A recent study carried out by the Abbey National has found that over 80 percent of people in the UK are changing their lifestyles to manage the effects of the credit crunch.
Looking at rising costs of living and less access to lending consumers in the UK are spending less, selling unwanted items to raise money and some are also taking on additional work to increase their income. With considered planning and the will to stick to it most people in the UK can feel a little better about how they will be able to manage in the future say the Abbey National.
Lifestyles do not have to change drastically in order to make a big change, rather it comes down to selecting the best options when spending money. It may be choosing an alternative provider to save money or perhaps cutting back a little on non-essential spending. As the Abbey National study also highlighted increasing income is another great way of balancing the personal balance sheet.
HSBC is continuing its progress towards acquiring the sixth biggest lender in South Korea, KEB, as it signs an agreement with the labour union.
The bank has already offered USD6.3 billion to KEB for a controlling interest, with this offer set to expire at the end of July. The HSBC has promised to retain all the staff and identity of the Korean bank and is hopeful that this latest agreement with the union will enable them to move forwards.
HSBC has always been seen as a global bank and this latest position highlights that fact. The bank really understands the needs of different cultures, aided by the fact that they work with the existing staff.
British bank Alliance and Leicester is to be bought by Santander according to an announcement stating an agreement had been reached between the two parties.
The purchase price is understood to be GBP1.26 billion, the transaction to be made in shares. Santander will give one of their shares for every three Alliance and Leicester ones, giving the shares a value of 299 pence each which is around 33 percent higher than the share value at the close of business last week.
Interestingly, although the Alliance and Leicester as well as many other UK and international banks have suffered on the back of the credit crunch Santander have had a very good year. They have seen good returns from Latin America it appears and this has enabled them to look at acquisitions such as this one.
