Month: December 2018

Lloyds Banking Group sells Halifax for 1

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Lloyds Banking Group has sold its Halifax estate agency business for just 1 to LSL Property Services. The group has said 1,050 employees will be transferred to LSL after the sale.

However, the move is likely to cause 460 jobs to be lost, 360 of which are said to be full time positions.

Lloyds has been in talks about the changes with its unions, and added compulsory redundancies among counter staff was a “last resort”.

The business has 218 offices, 93 of which are franchise operations, but has continued to make losses despite efforts made by Lloyds Banking Group following the takeover of HBOS a year ago.

All 121 Halifax banking counters located in estate agents are set to close their doors early next year, and later rebranded as one of LSL’s existing brands.

LSL is the parent company of estate agency brands Your Move, Reeds Rains and Intercounty.

Lloyds said the decision to sell Halifax came after carrying out a strategic review, “which concluded that an estate agency operation is no longer integral to its business model”.

David Nicholson, managing director of Halifax Community Bank, said: “Halifax Estate Agency is a well established business and, following a strategic review, we believe that it is better able to grow outside the Group with a strong existing player in the market such as LSL Property Services.”

Ged Nichols, general secretary of union Accord, said: “We will be having early meetings with LSL to discuss their plans for the business and employees’ terms and conditions so that we can provide maximum support for Accord members who will be transferring to LSL’s employment.

Lloyds said all customers with mortgages or other services affected by the counter closures would receive a letter containing details of the changes and be given information regarding alternative locally placed banking facilities. Most of these locations either have a Lloyds TSB or Halifax branch within one mile.

“We have also made our view clear to Lloyds that the staff who currently work in the 121 branches with banking counters should have the opportunity to transfer to nearby bank branches. We believe that there is no need for compulsory redundancies.”

The sale has made LSL the second-largest estate agency operation in Britain. The firm was created after its counterpart Your Move was bought out of Norwich Union in 2004.

Simon Embley, LSL’s chief executive, said: “The purchase of Halifax Estate Agency heralds a significant step forward in the growth of LSL and its associated estate agency businesses. We now look forward to embracing the opportunities that this move presents to us and, at the same time, ensure the high standards and reputation HEA are renowned for are maintained and built upon in the future.”

Advantages Of Net Banking

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Is the nature of company forcing customers to make use of internet banking? Or, is there something in it for the consumers? Indeed there are lots of advantages to performing web banking.

1. It’s quick to open an world wide web banking account. You sit, within the comfort of your house or office, and sort within your answers to a few questions. You set up the security measures which will be used to access your account, like usernames, passwords, etc. Then, all you need to do is print off and sign a form to send in to complete the process.

2. Web banking is cheaper. With the benefit of having no physical structure to keep up, virtual banks have low overhead. They can afford to cut you a break by offering higher interest rates on your savings. They will also provide lower overdraft fees. Even banks which are backed by physical buildings encourage on the internet banking with free of charge bill paying services.

3. Web banking enables you to compare deals easily. You’ll be able to go to various online banks and discover their interest rates and policies about checking and savings accounts. You may find out what credit cards they give, and at what rates. You may compare loan terms. It is possible to check with the FDIC to check the banks’ credibility.

4. World wide web banking consumers can watch their daily balances. By going on the web to the bank’s site it is possible to take a look at what’s going on within your account any day or time. You are able to check your balance. You’ll be able to find out if a particular check has cleared your account or see when automatic deposits are made. All these services make check bouncing almost a factor of the past.

5. Your monthly statement can be reconciled by making use of your personal computer. You can download your bank data into a software program like Quicken or Microsoft Funds. Then, having a couple of clicks of your mouse you’ll be able to square up your account. By way of your web banking account, you are able to even see copies of checks you might have written.

6. You’ve got a superior opportunity to catch fraudulent use in case you have an internet banking account. Whenever you check your debits and deposits, you’ll most likely notice if some thing is there that you did not do. If someone withdraws money from your account, you’ll know it as soon as you log on and look over your account. Then, you may work on correcting the situation long before you would even notice it with conventional banking.

7. World wide web banking is much a lot more convenient than traditional banking. You do not need to wait for the bank to open its doors. You don’t have to drive to get there. If you are employing web banking for your office, you will not need to waste valuable time going to the bank. You’ll be able to manage your funds anywhere, any time.

Internet banking is growing for a reason. Individuals are getting accustomed to transacting business over the internet. They’re enjoying the convenience plus the control over their dollars that world wide web banking gives them.

SBI to bring in green-channel banking

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The State Bank of India is set to introduce green-channel banking to promote paperless work and reduce footfall of customers in the already over-burdened ATMs and branches. p>

SBI general manager for network-I D Mozumdar said here on Saturday that apart from regular counters, a new counter was being opened in which customers could swipe their ATM cards and enter the pin code to receive cash from the person manning the counter. “In this way, there will be no requirement for paperwork and the process of money withdrawal will be fast,” he said.

