The annual listing of great places to work in the UK now includes Admiral in the top 10, the only business from the financial services sector to be found there.
It has been a reward for all their hardwork it seems, since Admiral also received the special status of laureate because it has been in the top 50 for the last 5 years. One of the key elements of any great place to work is trust between employees and managers, something Admiral has been commended for.
This fantastic achievement is sure to be seen as just reward for all the staff at the company whether they work in the Admiral car insurance department or any other part of the business. They have all worked together to make the organisation what it is today.
Although the general feeling may be that UK banks are currently taking a beating an investment expert has suggested Lloyds TSB makes a great investment opportunity right now.
The analyst felt that in the midst of what have been torrid trading conditions Lloyds TSB had announced very encouraging results. The bank has taken a cautious stance on mortgages, buy to let ones especially, and also any securities that are underwritten by assets.
This approach has kept Lloyds TSB away from the worst of the difficulties facing some other banks and left them looking strong as they move forwards. The bank appears to be a relatively safe haven with the cautious management approach but also offers the opportunity for substantial growth as Lloyds TSB uses its relative strength to maximise market opportunities.
Barclays saw a drop in profits of a third for the first half of the year, with write downs impacting seriously on the bottom line. Barclays Insurance though, a division of the bank, performed very well.
The bank still made profits of GBP2.75 billion despite the write downs and, even though the bank itself was disappointed, industry analysts felt this was better than could have been expected. Other financial institutions have suffered much more dramatic cuts than Barclays, insurance and other sectors helping support the bank.
Looking forwards the Barclays management team are expecting trading conditions to remain testing and are advising the market that it could be some time before they are back to previous levels of profitability. Barclays Insurance, having performed very well, may actually see some parts of it sold to bolster the balance sheet.