faces a second set of criminal fraud charges over its emergency 2008 cash call with Qatari investors, according to the FT.
  • Barclays’ chairman, John McFarlane, has said that Euro clearing should be kept in London even if it means joint regulatory responsibility for the industry with the EC following Brexit. Mr McFarlane said that the current clearing system provides the most economical solution with the minimum capital utilisation. He claimed that any move away from London would increase costs.
  • CYBG is facing a multi-million pound legal claim from SMEs over allegations it mis-sold loans with spiralling costs that pushed a number of companies into insolvency. Augusta Ventures, a litigation funder, has committed at least £2.7m to bring a claim against the banking group, according to a document seen by Sky News. More than 8,000 so-called Tailored Business Loans (TBLs) containing interest rate swaps that were not clearly explained to customers are understood to have been sold to SMEs by Clydesdale Bank between 2001 and 2012.
  • Santander has written to UK shareholders explaining that the 15-day timetable of Spanish rights issues does not provide the bank with enough time to include British investors. The bank is looking to raise €7.1bn to acquire Banco Popular
  • Business Lending Group has appointed former NatWest relationship director, Tracey Abbott, to the role of regional director for the south west of England
  • Open Banking, the UK bank-funded enterprise mandated by the CMA to provide new ways for customers to share their data with non-bank providers, has released an API specification for accounts and transaction information and payments initiation