FCA succeeds in overturning landmark fraud case ruling May 21, 2014 The Court of Appeal has quashed a decision to halt a landmark fraud trial because of lack of legal aid barristers to represent the defendants. The prosecution of the three men was stopped after Alex Cameron QC, brother of the prime minister, argued they wouldn’t get a fair trial as they were not sufficiently represented. [...]
Royal London boss calls on FCA chief to look at pension rules May 13, 2014 THE BOSS of mutual Royal London has called on the financial regulator to tighten up the rules on advice offered to people on their retirement, specifically around pensions. Announcing the group’s first quarter results, Phil Loney said the government’s guarantee of guidance, outlined in the Budget in March, does not go far enough. “There is [...]
FCA called to act as Quindell is hit by critical blog April 22, 2014 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) is facing calls to investigate after a critical blog post wiped £900m from the value of one of the UK’s fastest-growing public firms. Insurance outsourcer Quindell saw its shares tumble as much as 52 per cent after US firm Gotham City Research initiated coverage with a 3p target price – [...]
FCA sets out terms for probe into bungled insurance probe April 8, 2014 It's all getting a bit meta at the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator has set out its Term of Reference, for a probe into itself, after a briefing to The Telegraph saw billions wiped off the shares of insurers, just over a week ago. Investors were panicked by reports that a probe into the sector [...]
Another FCA blunder: Draconian crowdfunding rules threaten innovation April 3, 2014 HERE’S a question for all you clever City A.M. readers. What did the UK’s financial regulator do recently to provoke the following quote? “On a day like today, one has to wonder whether the Financial Conduct Authority is the worst regulator in the Western world.” You might well guess that it was the FCA’s cock-up [...]
Osborne fumes at FCA blunder April 1, 2014 GEORGE Osborne piled pressure on the City watchdog yesterday, demanding to know how and why the carnage in insurance stocks was allowed to happen last Friday. His intervention came after the Financial Conduct Authority briefed a reporter on its probe of insurance products dating back to the 1970s – but only gave markets a full [...]
FCA boss Wheatley says he won’t quit over insurance blunder April 1, 2014 Martin Wheatley is not intending to step down as chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority after last week’s embarrassing episode when it bungled an announcement on a new insurance probe. The regulator is investigating the fees and charges faced by savers with policies dating back forty years. The announcement saw shares in insurers plummet [...]
FCA hits Santander UK with £12.4m fine March 26, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Santander UK £12.4m for “widespread investment advice failings”. The regulator said there was “significant risk” of the lender giving unsuitable advice to its customers. It's also found an “inadequate” approach to considering investors’ risk appetites and, when it came to some customers, the bank apparently failed to regularly check [...]
FCA bans and fines trader £663k for manipulating gilt price during QE March 20, 2014 Mark Stevenson, a bond trader with almost 30 years’ experience, has been banned from the industry and fined £662,700 for deliberately manipulating a UK government bond – gilt – on 10 October 2011. Stevenson has a holding worth £1.2bn, which he intended to sell to the Bank of England for an artificially high price during [...]
BoAML director to join FCA as investment boss March 12, 2014 Another high-profile hire for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The regulator’s announced this morning that it’s appointed Julia Hoggett as head of investment banking in its supervision division. Hoggett, who’ll start in early May, joins the regulator from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she’s currently a managing director responsible for a variety of debt [...]