House prices are falling at their fastest rate in around 18 months, according to the latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). In October, 55% of estate agents surveyed said house prices had fallen in the past three months. Just 4% reckoned they had risen. That’s a much gloomier result than September’s,…
DetailsLONDON (Reuters) – One morning in May, the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, one of Britain’s biggest banks, called together his senior executives for an urgent briefing. Ross McEwan had just attended a meeting with officials at the financial regulator and had important news. “I think they’ve found something,” he said, according to…
DetailsFrom Wednesday 10th September we can be found right in the heart of Belfast, next to the City Hall in the Scottish Provdent Building. In future our preferred legal and taxation partners will only be a short stroll from these offices, making life that litte bit easier for client who have to travel from out of…
DetailsBy Adrian Quine, Business Reporter Firms were sold fixed-rate business loans to protect them against interest rate changes, but banks secretly added a swap, which had the reverse effect. This led to firms going bankrupt. “Embedded swaps” are unregulated. The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) says any customer unhappy with a product should contact their bank.…
DetailsWhat has Banking Review Services been telling you for years!!!!!!!! The biggest impediment to economic recovery in Northern Ireland is “the banking situation”, according to Finance Minister Simon Hamilton. He said at a recent Westminster inquiry there was “anecdotal evidence” that firms were having “severe difficulty” getting finance that would allow them to invest and…
DetailsThe Access to Finance Implementation Panel (AFIP) has been launched by finance minister Simon Hamilton and enterprise minister Arlene Foster. Its chairman will be Russel Griggs, a lead reviewer of the banks’ appeals processes. Hamilton said: “This panel will put a new focus on banking and access to finance issues here, particularly business lending. “For…
DetailsPauric McGowan, professor of entrepreneurship & business development at Ulster Business School, discusses the future agenda for the relationship between banks and SMEs. A major study by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Ulster Business School (UBS) delved into the views of SME owner–managers on the key elements that make up their relationship with their…
DetailsRonnie Patton, senior lecturer at the University of Ulster, explains why businesses may be better off looking for a CHEEP adviser than a cheap adviser in the following article from Ireland Business News. Recently I noted that many SME owner-managers have a limited relationship with their accountant or business advisor. This led to some enquiries…
DetailsBusiness confidence remains critical to driving the economy forward and companies in Northern Ireland have a part to play in shouting about their successes. That was the message from Kevin Kingston, deputy chief executive of Danske Bank, speaking at Insider’s Business of Finance Conference in Belfast. The theme of the conference was ‘Sources of finance…
DetailsAn initiative has been launched to assist small and medium-sized businesses access funding in Northern Ireland. The Finance Voucher initiative has been launched by Invest NI and will provide support for businesses to access professional help to prepare funding proposals. Businesses will be able to use the voucher to cover up to 49 per cent…
DetailsWe’re pleased to hear that later this month small businesses from Belfast will have an opportunity to talk directly to the Northern Ireland’s high street banks and hear from the Minister of Finance and Personnel, Sammy Wilson MP MLA, about the best ways to boost Northern Ireland’s economy. Commenting on the event, to be held…
DetailsFrom NorthernIreland.gov.uk: Braveheart Investment Group plc has been appointed to manage the Growth Loan Fund, which aims to generate £150million sales growth per annum for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The fund forms a key component of Invest Northern Ireland’s wider Access to Finance strategy, with the objective of stimulating the availability of risk capital…
Details2012 business prospects,especially in relation to Banks and their behaviour show no signs of improvement. Reported “business as usual” in relation to future Bank borrowings is a total myth. Let me give you an example from mid December 2011:- Client (sole trader) has been a loyal Bank customer since 1972. I quote from a Bank…
DetailsLet’s start with the bald facts. Ireland is broke. That’s not new news. John Stepek wrote about the parlous state of the country’s finances exactly a year ago: Ireland’s banking woes could spark another eurozone crisis. But here’s the quick version of how it happened. Ireland used to enjoy steady economic growth. But things got…
DetailsConsumer confidence took a sharp downturn during April, new figures have indicated. In its latest survey, market research group GfK NOP found that all five of the measures of consumer confidence it usually tracks slipped back in the month. The index slumped by a further three points, sinking to -31, compared with the -16 recorded…
DetailsThe bank’s parent, the Dublin-based AIB group, is cutting 2,000 posts by the end of next year. AIB executive chairman David Hodgkinson warned the job losses would “spread widely across the group”. The First Trust has 48 high street branches in Northern Ireland, employing 1,300 staff, but the AIB has said branch closures will be…
DetailsConsumer confidence in Northern Ireland has experienced its sharpest decline since 2008, according to Northern Bank. The latest findings are contained in the bank’s Consumer Confidence survey. The survey looks at the financial position of local households and their expectations for the year ahead. Its chief economist, Angela McGowan, said: “Consumers are fretting about reduced…
DetailsSuch banks are “caught in a maelstrom of interlinked pressures” the IMF said. The low levels of capital make some German banks, as well as weak Italian, Portuguese and Spanish savings banks, “vulnerable to further shocks”. But it said global financial stability had improved in the past half year. The findings came in the IMF’s…
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