UK investors cheer third quarter dividend windfall October 25, 2021 As supply chain, labour and inflation storm clouds gathered on the horizon, City investors toasted an overflowing dividend pot and the end of this summer – boosted by the FTSE’s mining, oil and banking companies. Total UK dividends soared to £34.9bn in the three months to 30 September, up by nearly 90 per cent on [...]
Government turning to more CCTV and street lighting to reduce crime October 24, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to pledge millions for better CCTV and improved street lighting and give £80m in additional funding to the Crown Prosecution Service. It is part of a £435m package of measures aimed at preventing crime and will form part of next week’s Budget, with a focus on violent offences against women. [...]
Senior KPMG partner responds to Sadiq Khan’s COP26 call for London to get more powers October 22, 2021 Anna Purchas, a senior Partner at KPMG in London, wrote to City A.M. today as she responded to our article ‘Sadiq Khan will use the upcoming COP26 to vouch for cities like London to have greater powers and funding.’ Dear City A.M., I read with interest that our London mayor Sadiq Khan will use the upcoming [...]
Not just NatWest: Compliance guru on why money laundering is rampant in the City October 21, 2021 Over the past few decades, money laundering has become an increasingly prevalent issue. Financial institutions are constantly looking for new ways to fight money launderers, and several anti-money laundering policies have been put in place to help this effort. However, the recent case against NatWest sent shockwaves through the City, with many financial institutions realising that the financial watchdog, [...]
Buy Now Pay Later regulation imminent: ‘FCA very keen to be on front foot’ October 20, 2021 Government proposals to regulate the interest free Buy Now, Pay Later market are expected by the end of October, according to industry insiders. Buy now, Pay Later products have boomed in popularity in the UK over the past five years, The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry was recently estimated to have financed £3billion in [...]
FCA fines Credit Suisse over £147m for ‘tuna bond’ loan failures in Mozambique October 19, 2021 Credit Suisse has been fined over £147 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The investment bank has been punished for serious due diligence failings involving two loans worth over $1.3bn and a bond exchange arranged for the Republic of Mozambique. The fine settles a long-running US probe into Credit Suisse’s role in the Mozambique [...]
Raab sets out plans to end European judges ‘dictating’ UK on human rights October 17, 2021 The new Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has revealed new details about how he plans to prevent interference from Strasbourg in British matters as part of his overhaul of the Human Rights Act. At the Conservative Party conference earlier this month, the Justice Secretary said Boris Johnson had given him the task of rewriting the law [...]
Post-Brexit accounting body to face first major test over insurance sector October 14, 2021 The UK Endorsement Board, which oversees accounting rules, is preparing to come to heads with insurers in the first major test of the new body, according to reports. The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) was formed in direct response to Britain’s exit from the European Union, which forced the country to manage and endorse international accounting [...]
Half of all Brits victim of bullying, harassment or other misconduct at work October 14, 2021 Three in four British office workers in the UK have either witnessed or personally experienced misconduct at some point in their careers, according to a new study, shared with City A.M. today. Almost half (49 per cent) of office workers in the UK have personally been a victim of some form of misconduct, including bullying, [...]
Seven Mishcon de Reya lawyers jump ship to rival Greenberg Traurig ahead of IPO October 13, 2021 Seven senior Mishcon de Reya lawyers are defecting to rival global law firm Greenberg Traurig, in advance of Mishcon’s plans to float on the London Stock Exchange. The exodus of leavers includes Kathryn Garbett, Jo Rickards, Claire Broadbelt, Annabel Thomas, Martin Shobbrook, Hannah Blom-Cooper, and Matt Hancock who will join Greenberg Traurig as shareholders, the [...]