Was its right that the Nat West CEO resigned?

This shouldn’t even be a question but the likes of Will Hutton, the Observer economics journalist think not

It goes without saying that whether you agree with Farage’s views or not (I certainly don’t) they should not under any circumstances prevent his ability to open a bank account. Apparently the likes of Will Hutton believe they should and accusations of the liberal dinner party elite closing ranks are certainly going to stick. Idiotic

Breach of confidentiality is a serious offence in banking. Thats it. Its simple. Many in banking will be reading this and they know that they wouldn’t expect any leeway in the same circumstances

So why should the CEO of Nat West?

A plea to invoice financiers

I am sure my friends at Bibby will not thank me for this but we really do need more players in the construction and contactual market.

As I reported before, Bibby have bought out their main competitor Aldermore and whilst for many existing clients there may be some benefits (Aldermore’s day to day account management in this area left a lot to be desired with some particularly poor attitudes from certain individuals) the lack of competition in this sector is alarming. There are probably less invoice financiers involved in contactual than ever before.

Less than 10% of invoice finance providers even look at these prospects and thats not really good enough

Lack of competition is bad news for my clients and they will always be my priority but surely there is an opportunity here for new entrants? Yes it can be a fraught and complicated sector but it can be profitable too. More so than yet another recruitment provider driven down to the lowest price imaginable

I would welcome any contact from providers considering looking at this market (and im aware that a few have dabbled in recent times) but now is the time to step up

“Zombie” companies in the news again

Once again we are hearing views on so called “zombie” companies from a leading insolvency practitioner

The stated view that “virtually all of them will be wiped out” struck me as being delivered with a little too much relish in the manner of a funeral director rubbing hands together with glee at the prospect of another pandemic.

Sometimes industry spokesmen should be conscious of the considerably less than respected image their sector has in the eyes of others and adjust their public relations accordingly

What is PEP and what is the justification for it?

PEP is a “politically exposed person”. And its very much in the news

This has been triggered by a number of banks refusing Nigel Farage an account on the basis that he was a “PEP”. Im no fan of his views and his possible contacts with Russia may have been a determining factor but more amusing and significant is that the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has also been refused a bank account because he is a “PEP”

The bank in this case wasn’t one of the high street players but I have come across the same issue with a director of one of my current clients also being a “PEP”. As night followed day, one lender after another would not even give the prospect a cursory look. Fortunately a small number of lenders took a more mature view and cleared the supposed issue with their credit departments but as an example of then “computer says no” this was as ridiculous as you could get.

From my point of view, it was noted which lenders actually discuss matters internally and ones that are somewhat more of the jobsworth mentality

And what is the fear of PEPs? When lenders were challenged by myself, the reasons given were either too ludicrous to repeat here or they simply became tongue tied.

Perhaps they do feel that there is a valid justification but think of it this way. Jeremy Hunt is a PEP for whom at least one bank will not open a bank account

Its not difficult to envisage a scenario where banks are crawling back to the treasury for another bail out and the person who’s got to decide both on its merits and give the final sign off is someone who’s they’ve refused to open a bank account for

Because they are a “PEP”

Collapse of Le Pain Quotidien. Whos fault?

I must admit that the first time I noticed this was when I passed the south bank branch today which I had lunch in a couple of weeks back. That was the first time that I had used LPQ for some time and maybe thats part of the story

Le pain had in fact been struggling for a number of years having been bought out of administration previous as well as experiencing chapter 11 in the US. The owners have implied that Brexit has been to blame and I would concur that it probably hasn’t helped with the hospitality labour shortage spending wages spiralling but given previous difficulties, it can hardly be the whole story

Sometimes brands and offerings just lose their way or become superseded by more fashionable chains. One pattern that I have noticed is that new owners buying out of administration seem to have no plan other than simply closing “unprofitable” outlets. Its rarely that simple

People can tire of brands and the clever chains reinvent themselves by keeping menus fresh and innovative. Wagamama is a perfect example.

LPQ (the awkward full name didn’t help) had a rather dated and predictable menu at premium prices. My French toast was fine but my friends expensive scrambled eggs were entirely basic for a fairly steep price. The slightly old fashioned waiter service perhaps needed a rethink too

The key here is that weak businesses will collapse partly because of external factors but as with Jamie Olivers notorious blaming of everyone except himself for his chains failure, its ridiculous to blame these factors in their entirety. Just look around at the chains that are thriving.

The second possible lesson is that once these chains fail once they seem to fail again. There are more than a few examples and the problem is that new owners have f

Airbus helicopters back UK. Significant?

Perhaps no business has been more associated with the pan European project than Airbus and it is particularly significant to the UK given our world leading role within the aerospace industry

Clearly developments since Brexit have been watched closely and the news that Airbus are focusing heavily on the UK for all future investment is welcome news. It is also news which endorses the view that being in or out of the EU is not as significant as many would have us believe. At the end of the day, skills and infrastructure are paramount and in this sector, the UK is in prime position

Perhaps do not expect this to be reported on the BBC or certainly not the Observer where one “economics writer” (William Keegan) has written the same column on Brexit for the past seven years.

The other reason this new item resonated was due to one of those pointless arguments I used too occasionally get involved in on twitter. Pitched against a fairly rabid anti-brexit fanatic (i’m relatively neutral) the discussion progressed to Airbus. I pointed out that the most significant and technically sophisticated section of any aircraft are the wings and their point that Airbus will immediately dump the uk production will simply not happen. They screamed back the they will. I said how will this be addressed during the years whilst new factories are built and the necessary technicians and staff trained and lured? How can they fulfil the orders without the wings?

You can possibly guess the rest. Yes the screaming response was that the Airbuses would just have to be delivered as they are.

Various images or somewhat bemused and confused airline representatives came to mind

Why being truthful is essential

In a world which has had rather too much exposure to the likes of Johnson, Trump and Putin, some might be forgiven that believing that constant compulsive lying is the way the success, even in the business world where I have actually heard a business associate boast that he routinely lies to potential clients

This is a complete anathema to me. Fortunately its also something I have not generally experienced from lenders i’ve connected with clients and despite the often mixed reputation of the lending world, the vast majority of lenders are very straightforward and honest with clients (although the presence of a pro active broker does keep matters on a straight course in certain circumstances).

I did experience one lender’s rep blatantly lie to a client in my presence a few years back (funnily enough I latterly experienced an example of his difficulties with the truth through a third party) and he was quickly jettisoned. I understand that he’s left the sector now

Also we come across somewhat ludicrous claims from players selling their “services”. I might have mentioned this before, but there is a team out claiming that they can improve any businesses credit rating with credit agencies and have a success rate of 99% from over 1000 examples. Aside from the fact I have severe doubts about the basic claim, that is blown away by a “success rate” that a North Korean would have difficulty believing. What would you think of a barrister who claimed to win 99% of their cases?

The point is that despite the example set by “leaders”, trust is still hugely vital in the business community and reputation is all. Voters might not scrutinise their “leaders” sufficiently but in business where time and money is at stake, no one of any worth wants to be associated with liars and what is colourfully described as “snake oil salesmen