The banks aren't ready

The 1-minute read to get the money news you need.

Not feeling negatives

The banks are unprepared for negative interest rates, according to the chairman of NatWest. The Bank of England is looking into cutting the base rate to below zero, and wrote to the banks to see if they’d be up for it. The answer? Not really. It would mean charging for savings accounts, requiring a lot of expensive system changes.

Christmas lights come early

London’s West End is planning to light up its streets early this year, in a bid to tempt shoppers back for an extended festive spending season. Oxford Street will switch on its famous display Monday 2nd November, and Bond Street on the 12th.

Furlough fraud

We could have avoided losing billions in public money to fraud and error, according to MPs. The Commons Public Accounts Committee has criticised the government for
rushing through the furlough scheme. It says there was an "astonishing lack of economic planning”, which HMRC estimates could have led to losses of £3.5 billion.

No cheeky airport pints

Wetherspoons has reported a £34 million pre-tax loss for the past year - its first annual loss since 1984. With fewer holidaymakers stopping at ‘Spoons for a pre-flight pint, it needs to let staff go from its airport pubs. The pub chain also warned that the current coronavirus restrictions pose a threat to pubs and called for a VAT cut on alcohol sales.