Under the financial inclusion scheme of the Reserve Bank of India, SBI has been asked to take up responsibilities in 43 of the 156 “under-banked” blocks of the state, besides extending banking facilities to 408 villages having a population of over 2,000 people. Mozumdar said SBI would connect 200 villages by March this year through different banking techniques. “We do not require brick and mortar branches these days to extend banking facilities because technology has made the work easier and SBI is fortunate to have all the modern banking technology,” he said.

All 200 villages where SBI is planning to launch services by March will be on technology platform that includes micro-ATM or mobile-based banking in which the customers having a mobile phone can access his or her account through the cell phone and bio-metric smart cards by which a user is identified on a hand-held machine through finger prints. Business correspondents appointed by bank will also disburse cash along with printed receipts and through kiosk-mode in which the bank provides a laptop with face-reading and voice-recognition software to enable transactions.

Bad Credit Loans Borrow Urgent Bucks By Banking On Stable Job

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The best way to make access to the suitable lender is to get dependent on the online service. With the help of the online mode, the people are able to browse the loads of websites within the very limited time. Thus, they are able to save their precious time in order to come across a suitable lender, who does not have any concern with the bad credit scores. Such loans are available in the form of bad credit loans that are quickly approved without caring for the bad credit records of the applicants. Lender allows the poor credit holders for the obtainment of the fund in the range of 1000 to 15000 or more than that. But they need to present their proofs of being employed in the reputed company. The lender collects the basic information of the jobbers. Only then, the fund is transferred into the bank account of the borrowers within no time. These loans are suitable for the salaried people because bad credit records are just avoided for them. And they are able to do away with their entire unwanted fiscal crises with no hurdle and with no restriction at all. These unseen monetary crunches could be in the form of miscellaneous unpaid pending bills and loads of debts.

It does not take the borrowers to get rid of their entire problems because the fund is into the hand of the borrowers, who are cursed with the blemished credit scores. These poor credit ratings are just like arrears, amount outstanding, defaults, late payments, payment overdue, poor credit rating, CCJs (Country Court Judgments), IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) and all that. These credits are not verified by the lender of bad credit loans. Rather, the bad credit holders are offered the golden opportunity to improve their credit scores.

Salaried people need to pay back the amount as soon as possible because this is the way to overcome the bad credit. Bad credit loans are ample help of finance to solve the entire problems of the people. In order to make the most of the fund through the help of the mentioned loans, the applicants only need to mention some fundamental information into the loan application from. After that, there is no hurdle at all in the path of the salaried people when they go to the office of the lender in order to go for the last minute fund.

Commercial Banking In India.

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Prime Services offered by a commercial bank include processing of payments by way of telegraphic transfer, issuing bank drafts and bank cheques, accepting money on term deposits, lending money through overdraft or through installment, providing letter of credit, safe keeping of documents, currency exchanges thereby enacting the role of a financial supermarket. The Commercial Bank lays more importance on loans that it provides to its customers. These loans are Secured Loans, Mortgage Loans & Unsecured Loans. A secured loan is one in which a borrower pledges some asset as collateral against the loan. A mortgage loan is granted to purchase property against security provided to the bank until the mortgage is paid of in full. The mortgage or loan can be repaid in easy installments. Unsecured loans are granted without any specific securities, under marketing packages like credit cards, debit cards, corporate bonds, etc. All in all a commercial bank raises funds by collecting deposits from businesses and consumers via checkable deposits, savings deposits, and time (or term) deposits & loans it to businesses and consumers. It also buys corporate bonds and government bonds. Its primary liabilities are deposits and primary assets are loans and bonds.

Commercial Banking in India categorizes itself into project finance & working capital. In the case of Project Finance banks in India offers long & short term loans to business houses to set up their projects. These kinds of loans are issued after approval from banks core credit validating committee. The Project Finance segment in the commercial department is highly competitive with different players in the department trying to get the best deals done by enticing different corporate houses and business organizations to opt for the loan by providing lucrative offers. Working Capital or Capital Funds are issued by banks to corporate or business houses to meet diverse needs and requirements of the business community. Working capital finance is specialized line of business and is largely dominated by the commercial banks.

Commercial Banking in India saw dramatic changes in the last decade after Indias integration with world economy. These economic reforms and the entry of private players saw nationalized banks revamp their service and product portfolio to incorporate new, innovative customer-centric schemes. Marketing and brand building programs were also given a new thrust in the new liberalized banking scenario. Promotional budgets were hiked to cater to the new and large discerning target audience. To meet the personalized needs of the customer and in order to differentiate its services, banks repositioned themselves in specialized fields, like housing loans, car finance, educational loans etc. to optimally service the customer. As of today Commercial Banking in India dominates other areas of banking such as retail banking and investing banking, solely due to influx and the term called installments that lures the customers to opt for loans to satisfy their business needs whether it is corporate or personal needs in terms of a mortgage loan. Commercial banking in India has definitely brought in a new dimension to regulation of finances in the Indian market.