City watchdog plots streamlined motor finance scheme after backlash March 4, 2026 The UK’s financial watchdog is looking to “streamline” its long-anticipated motor finance compensation scheme following widespread backlash across the industry. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) provided a fresh update to markets on Wednesday, stating it was considering over 1,000 responses to its proposals for the industry-wide redress scheme. It added “if” it was to proceed [...]
Meet Reeves’ outsider tasked with steering the City to growth March 3, 2026 The City has rolled out the red carpet for the banking watchdog’s new chief after Katharine Braddick, a seasoned veteran of the financial trenches, was named on Friday as the successor to Sam Woods. For a cool £314,000 a year, she’s set to take on the brief of steering the UK’s banking sector. Chancellor Rachel [...]
UK has ‘done little to diverge’ from Europe since Brexit February 24, 2026 The UK has “done little to diverge” with the European Union on regulation since Brexit, a new report suggests, but that has not stopped the bloc’s own legislation increasing divergence between the two jurisdictions. Across a swathe of issues, analysts at UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) said the UK had cleaved much closer to [...]
FCA: We don’t want to take risk decisions alone February 24, 2026 The City watchdog should not be determining the UK’s risk appetite “alone”, a top official has said, as the regulator continues to try and coax more guidance from the government on its growth push. Sarah Pritchard, the deputy chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the regulator was trying to “prompt” a wider [...]
Klarna delivers $1bn quarter but shareholder returns take beating February 19, 2026 Klarna delivered a record quarter at the end of 2025, with revenue rocketing, but the firm reported a major slump in shareholder returns after its stock price took a bruising following its public debut. The Swedish fintech unicorn notched just north of $1bn (£743m) in revenue, marking a 38 per cent jump year-on-year as active [...]
Bank of Ireland’s UK arm hit with £3.8m fine for fraud failures February 19, 2026 The Bank of Ireland’s UK arm has been slapped with a hefty fine after failing to hit the deadline by over a year to implement an anti-fraud service. The lender was hit with a £3.7m fine from the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) for missing the deadline by 14 months for a “vital” service that would [...]
Carmakers to skirt a crash in £11bn motor finance redress February 18, 2026 UK carmakers are set to curb a hefty hit in the City regulator’s forthcoming redress scheme for the motor finance scandal. Captive lenders, in-house lenders of manufacturers, are to be granted some reprieve by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after relentless lobbying that the scheme could hamper investment in the UK. The FCA was forced [...]
Buy now, pay later providers set for £3bn hit in ‘regulatory reset’ February 11, 2026 Providers of buy now, pay later services are set to feel the crunch as the UK’s financial watchdog tightens its regulatory focus on the fast-growing industry. Merchants and lenders are set to take a combined hit of as much as £3bn following the regulation overhaul by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), according to its own [...]
UK fintech investment hits lowest since pandemic despite Revolut boost February 11, 2026 Investment into the UK’s fintech sector tumbled to a five-year low in 2025 even after a major boost from industry juggernaut Revolut. UK fintech received just shy of $11bn (£8bn) in investment in 2025, falling a fifth from the $13.4bn notched the year prior, according to new figures from KPMG. A hefty chunk of the [...]
Allow pensions savings to go into housing deposits, says FCA chief February 10, 2026 The head of the financial watchdog has suggested that the UK should have the “contentious debate” about whether pension savings could be put towards housing deposits. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said there was greater scope for pension savings to support financial resilience, particularly among lower income households. “We have [...]