Share Sounds presented by Sarah Lowther related to Banking

Barclays has agreed to sell its French retail banking operations to European private equity firm, AnaCap Financial Partners. This follows the UK bank’s decision to sell its credit arms in Spain and Portugal. The bank says it's going to focus on its core markets in the UK and US. So is this the Barclays equivalent of Brexit? Share Radio’s Matt Cox spoke to Jeremy Cook, Chief Economist from World First, to find out more about the decision and what it will mean.

Mike van Dulken, Head of Research at Accendo Markets, joined Share Radio Breakfast to offer an immediate reaction to the release of the Bank of England Stress Test results. Were there any major surprises?

In a big week for banks, we'll get a much-awaited snapshot of how well our best-known banks may hold up if there's another economic downturn, with the reveal of the Bank of England's "stress tests" results. Meanwhile, a conference being held in the City of London will hear that investors can use simple techniques to pick out the higher quality banks for themselves. Share Radio Breakfast's Nigel Cassidy has been hearing from Bruce Packard, a banking industry specialist from the Lafferty Group, who will lead the conference debate.

Glastonbury may boast the world's best-known outdoor music festival, but one essential thing the Somerset town has been lacking since the spring is a bank branch. But within the last few days it has emerged that the Nationwide Building Society has shown some interest in stepping into the breach. Nationwide Director, Graeme Hughes, told Share Radio's Nigel Cassidy that potential premises are now being lined up and he hopes to open a bank in the New Year. He says the reason the society thinks it can make a success in Glastonbury is the fact that it's using newer technology.

The Competition and Markets Authority has unveiled a package of measures to "shake up retail banking for years to come". To discuss the measures, James Sherwin-Smith, CEO of Growth Street, which started the APR4SMEs campaign earlier this year, joined Morning Money’s Directors’ Briefing sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

The FTSE 250 lender, Virgin Money, saw 35% wiped off its share value after Britain voted to leave the EU, that in spite of a record first quarter. On the day of the company's half-year results, Dr Ronan Lynch, Director of the Global Knowledge Centre at the banking consultancy Lafferty Group, was on hand to discuss the numbers and the performance of challenger banks in general.

It seems Apple Pay will soon have a competitor, as a contactless mobile pay system is due to be released for Android phone users. Credit card provider, MBNA, has announced it will be on board and its Director, Mark Elliott, joined Sarah Lowther and Chris Bailey to explain what Android Pay will allow people to do, the rise of contactless mobile systems and why MBNA is on board.

Ninety six seconds was all it took to raise £1 million pounds, in Mondo's crowdfund via the Crowdcube platform. The mobile first challenger bank is allowing customers to become shareholders through the initiative. Tom Blomfield is the Chief Executive of Mondo, and he explains what the company does, whilst also looking ahead to the future for the bank and the industry.