Exclusive: Two City lawyers on a mission to make their fintech the ‘Amazon of Islamic finance’ July 19, 2021 Islamic Finance Guru (IFG), a UK-based Islamic finance platform, has closed an investment round led by Outward venture capital, as the market for Islamic fintech grows. The UK-based startup has raised £3m from Outward VC and B&Y Venture Partners. The news come just a week after the Boubyan Bank Group announced that the world’s first [...]
Lenders set to increase interest-free periods on credit cards July 15, 2021 Households could be offered longer interest-free periods on credit cards over the summer, according to a survey of lenders. Banks and building societies also anticipate that mortgage availability to households will rise, according to the survey published by the Bank of England. The Bank’s Credit Conditions Survey is carried out every quarter to help it [...]
Online fraud up by a third during the pandemic July 15, 2021 Online fraud has risen by a third during the pandemic as almost all everyday activities went digital, according to a consumer rights group. The number of cases of fraud reported to UK police unit Action Fraud cost consumers £2.3bn last year and had affected over 410,000 victims, according to analysis by consumer rights group Which? [...]
Retirement group Phoenix enters £197m pensions deal with Irish Life July 13, 2021 Retirement group Phoenix is set to sell Ark Life Assurance Company to pensions group Irish Life for around £197m, the retirement group today. Ark Life Assurance Company, known as Ark Life, added around £1.8bn of assets under administration to Phoenix’s heritage division as of 31 December. The deal, which is expected to be completed by [...]
Payouts may be given to families to offset higher gas bills under new green government plan July 9, 2021 Families may be provided with cash payouts to offset the cost of higher gas bills under a new green government plan. Whitehall advisors have been discussing plans to compensate households for the more expensive gas bills which will arise from the government push to reduce carbon emissions. The proposals will be aimed at encouraging households [...]
UK shoppers sticking with online shops despite restrictions relaxing June 29, 2021 Online e-commerce sales continued to grow in April, despite the reopening of non-essential retail across the UK. Demand for e-commerce packaging, a barometer for industry and sector performance, grew 11.7 per cent in April, despite brick-and-mortar shops reopening in the same month. This followed a 35.6 per cent increase in demand in the year up [...]
Analysts warn Rishi Sunak: Treasury’s pensions raid could be ‘hugely risky’ June 21, 2021 The Treasury is eyeing pensions taxation as one way to pay for the cost of the pandemic, it was reported this morning. Although there are no plans to make changes to the triple lock, the Treasury is looking at three ways to change the ways in which pension contributions are taxed, which some analysts have [...]
Treasury planning ‘pensions raid’ to pay for pandemic costs June 21, 2021 The Treasury is looking at pensions taxation as one way to pay for the cost of the pandemic, although there are no plans to make changes to the triple lock. The Treasury is looking at three ways to change the ways in which pension contributions are taxed, the Telegraph first reported. Government is reportedly looking [...]
Sunak says pensions triple lock remains government policy as he faces £4bn bill June 17, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said the triple lock on pensions remains government policy after it emerged that he may have to spend £4bn more on pensioners from next year if he sticks to the pledge. Sunak was grilled on the issue in an interview with GB News, after ONS data published earlier in the week [...]
General Electric to freeze $14bn pension pot for 2,700 UK staff June 10, 2021 General Electric Co will freeze pension benefits for around 2,700 UK employees from January 2022 and take a related charge, the company announced today. GE’s pension benefit obligation in the UK was about $14bn at the end of 2020. GE’s pension plan has been closed to new entrants in the UK since September 2011. At [...]