Banking

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has voted to increased interest rates by 0.25% to 0.5%. The committee voted by a majority of 5-4 at a meeting yesterday.

Barclays has today launched a package of support aimed at boosting small businesses, with the bank set to host masterclasses that will focus on managing cash flow, business growth and support for wellbeing. The classes are open to all small business owners, with national events focused on the hospit

The Cumberland Building Society has announced a six‐figure investment to support a luxury hotel rebrand and refurbishment project in Oban. The Cumberland has financed more than 60% of the acquisition of the hotel in the seaside town of Oban.

The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) has written to digital bank Monzo about a breach of the Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017 in relation to the bank's monthly maximum charge. This requires banks and building societies to specify, for each Personal Current Account (PCA) product

Barclays has agreed a £22.5 million funding package with Kilchoman Distillery, allowing them to invest in new production facilities and further grow the brand globally. The deal will allow the independent distillery on the island of Islay to substantially increase the production of its famous

Duncan Cockburn, chief executive of One Banks Hub, discusses how the bank is trying to bridge the growing digital divide in Scotland. There used to be three banks on the high street of Kilwinning, a small town in Ayrshire. However, three years ago the last branch, the Royal Bank of Scotland, closed,

Virgin Money, owner of Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank, has appointed Susan Poot as its new chief risk officer. Ms Poot joins Virgin Money from ING Bank, where she spent over 20 years in a number of commercial and risk roles, the most recent of which was Chief Risk Officer, Retail Banking. In this rol

Specialist lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has further expanded its presence in Scotland with the appointment of Barry Rodger to the role of senior relationship manager for Scotland. Based in Glasgow, Mr Rodger will report to Carl Ashley, regional director, and focus on providing real estate fu

Edinburgh has been listed as one of the least affordable areas to live in the UK in Nationwide's latest Local Affordability Report.

Greater competition in retail banking is driving choice and lower prices for consumers and small businesses, despite the financial impact of the pandemic, according to a new review conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

HSBC UK has announced the launch of a £500 million Green SME Fund as part of its commitment to support businesses of all sizes to transition and thrive in a low carbon economy. This follows HSBC’s global commitment to provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion of financing and investme

Virgin Money, owner of Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank, has launched Levelling Upstarts, an innovative new programme which gives SMEs the opportunity to partner directly with MBA and Masters students from leading universities through digital workshops to help them solve specific business challenges.

Hiring activity across Scotland continued to increase in December, according to the latest Royal Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs. Permanent placements rose at the steepest pace for three months amid reports of strong demand for staff, however, pandemic-related concerns weighed on the amount of work

Puremalt, a Haddington-based malt ingredient supplier, has agreed a £7 million funding package with HSBC to expand its grain-processing capacity by building new facilities. The funding will be used to build a new brewhouse.

Consumer champion Which? has uncovered worrying flaws in online banking security systems that could leave customers exposed to fraud, with some banks failing to use the latest protections for their websites and allowing users to set insecure passwords.