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 [...]
UBS posts profits of £1.4bn as banking giant reaps rewards of cost cutting and a reported client exodus from rival Credit Suisse January 31, 2023 UBS beat analysts’ profit estimates as a drop in expenses and a significant influx of new assets helped offset a fall in revenue. UBS’s profits rose 23 per cent to $1.7bn (£1.4bn) in the fourth quarter of the year, ahead of an estimated $1.3bn. Net interest income at the Swiss lender fell year-on-year compared to [...]
Banks struggle with digital transition as new data shows 10 per cent of customer records are duplicated January 30, 2023 Major banks are struggling to manage their digital records as new data shows that around ten per cent of customer records are duplicated. Quantexa, a data analytics firm, asked 356 IT and data experts working in the UK, USA and Canada how many customer records were duplicated in their respective sectors. In the banking industry, [...]
Persimmon and Barratt to sign Gove’s cladding contract as others stall for time January 30, 2023 A handful of developers plan to sign the government contract to fix buildings affected by cladding and other fire risks in the coming weeks. Levelling up secretary Michael Gove gave developers a six-week deadline to commit to more than £2bn of repairs to fix the issues in buildings taller than 11 metres. This comes on [...]
Later life lending: Livemore secures £250m from Citi as it aims to hit £1bn in mortgage lending January 30, 2023 Livemore, a later life mortgage specialist, has secured a credit facility of up to £250m from Wall Street lender Citi as it seeks to hit £1bn in mortgage lending. “We are thrilled to receive this credit facility from Citi, which will support our growth and expanded product offering, so we can continue to serve the [...]