Britain Financial News

NatWest Group is taking a major stake in workplace savings and pension fintech Cushon.

The Bank of England (BoE) and the Treasury of the United Kingdom are moving on with plans to establish a digital currency that might «offer a new method to pay» without necessarily replacing cash. These ideas are in the early stages.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says: “As the world around us and the way we pay for things becomes more digitalised, the case for a digital pound in the future continues to grow. A digital pound would provide a new way to pay, help businesses, maintain trust in money and better protect financial stability.“However, there are a number of implications which our technical work will need to carefully consider.

An acrimonious legal tussle between a property company owned by Guy Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma and the UK government reached London’s High Court on 13 February.

LONDON—The U.K.’s economy returned to growth as 2022 drew to a close, partly thanks to soccer fans driving up sales at pubs during the World Cup. But many economists still expect a recession and several years of anemic expansion. 

Wall Street investment banks in the City are reviewing whether to scrap lucrative payments for senior staff as the UK government prepares to lift a long-standing cap on bonuses.

LONDON—The U.K.’s economy returned to growth as 2022 drew to a close, partly thanks to soccer fans driving up sales at pubs during the World Cup. But many economists still expect a recession and several years of anemic expansion. 

Former Citigroup dealmaker Michael Klein was handed control of Credit Suisse's investment banking unit, along with two other top jobs, after the Swiss bank agreed to pay $175m for his 40-person boutique. Klein, a key architect of the spin-out of its investment banking business, was named chief executive of banking, head of its Americas operation and CEO designate of CS First Boston.

Global payment giant PayPal held $604 million of cryptocurrencies for its customers by the end of 2022, with Bitcoin and Ethereum accounting for almost 90% of that figure. 

Monitoring and analysis systems identify suspicious transactions, while the firm also offers compensation for some hacks because its technology is insured. Finally, an end-to-end encrypted vault offers secure storage.The firm was founded in 2018 by David Janczewski and Adam Smith, who met when working together at The Royal Mint to digitise gold for the UK government.Coincover already works with more than 300 businesses, from exchanges and wallets to hedge funds, family offices, and banks.

Former Citigroup dealmaker Michael Klein was handed control of Credit Suisse's investment banking unit, along with two other top jobs, after the Swiss bank agreed to pay $175m for his 40-person boutique. Klein, a key architect of the spin-out of its investment banking business, was named chief executive of banking, head of its Americas operation and CEO designate of CS First Boston.

LONDON—The U.K.’s economy returned to growth as 2022 drew to a close, partly thanks to soccer fans driving up sales at pubs during the World Cup. But many economists still expect a recession and several years of anemic expansion. 

Craig Wright, the Australian computer scientist and self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, has had a copyright claim for Bitcoin rejected by a London court, with the judge saying the subject matter “is not expressed or fixed anywhere.”

Morgan Stanley has named new leaders of its UK investment bank, the latest in a series of changes as the Wall Street bank shakes-up its dealmaking team.

The litecoin price has dropped by 5% in the past 24 hours, falling to $96.29 after it rose above $100 yesterday. This current level means that it has gained by 7% in a fortnight and by 17.5% in the last 30 days, pushed up by the Litecoin Foundation's announcement that its Mastercard-powered Litecoin Card will be launching in Europe.

Mid-market investment bank, Alantra, has continued its dealmaker hiring spree with HSBC's former co-head of financial institutions coverage in Europe.

The jobs, both at HSBC's Global Private Banking and Wealth (GPBW) business and both based in the UK, are currently being advertised on the bank's website. The global product manager for digital assets will be responsible for the smooth running of all activities via the creation, optimisation and running of governance and policy. "Because digital assets is a new topic and strategic & risk appetite considerations are evolving quickly, the product manager for digital assets will be required to build strategic frameworks and policies to help drive complex business, project and governance decisions," says the ad. Meanwhile, the product director, tokenisation will focused on asset tokenisation use cases, "required to make complex business and project decisions, that contribute to a high value, strategic initiative". Applications for both jobs close on 13 February.

It is no secret that the global economy has continued to weaken over the course of the past year. To this point, on Jan. 19, the United States government hit its “debt ceiling,” i.e. the total sum of money that the U.S. Treasury can borrow to fund its ongoing federal operations, leading to renewed concerns that more financial pain and the economic slowdown could be incoming.

The holding company of troubled crypto lender Genesis Global Capital, Genesis Global Holdco LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Jan. 19. Genesis is the latest crypto platform to file for bankruptcy, joining Celsius, Voyager, BlockFi and FTX.

City heavyweights want to transform the Square Mile into a "one-stop shop" for green services to ensure that the UK remains competitive over the next decade.