Lloyds Banking Share Discussion Threads

[xxxxxy] 27/10/2020 07:31

'The EU won't let us trade normally - either with a deal or on Aussie terms''We won't even be able to trade like Australia unless we ditch or amend Withdrawal Agreement,' says Brexit think tank?© Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2020Government set to break manifesto promises if Boris doesn't call out EU on its breaches of WAMajor new paper should strike alarm in No.10 – Brexit Facts4EU.Org summaryOn Sunday a major new paper was issued by the new Brexit think tank, the CBP, which states that the UK will not even be able to trade like Australia unless it rescinds the EU's dictatorial Withdrawal Agreement.Co-written by former Conservative leader the Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Chairman of Lawyers for Britain Martin Howe QC, Professor of International Economic Law David Collins, and senior economist Edgar Miller, this new paper presents a chilling picture for the UK unless the Government acts now.The Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, talking exclusively to Brexit Facts4EU.Org, said:"The ability for the UK to trade normally around the world after Brexit like, for example, Australia, must surely be a minimum expectation of the British public come the end of this year."Our analysis shows that this can only happen if we deal with the serious deficiencies in the Withdrawal Agreement, if necessary rescinding it. Such action would be entirely reasonable on the grounds of the EU's bad faith and breaches of it since January. We will then truly be able to benefit from the tremendous opportunites ahead for a free, independent, and sovereign United Kingdom."?Entitled "The 'Australian Deal' - Another Impossible Dream", this new paper follows the successful paper "The EU Deal Unmasked: Twelve Reasons Why the UK Will Fail to Get a Canada-Style Deal". Readers can view our summary of the last paper and others on this subject here.BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY"The 'Australian Deal' - Another Impossible Dream" – by the Centre for Brexit PolicyUnless specific steps are taken to rescind the EU's Withdrawal Agreement (WA), it will continue to apply to the UK for the long term with debilitating effects on our laws, freedom of action, and sovereignty – with or without a trade deal.The UK will not even be able to trade "on Australian terms" unless the WA is rescinded or amemdedThe Conservatives' manifesto commitments on Brexit will not be able to be honouredRescinding the WA must be done before 31 December 2020, or it will be too lateGiven the conclusions of this paper, the Government is left with only a single viable option - rejecting the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) and Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) before 31 December.You can read the full paper from the CBP here. We thoroughly recommend it.Is Boris about to tear up the manifesto commitments he made only 11 months ago??© Conservative Party - General Election Manifesto Dec 2019As the Centre for Brexit Policy say, "in the absence of an agreement between the UK and the EU, an ongoing presence of the Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol would make it impossible for the Government to deliver its Manifesto Brexit commitments."Page five of the Conservative Party's 2019 Election Manifesto describes the commitments the Government undertook with regard to Brexit. Here's what the now Government promised:-Take the whole country out of the EU as one United KingdomTake us out of the EU's Customs Union, allowing us to set our own tariffs and do our own trade dealsWill be a new relationship based on free trade and friendly cooperation, not on the EU's treaties or EU lawThere will be no political alignment with the EUEnd the role of the European Court of JusticeThis future relationship will be one that allows us to:Take back control of our laws, our money, our own trade policyAnd ensure we are in full control of our fishing watersSo what's the problem?Unfortunately, as we, the CBP, and others have pointed out, with the WA and NIP (Northern Ireland Protocol) in place it would be impossible to have a normal World Trade Organisation (WTO) relationship with the EU, such as Australia enjoys.The simple reason is because the WA/NIP imposes EU state aid rules (which supersede WTO subsidies rules) and also imposes special customs/tariff procedures on part of the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) which the WTO arrangement does not do. The EU's Withdrawal Agreement also expressly excludes WTO dispute settlement procedures for these issues.The CBP say that: "The Government is 'boxed in' with no viable attractive options, as long as the WA/NIP remains in force. In addition to leaving the UK in a colonial-type relationship with the EU and being unable to realise many of the economic benefits afforded by a true Brexit, the Government could likely experience a strong backlash in the next election from those who provided its current 80 seat majority."In other words if you don't ditch the Withdrawal Agreement, Prime Minister, you'll be breaking your manifesto promises on which you were elected.Deal or no deal – revealing the truth?As we have reported many times, most members of the public and most MPs believe that whether the UK leaves the Transition Period at the end of this year with an EU trade deal or not, the UK will be free from the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and other EU controls on our laws and sovereignty. This is simply not the case.What is perhaps even worse is that the sovereignty of the United Kingdom will have been violated by the European Union in Brussels.The EU has divided the United Kingdom using the Withdrawal AgreementIt seems quite extraordinary, but the EU has succeeded in using Brexit to divide the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom and to assume control of the laws of a significant part of it. Northern Ireland has been part of the UK since 1801, and had in fact been mostly under British control since the 16th century. With the EU's Withdrawal Act, the EU has effectively split Northern Ireland off from the rest of the UK and taken control of much of its laws and regulations.Here's what the CBP paper has to say:-"NI must apply internally all EU single market laws on goods as they now stand and as they are changed by the EU in future; all laws will be under the direct jurisdiction of the EU Commission and ECJ""There are consequent requirements for EU mandated regulatory controls on goods imported into NI from GB to ensure conformity with EU single market rules, even where the goods are not at risk of moving on into EU""NI will be subject to EU customs control procedures and to EU VAT rules""NI will be subject to direct EU State aid control by the EU Commission""aid to businesses in the whole of the UK [will be] subject to [EU] State aid control"How on earth did we let the EU take our territory without firing a shot in defence?This has happened because of the disastrous tenure of No.10 by Theresa May from 2016-2019, who led a Remainer, EU-appeaser UK Government backed by a Remainer House of Commons of MPs from the Conservative, Labour, SNP, LibDem, Plaid Cymru and Green parties.With the backing of MPs who were opposed to the will of the British people expressed in the largest vote in UK history, Mrs May and her Remainer civil servants willingly went along with the EU in its efforts to punish the British people.?We believe that the unelected eurocrats in Brussels never thought they would actually sever Northern Ireland as they have. It is our belief that they saw the N.I. Protocol as being such an appalling instrument that the UK Parliament would somehow ensure that the EU Referendum result would be overturned.It was only the obstinacy, politicking, and poor strategy of the Remainer MPs which led to May's version of the Withdrawal Agreement being voted down three times in the House of Commons. This then led to a Conservative leadership election and the ultimate election of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister in December 2019.OBSERVATIONSThe CBP has written another compelling document which defines the EU's imposed, subservient, colony status of the United Kingdom from 31 December 2020, as the UK attempts to spread its wings in the world again.It really is now time for the Prime Minister and the Government to realise that the British people are not going to be fooled by a fudged trade deal and a Withdrawal Agreement which siphons off part of the sovereign territory of the UK, and imposes EU law on the rest of the UK for generations to come.We have continuously argued since before the EU Referendum, from deep research of official facts, that the EU has been determined to punish the British people from the moment the EU Referendum result was announced. We further argued that the United Kingdom would never end up with any kind of reasonable deal because the EU would not offer one.This latest report from the new 'Centre for Brexit Policy' is yet another proof that our work and our conclusions over the years were not wrong.Well over 99% of our readers have never donated to our work. We know that there is a vast amount of Brexit material out there which is free, but most of it is derived from elsewhere (often from us) or is pure opinion. Where do you go to get authoritative, original, and facts-based information? Our mission since before the EU Referendum has been to provide this, resulting in a large readership and a significant following on social media.If you haven't already done so, could we ask you to make a donation today - no matter how small - to keep us going in these critical months? Quick, secure, and confidential donation methods are linked to below this article, and you will receive a warm and friendly 'thank you' email from a member of our team. Please help if you can.[ Sources: The Centre for Brexit Policy | The Rt Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 27 Oct 2020

