Buy Now Pay Later regulation imminent: ‘FCA very keen to be on front foot’ October 20, 2021 Government proposals to regulate the interest free Buy Now, Pay Later market are expected by the end of October, according to industry insiders. Buy now, Pay Later products have boomed in popularity in the UK over the past five years, The Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) industry was recently estimated to have financed £3billion in [...]
Redress on the horizon? NAO begins probing FCA’s handling of British Steel transfer debacle October 20, 2021 The National Audit Office (NAO) has begun its probe into the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) handling of the British Steel transfer debacle. The investigation is still in its early stages, but the audit watchdog said that it aims to publish its findings in Spring next year. The 2017 scandal involved 7,700 British Steel Pension Scheme [...]
Watchdog blames social media ‘hype’ and competitiveness for younger investors’ bets on crypto October 20, 2021 Three quarters of younger investors in the UK who place their bets on high-risk products, such as cryptocurrencies, say they are driven by “competition” with friends and their own past investments, according to new research from the FCA. Of the 1000 UK younger investors that the FCA surveyed between the ages of 18 and 40 [...]
Advisers call on FCA to strengthen investor protections following Woodford collapse October 19, 2021 Financial advisers have called on the City’s watchdog to impose stronger investor protections where illiquid assets are held in funds, drawing on lessons learned from the collapse of Neil Woodford’s flagship fund. Since the fund was shuttered by former star stockpicker Woodford in late 2019, the biggest lesson learned among financial advisers was to give [...]
City bosses warn FCA over listings reform that would ‘undermine’ London market October 17, 2021 Proposed restrictions on the number of smaller companies listed on the London stock exchange as part of the FCA’s shake up of the market could “undermine” the City’s competitiveness rather than improve it, a group of City figures has warned. An increase to the minimum market capitalisation for companies to list on the main stock [...]
Civil war: FCA staff pushing for union involvement after pay cut row with CEO Nikhil Rathi October 12, 2021 The Financial Conduct Authority may soon be a unionised workplace, if trade union activists get their way. A formal petition has been launched by Unite the union to gauge interest after what the union said was a significant increase in staff at the regulator joining the union. Staff are said to be unhappy with chief [...]
FCA in hot water over £230m London Capital & Finance scandal redress October 11, 2021 The UK’s financial watchdog has come under fire by an independent commissioner for its handling of the £237m London Capital & Finance (LCF) investment scandal. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reportedly at risk of censure from the financial regulator’s complaints commissioner, which investigates complaints against institutions like the FCA, the Bank of England’s Prudential [...]
999 for banks: Lenders set to launch customer hotline to tackle fraud September 28, 2021 UK banks are preparing to launch an emergency hotline – dubbed the industry’s answer to 999 – later this week, in an effort to tackle surging levels of fraud. Customers who fear that they have been targeted by fraudsters imitating their bank, or other common guises such as HM Revenue & Customs or a parcel [...]
One in ten UK buy now pay later shoppers pursued by debt collectors September 3, 2021 One in ten UK shoppers who choose to pay for products using buy now pay later have been chased by debt collectors, amid exploding demand for the services since the onset of the pandemic. The proportion of buy now pay later (BNPL) shoppers that have received contact from or been referred to debt collectors rises [...]
City watchdog orders peer-to-peer lenders to step up preparations for orderly wind-downs August 26, 2021 The City watchdog has urged peer-to-peer lenders to improve their internal governance controls to prevent a wave of disorderly wind-downs in the sector. The Financial Conduct Authority published a letter today that it distributed to the boards of online lending platforms showing it has ordered peer-to-peer lenders to improve contingency plans for being ordered to [...]