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* A government source told BBC News that German Chancellor Angela Merkel made clear a Brexit deal was "overwhelmingly unlikely," following a phone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. A group of five British cabinet ministers, including Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan, have threatened to resign over a no-deal Brexit, according to The Times. Meanwhile the EU may offer to push the Brexit date to the summer of 2020 as negotiations remain in stalemate, The Guardian reported, citing diplomatic sources.
* José Manuel Campa, chair of the European Banking Authority, told Bloomberg News that banks should act quickly in moving employees to their new EU bases to avoid complications from a potential no-deal Brexit.
UK AND IRELAND
* Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the central bank will be the first regulator to stress test its financial system against various climate pathways. The test is aimed at making the British financial industry more responsive to changes in climate and to the government's climate policies, Carney noted.
* The Bank of England is joining forces with VocaLink Holdings Ltd. in a bid to identify criminal money being moved around the financial system by money mules.
* Rothesay Life PLC concluded a £2.8 billion buy-in transaction with the National Grid UK Pension Scheme.
* A British prosecutor claimed that the three former Barclays PLC bankers, who are on trial over the lender's capital raising arrangements with Qatar in 2008, lied about the £322 million in commissions paid to the Gulf country and masked them as fees for separate, commercially valuable advisory services agreements, Reuters reported.
* The U.K. Payment Systems Regulator said it was concerned about Barclays' decision to stop customers from withdrawing cash from the Post Office for free and will closely monitor the bank to see what alternative steps it will take, Reuters wrote, citing a statement from the watchdog. Meanwhile Barclays promised not to shut down branches in remote areas, or places where there are no other banks apart from itself, until at least October 2021.
* Five shareholders of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC told Reuters that incoming CEO Alison Rose should consider restructuring the lender's NatWest Markets PLC, which contributed 11% of total profits in the first half, and...