[xxxxxy] 27/10/2020 07:09

The Presidential electionBy JOHNREDWOOD | Published: OCTOBER 27, 2020Over the long campaign so far I have kept off the topic of the Presidential election. I strongly believe that politicians and commentators from another country should keep out of other people's elections. Today I do not break my silence so far to recommend one of the candidates. US voters do not need another UK MP or commentator telling them how to vote. I was appalled by President Obama's clumsy and ill judged intervention in the UK EU referendum, though I soon realised he had if anything helped the Brexit cause he wished to damage.I write today to make two main points. Many of us follow the debates and stories of the election because the USA is still the leader of the democratic world. The person, policies and team the voters choose matters to us all. We need a USA that is strong in the defence of freedom, a good ally and friend, who respects us and our different democratic views and decisions. This election is particularly important, because the USA has before it two champions of very different world views and policy prescriptions that mirror the debates this side of the Atlantic and have read across to us.I will leave aside the candidates other than Mr Biden and Mr Trump, as practically all UK and European media do as if they do not exist. I accept the polls and past history suggests the two main party candidates will command well over 90% of the vote between them and only those two have any chance of winning.I will also leave aside all the character and behaviour issues which are part of the US debate because both sides have chosen to make character a big issue. Chance and often unfortunate or unpleasant remarks are in the USA as in the UK treated with undue fascination with extreme reactions to words, when what matters more for US voters and the wider world is what use would either man make of the large powers of the office of President if elected.The essence of the debate between the two revolves around two major disagreements. The first is rooted in the immediate background. Mr Trump stands for livelihoods and Mr Biden for lives. The President argues fear of CV 19 is overdone and there are limits to what government can do to grant people immunity so he favours getting the USA fully back to work and a more normal life. Mr Biden believes the virus needs strong state powers to block social contact and shut down business that thrives on it to stop the spread and so bring the death rate down. Damage to jobs is a price worth paying to stop or delay infection. These two contrasting views are also very prevalent in our own country.The second is their attitude to world government and the so called international rules based order. Mr Biden for example agrees with the fashionable consensus that climate change is the most crucial problem besetting our world, and wishes the USA to tread the EU and UN route to closing down the oil, gas and coal industries and forcing a rapid transition to electrical power at home and in transport. Mr Trump backs cheap energy and defends all the jobs dependent today on fossil fuels and fossil fuel using vehicles and machines. He sees that as part of the prosperity machine he sought to unleash.I will look in a later post at some of the other big differences, especially in foreign policy, their attitude to military intervention and different approaches to the Middle East, terrorism and borders. Be in no doubt this is a big moment in the history of the advanced world and in its impact of the democracies on world politics.

