Regulators rule out huge fines in Co-op Bank probe August 11, 2015 The City’s watchdogs are set to announce the conclusion of their 18-month enforcement probe into the Co-operative Bank today, with the scandal-hit lender expected to avoid any threat of huge fines. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) launched their investigations of the troubled firm in January 2014. The regulators will [...]
Bank executives fear regulation is harming the UK’s international competitiveness August 10, 2015 Tough regulation of the banking sector is harming the UK’s international competitiveness, according to a poll of executives published this morning. Thousands of pages of regulation were written up in response to the financial crisis, and new rules are constantly being added to them. But many of the rules are negatively affecting the UK’s global [...]
Quindell shares expected to resume trading tomorrow it reports £238m loss reported and restates previous year’s results amid FCA investigation August 5, 2015 Quindell shares are expected to resume trading tomorrow after more than a month of suspension from Aim, as it reported annual losses of £238m in the latest chapter in a tumultuous saga which has spurred a second investigation by a City regulator. An investigation by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has forced the company to restate [...]
Quindell suspended from Aim as FCA begins investigation August 5, 2015 Quindell has requested temporary suspension from Aim, and is being investigated by the FCA, after admitting some of its practices were “at the aggressive end of acceptable”. The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed it had begun an investigation into public statements made regarding Quindell’s financial accounts during 2013 and 2014. The City watchdog would be [...]
FCA bans ex-trader Lee Stewart over Libor-rigging scandal July 30, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned another former Rabobank trader over their role in the Libor rate-rigging scandal. The regulator banned Lee Stewart from the financial services industry for lacking honesty and integrity. Earlier this year Stewart pleaded guilty in the US for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate Rabobank’s US dollar Libor submissions. "Mr Stewart [...]
FCA: Lessons still to learn from rate-rigging scandals such as Libor and forex July 29, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned banks are yet to fully apply the lessons learned from rate-rigging scandals such as Libor, forex and gold to other benchmarks. The FCA's "Thematic Review of Oversight and Controls", which looked into 12 firms between August 2014 and June 2015, assessed all benchmarks apart from Libor and forex, which [...]
Payday lender Cash Genie told to repay £20m to customers by Financial Conduct Authority July 27, 2015 A payday lender has been told to give back millions of pounds to customers because its lending practices were deemed unfair by the financial regulator. After it found "serious failings" at the lender, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told Cash Genie to repay £10m to customers – after it's already waived fees and interest totaling £10.3m. [...]
Rescued banks are not out of the woods yet: New FCA rules to improve account transparency for customers July 23, 2015 The City watchdog put more pressure on the financial sector yesterday with new rules that could see banks and building societies named and shamed for paying poor interest rates to longstanding customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that from next year, firms will have to provide clear information on how much interest savers are paid [...]
The Financial Conduct Authority is going to help savers by making it easier for them to switch accounts July 23, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s financial regulator, has announced plans to introduce new measures to help customers switch cash savings accounts, following a review of competition in the industry. Read more: This chart shows how many current account switchers Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have lost The regulator is proposing new rules which will make [...]
Bosses who put on a brave face: Martin Wheatley grimaces through FCA annual meeting July 22, 2015 “The AGM is my favourite time of year” – said no one ever, least of all outgoing Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief Martin Wheatley yesterday, who had to sit through the FCA’s annual meeting with a face like a smacked bottom. Wheatley, who has been booted out of the job by George Osborne, now joins [...]