According to a round-up of fraud during the 2008 business year published by APACS, a UK payment services organistion, online banking fraud has increased by 132%. The results show that card frauds topped the list with a total of 609.9 million pounds loss followed by online banking fraud at 52.5 million pounds and finally cheque fraud losses amounting to 41.9 million pounds. Card fraud mainly involved transactions that had no PIN or chip protection. While phishihg attacks continue to rise, malware attacks also seem to be on the rise. As a precaution, online bank customers are advised to always have ther firewalls switched on and to have their anti-virus software updted frequently.
Posted by Shue on April 12th, 2009 :: Filed under
Online Banking
As part of the bank’s ongoing cost-cutting campaigns, the technology staff at RBS could see their jobs outsourced to India. A whistle-blower told High Tech Scotland that an entire floor had already been outsourced. Infosys, the Indian IT outsourcing firm that has been carrying out the bank’s technology services since 2002 could see their business increase as the bank considers tendering more IT work. This year, a number of banks have been considering outsourcing their technology functions and it will not be a massive shock to hear that RBS is considering the option further. The majority of the roles that are likely to be outsourced are centered on applications management and software development and with some 6,500 IT staff at RBS, this could result in significant cost cuts for the beleaguered RBS and job losses for many.
Posted by Shue on April 11th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
Nationwide Building Society released their new online savings product. The new E-Savings Plus accounts are run just
like FlexAccounts from Nationwide and they offer up to a 3.75% gross AER for savers. This new account allows savers
to access their savings while still having a competitive interest rate. Customers are allowed to make withdrawals
up to three times per year and still benefit from a 3.75% top rate gross per annum. Withdrawals excedding 3 will
result in lower interest rates either, backdated to the time of the account opening or the account’s opening anniversary.
Nationwide celebrated its 10th anniversary of internet banking last year since its launch in 1997. Matthew Carter, the
Nationwide’s director of Savings said that this new savings account gives savers more choices of where to put their money.
Posted by Shue on April 10th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
Official data has shown that the British consumer inflation rose to unexpected levels in February and hit the 3.2% mark.
Another measure of prices, the retail price inflation, also remained flat with one of the weakest readings since 1960.
In a letter to the finance minister, Bank of England governor, Mervyn King explained that the figures could be
explained by the transmission of weak sterling to consumer prices. The price inflation is however expected to fall
into negative territory later in the year as high energy prices experienced last year fall out of the statistics.
Lower housing costs and interest rates have contributed to pushing down of the retail price inflation to zero. The
U.K. government expected target is to have the inflation below the 2% target mark.
Posted by Shue on April 9th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
The safe government bonds seemed to have been on the defensive as global stocks rallied. The central banks have
supported the bonds immeasurably to buy chunks of debt to keep the market yields from escalating. These purchases
serve as a means to boost economic growth. They have short-term interest rates that have recently come down to near zero.
Investors seized the Federal Reserve’s decison to buy amounts of Treasuries as a clear sign of the erosion of the
dollar as the world’s reserve currency following a 2-month low hit against other major world’s currencies. The IMF’s
Special Drawing Right may replace the world’s main reserve as the debate over the dollar’s role intensifies.
Posted by Shue on April 8th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
In an effort to free banks of up to $1 trillion in loans and troubled mortgage securities, the U.S. Treasury
was cheered by investors, all of this being part of an array of measures that are designed to jump start lending
as well as get the economy back on its feet. Investors have started to pick up riskier assets and this has spurred
hopes that the battered housing market could be in for a recovery. For 2 months now, the Asian stocks have seen
an upward trend with higher-yielding currencies jumping against the yen. Japan’s Nikkei has struck a 2-month high
after experiencing a 3.3% climb. the Nikkei has seen a 21% rise from its lows and this market trend meets the
traditional definition of a bear market rally. Some technical indicators also suggest that the benchmark index
has reached overbought levels.
Posted by Shue on April 7th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
The former RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin’s pension package has come under scrutiny and critisism by the organisation
responsible for setting up taxpayer’s interest in UK banks. Sir Fred was being offered an astounding 630,000 pounds
as his annual pension package. As it stands, the former RBS chief was awarded a pension that is worth 16 million pounds.
This figure has been highly criticised especially since Fred and former ex-chairman Sir Tom McKillop both confessed to
making a ‘big mistake’ over the purchase of Dutch Bank and ABN Amro. RBS has reported a 24.1 billion pounds in losses
over 2008 – the largest corporate loss in a year in UK history. As acting chairman Glen Morino said, Sir Fred’s pension
payout was a ‘reward for failure’.
Posted by Shue on April 6th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
The online savings provider Egg recently launched an ISA with a paying interest of 2.5%. However, savings from
existing ISAs cannot be transferred into this new account. The account is easy to set up and can
be done over the interet in minutes. Customers can then keep track of their money by use of Egg’s telephone and
internet baning services. The head of savings and investments at Egg, Dean Proctor said, “With the new tax year
now under way, people should be looking for ways to make the most out of their savings. Our new cash ISA offers
an attractive rate of interest with no catches and is quick and easy for people to open and manage online.” He added
that with interest rates at an all-time-low, it was vital for people to make the most out of their savings now.
Posted by Shue on April 5th, 2009 :: Filed under
Uncategorized
Customers with unblemished repayment records are having their spending limits cut. This move
has been unexpected and many customers are angry by the move since most are unaware that their spending
limits have been slashed until the time of a purchase. One man said he felt humiliated when his credit
card was turned down. Another individual had his credit card spending limit reduced from 4, 950 pounds to
a mere 700 pounds, all without prior warning. The internet bank Egg has already withdrawn 161,000
credit cards from its clients. The move is aimed at withdrawing credit cards of customers who do not
generate revenue for the companies.
Posted by Shue on April 4th, 2009 :: Filed under
credit card
The Confederation of British Industry(CBI) has warned that the UK economy will experience a contraction that is double than previously forcast. The organisation said that the rising unemployment, a deteriorating economy and the difficulties being faced by UK firms in accessing credit will drive the economy deeper into recession this year. With the rising unemployment, people will likely spend less, save more thus impacting on spending. By the second quarter of 2010, unemployment is expected to reach the 3 million mark, up from 1.9 million by the end of 2008. These developments have resulted in a falling pound againsta both the euro and the dollar. Within 12 months, the poud has fallen by 17% against the euro and by 28% against the dollar. the UK officially entered the recession on 23 January after its GDP fell by 1.5% by the end of 2008.
Posted by Shue on April 3rd, 2009 :: Filed under
Recession