[crazi] 27/10/2020 06:34

EXCELLENT results compared to expectations...

hxxps://www.santander.com/content/dam/santander-com/en/documentos/notas-de-prensa/2020/10/np-2020-10-27-presentacion-de-resultados-9m-2020-en.pdf

Santander earns €3,658 million in underlying profit for first nine months of 2020, after strong third quarter
Underlying profit in the third quarter climbed 18% from Q2 2020, owing to higher revenues and
lower provisions, but fell 4% over the same period last year on a constant currency basis

The group’s CET1 capital ratio increased to c.12%, the top end of its target range

Madrid, 27 October 2020 - PRESS RELEASE
• Attributable profit in the third quarter was €1,750 million, 249% more than at Q3’19, owing to a non-cash
goodwill impairment and other charges in 2019.
• The bank has continued to grow capital organically, adding 14 basis points (bps) to CET1 in the quarter. Group CET1 increased to 11.98%, sitting at the high end of its targeted range of 11-12%, after an accrual of 19 bps (+13bps in the quarter) in order to make a cash payment to shareholders in 2021, subject to approval by shareholders and regulators, in addition to other requirements.
• Revenues in the first nine months were €33,605 million, in line with the same period in 2019 on a constant currency basis, despite the challenging environment.
• Almost half the sales in the first nine months were on digital channels, 44% versus 36% in 2019.
• Lending grew strongly in all core markets (+5% year-on-year, in constant currency), notably in South America (+17%) and North America (+6%), while deposits grew 9%.
• The collaboration between our businesses in the US and Mexico led to an increase in its trade corridor revenue in Santander CIB (+29%) and commercial (+30%).
• The bank’s efficiency plan is progressing faster than expected. Costs declined by more than 2% year-on-year in constant currency. Year-to-date, the Europe region achieved cost synergies of €500 million, exceeding our full year 2020 target, on top of the €200 million it achieved in 2019.
• By the end of 2020, the bank will have achieved the €1 billion cost savings target in Europe it announced in 2019 and expects to reduce costs by an additional €1 billion over the next two years in Europe.
• Quarter-on-quarter growth in revenue and good cost control brought net operating income to €17.9 billion in the first nine months, up 3% on a constant currency basis.
• Credit quality was resilient as the non-performing loan ratio fell by 32 bps year-on-year to 3.15%. 66% of payment moratoriums have now expired; only 2% stand in stage 3 (credit impaired). The bank has improved its guidance on the cost of credit to 1.3% for 2020 from its prior guidance of 1.4-1.5%.
• Following the €12.6 billion non-cash goodwill/deferred tax asset impairment announced last quarter, the bank recorded a statutory attributable loss for the first nine months of 2020 of €9,048 million. As the bank announced with its 2Q results, this will not impact on Santander’s liquidity position and solvency.
• Based on current IMF and OECD macroeconomic forecasts, the cost of credit would remain stable or trend downward in 2021. This, combined with an increase in digitalisation and the further reduction in the cost base, would result in an underlying return on tangible equity (RoTE) for 2021 in line with the bank’s cost of equity.


Ana Botín, Banco Santander executive chairman, said:
“The recovery of our business is progressing well, and the third quarter was significantly stronger than the second.
Revenues increased 18% in constant euros as activity returned close to pre-pandemic levels, loan loss provisions fell 14% and we continued to reduce costs ahead of plan.
These results speak to the strength and breadth of our customer relationships and the resilience of our diversified business and markets in which we operate. This diversification has been a key driver of our recovery, with South America performing well and the UK recovering strongly in the third quarter.
With greater visibility into customer behaviour, we now expect a better cost of risk at year end than we anticipated at the time of our 2Q update in July. We are confident we will deliver underlying profit of €5 billion for the full year, with capital remaining at the top end of our 11%-12% CET1 target range.
Given the Group's current performance, the strength of our balance sheet, our liquidity profile and mix of businesses, I am confident that we will be able to resume cash dividends once regulatory conditions allow. As such, we are seeking shareholder approval today for a €0.10 per share cash payment to shareholders in 2021, once permitted. Although the outlook for 2021 depends on how the pandemic evolves, we have proven that our strategy and business model position us well to continue supporting our customers and delivering results for our shareholders. We remain committed to protecting our teams during this unprecedented time. I want to thank them for their continued hard work, and our customers for their ongoing trust in Santander.”

