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[1/2] Chairman Anthony Thomson (L) and Vice Chairman Vernon Hill pose with a dog outside the first branch of Metro Bank in Holborn in central London July 29, 2010. Metro declined to comment on Tuesday. A Starling spokesperson said the lender was making inroads into the big banks' market dominance. Metro is not the only smaller bank to have faced problems. One option is for smaller banks to gain scale through mergers and acquisitions.

Persons: Anthony Thomson, Vernon Hill, Toby Melville, John Cronin, Caius Capital, Monzo, Starling, We've, Morgan Stanley, Gary Greenwood, Rupak Ghose, Shore Capital's Greenwood, Ghose, Shawbrook, Jaime Gilinski, Dorita, Iain Withers, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Huw Jones, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Chiara Elisei, Alexander Smith Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Yorkshire, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Metro, Caius, Varde Partners, Finance, Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, The Bank of England, Prudential, Authority, Shore Capital, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Shore, Financial, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Holborn, London, Starling, Metro, Colombian

Persons: Anthony Thomson, Vernon Hill, Toby Melville, John Cronin, Caius Capital, Jaime Gilinski, Dorita, Gilinski, Monzo, Starling, We've, Morgan Stanley, Gary Greenwood, Rupak Ghose, Shore Capital's Greenwood, Ghose, Shawbrook, Iain Withers, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Sakoui, Huw Jones, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Chiara Elisei, Nelson Bocanegra, Alexander Smith, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Yorkshire, Lloyds, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Metro, Caius, Varde Partners, Harvard, Forbes, Finance, Bank of England, London Stock Exchange, The Bank of England, Prudential, Authority, Shore Capital, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Shore, Financial, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Holborn, London, BOGOTA, Starling, Colombian, Latin America, Metro, Bogota

U.S. air carriers United Airlines (UAL.O) and American Airlines (AAL.O) suspended direct flights to Israel after the Federal Aviation Administration urged airlines to exercise caution. Many European airlines have also cancelled flights. Norwegian Air (NAS.OL) cancelled its flights from Copenhagen and Stockholm to Tel Aviv this week and Ryanair (RYA.I) cancelled flights through to Wednesday. Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), also among the airlines most exposed to Israel according to Goodbody, cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Monday. Hainan Airlines (600221.SS), the only Chinese airline to fly between China and Israel, and other airlines flying from Hong Kong and South Korea cancelled flights to Tel Aviv.

Persons: We've, Matt Berna, Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Cohen, Britain's, Goodbody, . Virgin Atlantic, IAG, Sharon Singleton, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Tel, United Airlines, American Airlines, Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Air Lines, El Al, Fighters, Tourism, Royal, Intrepid Travel, Regulators, FAA, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Israeli, Ben Gurion International, REUTERS, Delta, Air, Portugal's TAP, Norwegian, Ryanair, Sunday, Wizz, Lufthansa, . Virgin, British Airways, Hainan Airlines, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Israel's, Jerusalem, Americas, U.S, New York, Chicago, Washington, Miami, Lod, Europe, Air France, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Hungarian, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Hainan, Beijing, Shenzhen, Cairo

On Sunday, U.S. air carriers United Airlines (UAL.O), Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) and American Airlines (AAL.O) suspended direct flights following the FAA's caution advisories. Britain's easyJet (EZJ.L) halted flights to Tel Aviv on Sunday and Monday, and said it would adjust the timings of flights over the next few days. Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) group, also among the airlines most exposed to Israel according to Goodbody, cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Monday. Portugal's TAP suspended flights up until Monday and offered refunds or rescheduling at no additional cost. Hainan Airlines (600221.SS), the only Chinese airline to fly between China and Israel, and other airlines flying from Hong Kong and South Korea, cancelled flights between Tel Aviv and Shanghai on Monday.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Amir Cohen, Finland's, Britain's, Goodbody, Virgin Atlantic, IAG, Ben, Ben Gurion, Douglas Gillison, Sophie Yu, Farah Master, Joyce Lee, Brenda Goh, Tim Hepher, Ilona Wissenbach, Sergio Goncalves, Anna Ringstrom, Sarah Young, Joanna Plucinska, Clarence Fernandez, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Israeli, Ben Gurion International, REUTERS, El Al, Fighters, Tourism, Regulators, Federal Aviation Administration, European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Sunday, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, Delta, Air, Wizz, Lufthansa, Portugal's TAP, Virgin, East . British Airways, Ryanair, flyDubai, Hainan Airlines, Thomson Locations: Lod, Israel, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Israel's, United States, U.S, New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, Miami, United, Europe, Air France, Hungarian, East, Ben Gurion, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Lisbon, Stockholm, London

