| Business: Bank's meeting place for bosses
THE Lord Mayor of Coventry, Cllr Dave Batten, has officially opened a new business lounge aimed at city executives. Cllr Batten cut the ribbon at Lloyds TSB's High Street branch which now offers the bank's customers from Coventry, Nuneaton and Rugby a place to meet. The lounge has a boardroom for up to 14 people, tea and coffee facilities, a chill-out zone and wi-fi. Use of all the facilities is free for customers. Business advisers will also be on hand to offer assistance. Chris Tucker, area director of Lloyds TSB in Coventry and Warwickshire, said: "Lots of small companies lack the space to break away from their desks or hold meetings with clients so we have established the lounge to provide our customers with a great alternative environment. "The new lounge will provide an excellent opportunity for our customers to network with other local business people, talk to a member of our team about their banking requirements, or simply take a break from the office." .
Wachovia boosts online offerings for small biz
Wachovia Corp. is expanding its online product offerings to include electronic deposits and bad-check recovery. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank -- Central Florida's third-largest financial institution -- says the service will provide small businesses with cash-management services comparable to those available to most large businesses. With online deposits, small business owners can scan paper checks from their desktops and electronically send the images to Wachovia for deposit. Wachovia says the Internet-based application eliminates the need for software installation. To qualify, customers must have been in business for at least one year and have a Wachovia deposit account. In addition, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) has hired Federal Automated Recovery Systems, a subsidiary of Infinity Business Group Inc., to manage the electronic re-presentment of checks that have been returned for insufficient funds.
(AFX UK Focus) 2007-11-20 15:33 GMT: HSBC steps up security following reported loss of customer bank details
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Banking group HSBC said it has stepped up security following reports that the UK government's Revenue and Customs department has lost computer discs containing the confidential bank details of 15 mln child benefit recipients. "We have increased our security measures, but to date we are not aware of any fraudulent activity against the customers whose names were on the missing discs," an HSBC spokesman said. "We would like to reassure our customers that we are doing everything we can to minimise the risk of any fraudulent activity." Barclays, HBOS, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Apacs, the payment services industry association, were not immediately available for comment. According to a report on the BBC website, the loss of the discs is behind today's surprise resignation of Revenue and Customs chairman Paul Gray.
London afternoon: Footsie continues to fall
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Earlier concerns about Northern Rock were compounded by a poor start on Wall Street, which has slid on banking concerns as well. Investors turned on the banks again as Northern Rock said offers received were priced below Friday�s close, while real estate issues tumbled on worries about the property market. Northern Rock admitted that indicative expressions of interest valued the beleaguered mortgage lender at a level �materially below� Friday�s closing value of �559m. Alliance & Leicester fell in sympathy. Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB are all in trouble, although Standard Chartered heads the risers on reports that China's three leading banks are looking at buying a large stake in the former colonial bank. They are said to have sounded out Singapore state investment agency Temasek over a possible sale of its 17% stake.
Paychex CEO Joins NY Fed
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York named Paychex CEO Jonathan Judge to the board of directors of its Buffalo branch. The board of directors of the Buffalo Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York consists of seven members, three of whom are appointed by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The remaining four are appointed by the NY board of directors. Branch boards of directors are leaders representing various industries throughout upstate NY, including banking, manufacturing, health care, agriculture, labor and energy. Sh/ay Federal Reserve Bank of New York
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