Insurance brokers could face caps on commissions as FCA reviews high rise insurance market May 10, 2022 Insurance brokers could face rules limiting commissions amid the City watchdog’s review into tower block insurance coverage. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was asked to review the insurance market for blocks of flats earlier this year, after housing minister Micheal Gove said he was “extremely concerned” by accelerating costs faced by leaseholders. In an update, [...]
Unite lose bid to become recognised as official union at City watchdog the FCA May 10, 2022 An official arbitration committee has rejected Unite the Union’s bid to become recognised as the official trade union at the Financial Conduct Authority. Unite had applied to become recognised as the official union for the sake of collective bargaining, but this morning the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) ruled the bid was not “admissible.” The decision [...]
City watchdog to crackdown on adverts that downplay risk of borrowing as cost-of-living crisis bites May 6, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has told lenders and brokers to stop using misleading terms in their advertising that might make borrowing money look easier or less risky than it is. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has sent letters to 28,000 consumer credit firms telling them to stop using terms such as “no credit check loans,” [...]
It’s on: Staff at FCA to go on strike tomorrow and Thursday in ‘historic first’ for City watchdog May 3, 2022 It is confirmed: Staff at the Financial Conduct Authority are to go on strike this week in a dispute over pay and conditions. Members of Unite at the financial regulator will walk out on Wednesday and Thursday, and stage a protest outside the organisation’s head office in London and another site in Edinburgh. Unite said [...]
One in ten big UK firms failing in legal requirement to have modern slavery statement April 25, 2022 A tenth of big British firms are failing to meet the legal requirement of having a statement on modern slavery. A recent sampling of 100 companies by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) found a tenth didn’t address the scourge, which generates £126bn annually. The FRC looked at 100 annual reports for firms which are regulated [...]
FCA orders challenger banks to stop cutting corners in combating money laundering April 22, 2022 One of the UK’s main regulators has warned challenger banks to stop cutting corners in combating financial crime so that customers can set up accounts quickly and easily. Sarah Pritchard, who heads the market division of the City regulator, said that there cannot be a “trade-off” between getting customers to come into the fold and [...]
Financial watchdog chief calls on Meta to up its game with blocking investment fraud April 7, 2022 The head of the UK’s financial regulator has called on Facebook to take action against investment scams. Writing in The Telegraph, Nikhil Rathi, head of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said Facebook’s parent company Meta needed to do more to tackle fraudsters targeting vulnerable people online. It comes as the Online Safety Bill progresses through [...]
City watchdog hires three senior officials as it ramps up recruitment drive April 5, 2022 The City watchdog has hired three new senior officials as it pushes to strengthen its authorisation process, it announced today. City veteran Craig Chapman is set to join the FCA as Finance Director, from his current role as CFO at London fintech firm RTX Routetrader. Prior to joining RTX Routetrader, Chapman worked in various senior [...]
Members of troubled British Steel Pension Scheme win back over £71m in redress March 31, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has agreed that former members of the troubled British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) will be able to receive £71.2m worth of compensation, as part of long-awaited redress for workers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which launched a probe for a redress scheme in late December, has found that almost half (46%) [...]
Financial whistleblower takes UK watchdog to court over claims of unfair dismissal March 23, 2022 A former employee of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has claimed he was unfairly fired by the watchdog, after he raised concerns about systemic issues in the runup to the 2008 financial crisis. Former FCA risk manager Walker Sigismund told a tribunal that he was unfairly fired by the financial regulator after he filed 27 [...]