Nationwide to complete £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money after FCA and PRA approval September 6, 2024 Nationwide is to complete its £2.9bn takeover of rival Virgin Money next month after the deal was given the green light by the UK’s financial regulators. The banks said in statement issued to the London Stock Exchange that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have both approved [...]
CMA clears Microsoft and Inflection AI partnership after merger ruling September 4, 2024 Britain’s competition regulator has today cleared Microsoft’s arrangements with Inflection AI, which included a licensing deal and the hiring of former Inflection employees. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced in April it was looking at three separate deals that potentially fall under UK merger law and, if so, whether they could have a harmful [...]
Apple has ‘significant concerns’ over CMA probe into its Safari mobile browser September 4, 2024 Apple said it has “significant concerns” with the UK competition watchdog investigation into the supply of mobile browsers. In 2022, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the dominance of Apple’s Safari browser and Google’s Chrome browser, along with the possibility that Apple may be restricting the cloud gaming market through its [...]
Google facing £1bn competition lawsuit from professor on behalf of SMEs August 23, 2024 A professor has launched a class action lawsuit against Google on behalf of SMEs he said have been negatively hit by excessive commissions on its Play Store. Competition law professor at the University of Strathclyde, Barry Rodger, has alleged that Google has abused its dominant position by excluding competition in app distribution and by charging [...]
Regulator calls out Barclays and Santander for breaching retail banking order August 22, 2024 Britain's competition watchdog has rebuked Barclays and Santander UK for breaching parts of its retail banking order.
Google and Apple probes dropped by CMA amid pivot to new regime August 21, 2024 The UK’s competition watchdog has decided to close two investigations into Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store, citing a shift in priorities. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) was investigating whether Google and Apple have been using their app stores to put British app developers at a disadvantage. It was concerned the tech giants [...]
Meta: Watchdog greenlights changes to advertiser data rules on Facebook August 20, 2024 The UK’s competition watchdog has given the green light to new commitments from Meta to better protect the data of advertisers on Facebook. Since June 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been looking into whether Meta has unfairly data from its advertising services to give its Facebook Marketplace an edge over competitors. After [...]
Monzo celebrates fourth year on top of bank satisfaction rankings August 15, 2024 Monzo has once again taken first place in an official league table measuring whether customers would recommend their bank to friends and family, with the firm marking four years in the top spot. The digital-only bank, founded in 2015, has topped the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) biannual current account satisfaction ranking since August 2020, [...]
Worcester Bosch to make major change after green marketing concerns raised by CMA August 9, 2024 Worcester Bosch has agreed to make a major change to the way it markets its products across the UK after agreeing a deal with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog said it had become concerned the company may have mislead consumers into thinking that its boilers – marketed as ‘hydrogen-blend ready’ – are [...]
CMA rebukes four banks for failing to provide correct information to customers July 25, 2024 The competition watchdog has publicly rebuked four banks for failing to comply with rules ensuring lenders provide clear and up to date information to their customers.