☆ Metro Bank shares jump after deal to bolster finances
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Signage is seen outside of a Metro Bank in London, Britain, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Metro Bank shares up as much as 26%Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski to take majority controlMetro backers face 'very painful rescue' - analystLONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Shares in Metro Bank (MTRO.L) jumped in early trading on Monday, after the embattled British lender struck a fundraising deal overnight to bolster its balance sheet following urgent weekend talks in the wake of volatile trading. Metro Bank shares were up 26% at 56.9 pence by 0800 GMT. As part of the deal, Metro has agreed to a capital raise comprising 150 million pounds of new equity and a 175-million-pound issuance of bail-in debt known as "MREL". Metro shares remain around 97% down from when it first listed on the London stock exchange in 2016 at 20 pounds a share.

Persons: Hannah McKay, Jaime Gilinski, Gary Greenwood, John Cronin, Iain Withers, Louise Heavens, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Metro Bank, REUTERS, Metro, Shore Capital, Bank of England's Prudential, Authority, Lloyds, HSBC, Metro's, Spaldy Investments, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File PhotoLONDON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A handful of small UK commercial lenders are offering interest-free loans to high-risk borrowers, as part of a government-backed scheme to support people through the cost of living crisis. Reuters has confirmed that Social Credit, a collaboration between commercial startup lender Plend and two nonprofit organisations, has been delivering interest-free loans as part of the scheme. A hole in the credit market, caused by the collapse or exit of many payday lenders such as Provident and Quickquid, has left millions unable to access loans. HARD TIMESFair4All told Reuters a portion of the 45 million pounds would be used to fund no-interest loans, and the rest allocated to other financial support measures.

Persons: Henry Nicholls, Fair4All, TotallyMoney, Tom Lake, John Cronin, Cronin, Rishi Sunak's, Martin Coulter, Muvija, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Bank of England, REUTERS, Fair4All Finance, Reuters, South Manchester Credit Union, Provident, Quickquid, Customers, Conservative, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, British

But so far, IAG had not seen "any weakness into Q3 and Q4", finance chief Nicholas Cadbury added. In May, it said it expected annual profit above 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion), and analysts' consensus forecast stands at 2.8 billion euros. For the three months to the end of June, the group recorded an operating profit before exceptional items of 1.25 billion euros, compared to the 895 million euros analysts were on average expecting. "These numbers will help push expectations for this year strongly through the 3 billion euro operating profit level," Goodbody analysts said. ($1 = 0.9106 euros)Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Luis Gallego, IAG, Nicholas Cadbury, Sarah Young, Kate Holton, Mark Potter Organizations: British Airways, Air France, KLM AIRF.PA, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Thomson Locations: Iberia, Aer, IAG, Europe

☆ 'Red-hot upside': This global high-growth tech fund's stock could rise by 180%, says Berenberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shares of Molten Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on technology, could rise by more than 180%, according to Berenberg. Berenberg said Molten is currently trading at a 67% discount to its last-reported net asset value (NAV). This should, in turn, result in a substantial increase in Molten's share price. Aujla's note said that most of this decrease occurred in the first half of the year when the gross portfolio value (GPV) declined by 17% due to falling valuations. However, the analyst pointed out that Molten's investment strategy should provide protection against significant portfolio value decreases.

