King Charles will not appear on Australian banknote as Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait is replaced February 2, 2023 Queen Elizabeth II will no longer appear on the Australian $5 banknote and King Charles III will not replace her, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said on Thursday. Her Majesty’s portrait will be swapped for an updated design which “honours the culture and history of the First Australians”, according to a statement from the [...]
Chris Woolard on BNPL, regulatory run-ins and getting financial rulemaking right February 2, 2023 The regulatory veteran wants a rulebook for the 21st century, but getting it right might trump speed, Charlie Conchie writes. Urgent. That was the word used by the former-interim chief of the City watchdog Chris Woolard when he gave his verdict on regulation of buy-now pay-later services in a landmark review two years ago today. [...]
Warning of ‘marked slowdown’ in mortgage lending from Santander UK chief as bank’s profit creeps up two per cent February 2, 2023 Santander UK’s net mortgage lending climbed higher in 2022, helping to boost profits, but its CEO warned that the bank would have to navigate “a marked slowdown” in mortgage lending in 2023. The Spanish bank’s net mortgage lending increased to £9.8bn from £7.5bn last year helping pretax profit creep up two per cent. CEO Mark [...]
London digital lender Zopa bags £75m for dealmaking push February 2, 2023 Digital lender Zopa today said it had raised £75m as it looks to kick off a major growth push and flurry of dealmaking in the coming months. The London-based fintech said the fresh funding round would be used to meet the capital requirements of its “growing balance sheet” as well as fund a major acquisition [...]
Architects of UK financial rules question direction of Edinburgh reforms February 1, 2023 Two leading architects of the UK’s financial regulations today questioned the idea of giving regulators a competitiveness mandate and warned that reforms to Solvency II could expose the financial sector to greater risks. In a Treasury committee hearing today, John Vickers, chair of the independent banking commission, doubted the idea of giving financial regulators a [...]
Future of UK tech talent visa uncertain after controversial closure of Tech Nation February 1, 2023 Tech chiefs have sounded the alarm over the future of Tech Nation’s lauded visa programme today after the start-up body announced it would wind down after controversially losing a major government contract.
NatWest boss refuses summons by MPs probing savings rates February 1, 2023 The boss of NatWest has refused a request to appear in front of MPs to answer questions on why banks are being slow to pass on higher interest rates to savers. Chief executive Alison Rose has told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee that she does not have the time to speak to them next [...]
FCA must increase staff pay or it risks failing the public, Unite says February 1, 2023 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) needs to offer its staff a better pay package or it risks becoming unable to deliver in the public interest, union Unite said. The FCA, which regulates the conduct of around 50,000 financial services businesses, has been in dispute with its workers over pay and conditions. It said it told [...]
Virgin Money has customer boom as higher interest rates benefit Branson’s bank February 1, 2023 Virgin Money’s customer base continued to grow in the first quarter of its financial year as the challenger bank said it expects to benefit from higher interest rates for the remainder of the year. There were around 27,000 new personal current accounts opened in the period, 44 per cent more than last year. This, the [...]
City will be shaken up by AI – so we asked ChatGPT for an equities strategy February 1, 2023 Artificial intelligence and machine learning is set to transform trading over the next three years, a JP Morgan survey shows, as traders anticipate the potential for new technologies to shake up trading floors. Over half of traders surveyed in JP Morgan’s eTrading survey predicted that AI and machine learning will be the most influential technology [...]