[crazi] 27/10/2020 06:11

Quinn added: "The group's capital and liquidity ratios strengthened further in the quarter despite the challenging economic conditions. A decision on whether to pay a dividend for the 2020 financial year will depend on economic conditions in early 2021, and be subject to regulatory consultation. We will seek to pay a conservative dividend if circumstances allow."

[crazi] 27/10/2020 06:04

HSBC

Excellent... Jumped 4% in Hong Kong trading

HSBC beats estimates, reports 36% year-on-year fall in pre-tax profit for the third quarter

SINGAPORE — HSBC, Europe’s largest bank by assets, on Tuesday reported a 36% year-on-year fall in third-quarter pre-tax profit in the third quarter as it attempts to recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bank’s reported profit before tax was $3.07 billion in the July-to-September quarter, better than the $2.07 billion that analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by the bank. In the third quarter last year, the bank recorded $4.84 billion in profits before tax.

Reported revenue was $11.93 billion for the quarter, 11% lower than a year ago.

HSBC’s Chief Executive Noel Quinn said in a statement that the results were “promising” in light of the “continuing impacts of Covid-19 on the global economy.”

Here are the other highlights of the bank’s financial report card:

An additional $785 million was set aside in the third-quarter for potential loan losses, bringing provisions for the first nine months of 2020 to $7.64 billion. HSBC said total provisions for the year could be at the lower end of its $8 billion to $13 billion estimate;
Net interest margin, a measure of loan profitability, was 1.2% in the quarter — down 13 basis points from the previous quarter and 36 basis points lower than a year ago;
Operating expenses declined by 1% compared with a year ago;
Common equity tier 1 ratio was 15.6% compared with 15% in the previous quarter.


HSBC shares in Hong Kong jumped by more than 4% after the earnings release. The bank’s Hong Kong-listed shares have plunged by 47% this year as of Friday, while its London-listed shares dived 45.7% over the same period, data by Refinitiv showed.

[k38] 27/10/2020 02:05

CNN sound desperate. Deep down they already know Trump is going to win a second term in the WH.lol....

[pander45] 27/10/2020 00:03

Selecting the lowest common denominator.....sadly increasingly a by-product of democracy.

[kkclimber56] 26/10/2020 22:51

American citizens have to make a choice between an idiot as president or a president pursuing idiotic policies.Not an easy choice.

[kkclimber56] 26/10/2020 22:49

Have I got this right?Macron is not prepared to sacrifice fishermen so instead he will sacrifice all other industries as well as fishermen.Just asking.

[xxxxxy] 26/10/2020 22:09

Drakeford is The Welsh Idiot.Nos da. Cymru am byth.

[xxxxxy] 26/10/2020 22:07

Tbe EUSSR as it is, has become a burden.Threatening, unfriendly, and Empire MadEUSSR is Broken,to put it nicelyNo DealWTO

[xxxxxy] 26/10/2020 22:04

Not in good faith. = bye bye, to all 'agreements'

[xxxxxy] 26/10/2020 22:01

EUSSR. = not in good faith.

[xxxxxy] 26/10/2020 22:01

The bloc's largest economies will shoulder the burden of a £30 billion loss in trade with the UK in a no deal scenario, according to a new report. German insurance giants Allianz have revealed potential slumps in business for car-makers, chemical producers and other manufacturers across the bloc if Michel Barnier refuses to budge in the wrangling over a post-Brexit trade deal. Its report urges EU leaders, such as Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron, to agree to a compromise to prevent a loss of £30 billion in the bloc's exports to the UK because of the introduction of trade tariffs.... Daily Express...let's hope the EUSSR does not budge an inch.

[alphorn] 26/10/2020 21:57

max - I have always remained focussed on the likely outcome rather than what happens to the Tory internal kitchen. Internal kitchen is theatrical whereas the outcome of these negotiations will impact day to day life for many people. A very rare event.

[pandy999] 26/10/2020 21:31

Jap view believable methinks.

[pandy999] 26/10/2020 21:27

People vote for trump cos they know he's a nob , they want to bring the house down ! .

[jl5006] 26/10/2020 21:25

Jap view must be absolutely true to be untrue!!

[pandy999] 26/10/2020 21:21

Not many players !

[utrickytrees] 26/10/2020 21:10

MP'S Move to block lockdown.