Persons: Draper Espirit, Berenberg, Kurran, Goodbody's Gerry Nennigan, Peel Hunt Organizations: Molten Ventures, British, Nasdaq, Numis Securities Locations: Berenberg . London, U.S

Philip Meeson, who built Jet2 into Britain's biggest seller of package holidays, will step down as executive chairman and leave the board later this year, the company also said. The Leeds-based company overtook former package holiday market leader TUI last year, and said it was confident of future demand despite the pressure on disposable incomes from high inflation and rising interest rates. "The end-to-end package holiday is a resilient and popular product, particularly during difficult economic times," Jet2 said. For the 12 months to the end of March, Jet2 posted pretax profit before foreign exchange revaluation of 390.8 million pounds ($497 million), within its guidance range of 387-392 million pounds. ($1 = 0.7865 pounds)Reporting by Sarah Young Editing by James Davey, Mark Potter, Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Philip Meeson, Meeson, TUI, Jet2, Mark Simpson, Sarah Young, James Davey, Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Channel, Thomson Locations: British, Britain, Leeds, Jet2

Virgin Money (VMUK.L), Britain's sixth largest bank, said in a statement it had also seen "net business deposit inflows in recent days". That means SVB UK's customer deposits are safe and their loans supported, HSBC's top bosses have said. Franklin told Reuters a number of CEOs and startup execs had started researching other banks with which to park cash in addition to SVB UK this week, citing Barclays as a favourite among some. But the collapse of SVB has intensified scrutiny of the business models of all lenders, including specialists with smaller balance sheets to fall back on. "The UK banking system remains safe and continues to operate as normal."

The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 6.6% on Thursday and was set to open lower again on Friday. The crisis at SVG was feeding growing investor concerns that banks will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money. In an unusual step, Commerzbank, one of Germany's largest banks, issued a statement, playing down any threat from SVB, saying it did not see "a corresponding risk for us". "The market is treating this as a potential contagion risk," said Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING in London. A spike in interest rates has led to a sell-off in bonds, leaving banks exposed to potential losses on the securities they hold.

☆ Baker Greggs sees more growth as Britons 'seek value'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Customers are seeking out value and therefore they're coming to Greggs," Currie, who has been chief executive since last May, said in an interview on Tuesday. For 2022, Greggs posted pretax profit of 148.3 million pounds ($178.6 million), in line with analysts' forecasts, on total sales which came in 23% higher. Greggs is comfortable with a consensus forecast for 2023 profit of 161 million pounds. "Greggs has demonstrated impressive resilience in 2022 with continued strong like-for-like sales growth throughout the year," Goodbody analysts said. ($1 = 0.8306 pounds)Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Instead, despite reporting robust profits, banks' shares have broadly stumbled as they forecast margin pressure, suggesting intensifying competition for customers' deposits and mortage business to come. "It may be that we've seen the peak of margin," said William Chalmers, finance chief of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds (LLOY.L) on Wednesday. Lenders say they have started to pass on higher rates to savers, adding that profitability is rebounding after years of low margins. Pressure to immediately increase the rates banks pay savers has been intensified by the digital offerings from U.S. entrants into the market such as JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, executives at the top British lenders said. In contrast to floating rates, which broadly track the Bank of England benchmark, fixed mortgage rates have started to fall as competition intensifies.

☆ This global VC stock has 130% upside — and it's a 'rare' opportunity, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The London-listed stock of the tech venture capitalist company is a "rare" and "attractive" investment opportunity thanks to several factors, according to Berenberg's analysts. First, Molten's shares fell by 65% last year in tandem with its peers in the Goldman Sachs non-profitable technology index. The analysts said the stock also appears undervalued as a result of "fear-mongering" about the state of the VC sector. Even the most conservative analysts covering the stock, James Lockyer from Peel Hunt and Gerry Hennigan from Goodbody, have a price target pointing toward a 90% upside. The average price target of four analysts compiled by FactSet shows an upside of 103.8% as of Feb. 22.

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Bloomberg had earlier reported that FAB had been exploring an offer for Standard Chartered as part of a plan aimed at building an emerging markets bank, driving StanChart shares up as much as 20%. The Abu Dhabi lender said it had been in "the very early stages of evaluating a possible offer" for the emerging markets-focused bank. Furthermore, the mooted combination of FAB and StanChart would have been subjected to more onerous capital requirements that would burden the resulting lender, a banking source said. FAB was created via a merger between National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank in 2016. The lender sources around half its deposits from the Abu Dhabi government and reported total assets of 1.15 trillion AED ($313.1 billion) as of end-September 2022.

A logo of HSBC is seen on its headquarters at the financial Central district in Hong Kong, China August 4, 2020. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSince his return to HSBC in September, Elhedery has been working on projects for Quinn. He is one of several Lebanese bankers to rise to the top ranks at HSBC, including his predecessor heading the investment bank, Samir Assaf. Shares of Hong Kong-listed HSBC, which makes the bulk of its sales and profit in Asia, fell 2.5% in a firm broader market (.HSI). "This is about how the group executive committee is positioned with potential succession options for the future," Quinn told Reuters.

☆ Deliveroo warns on sales growth as consumers tighten belts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Sarah Young | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Sees sales growth at 4-8%, from previous range of 4-12%Upgrades adjusted earnings margin forecastShares rise 4%LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - British food delivery company Deliveroo (ROO.L) warned sales growth would be at the lower end of its previous guidance, as households cut back on take-aways due to rising prices. Despite the worsening outlook, Deliveroo, which competes with Just Eat Takeaway (TKWY.AS) and Uber Eats (UBER.N), also slightly upgraded its adjusted earnings (EBITDA) margin guidance on Friday, helped by lower marketing spend. The group is aiming for adjusted earnings (EBITDA) breakeven in late 2023 to early 2024 and said that it was confident it could adapt to the worsening economic outlook where consumers are grappling with higher food and energy bills. In its biggest UK and Ireland market, Deliveroo posted GTV growth of 11%, boosted by the addition of McDonalds to its offering, while its performance in its international markets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific dragged. Deliveroo announced on Wednesday it would pull out of the Netherlands on Nov. 30 after it failed to gain sufficient local market share.

Banks are finding the home loan market stacked in their favour after years of low mortgage rates, but are also aware that bigger mortgage bills could spell trouble for cash-strapped customers. But the higher rates will hit borrowers hard. Mortgage payments as a proportion of gross household income were on average around 20% in June, according to BuiltPlace, a property market consultancy. They could rise to around 27% - the highest since the early 1990s - if mortgage rates were to rise to 6%, the consultancy said. The rise in mortgage rates will be a blow for millions of households' finances, Sue Anderson, head of media at debt charity StepChange said.

"The mortgage crisis is going to be bigger than energy now," said Richard Murphy, professor of accounting practice at Sheffield University, warning of a drop in house prices that could leave many with debt greater than the value of their home. This comes on top of a cost of living crisis driven by rising food and energy prices which is already biting many hard. CALL FOR CALMBeyond the immediate squeeze this will have on consumers' ability to spend, rising borrowing costs also have the potential to send the years-long house market rally into reverse: HSBC analysts predict house price falls of 7.5% into next year. Some top mortgage lenders are calling for calm, stressing they are still signing mortgage deals and that the pullback in lending among smaller rivals is in no way indicative of a broader, exodus of lenders from the mortgage market. Chris Huddleston, chief executive of international brokerage company FXD Capital, said he expected the mortgage market to remain in limbo in coming weeks as investors watch currency markets and how the Bank of England reacts.

Tech stocks generally carry more risk than other stocks, but they also promise significantly more growth. Throughout much of the 21st century's historic bull market, tech stocks have been at the forefront of the rise, with the biggest tech stocks all outperforming the S&P 500 over the past five and 10 years. There's a fundamental reason why tech stocks tend to attract more investor demand than other kinds of equities. This has added to optimism that tech stocks, in particular stocks which have already seen big gains, will still be a safer longer-term bet," Streeter says. If an investor wants the highest possible appreciation, they would do well to devote a segment of their holdings to tech stocks.

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