CMA to “brainstorm” growth ideas with business groups as pressure mounts January 27, 2025 The competition watchdog is set to be grilled by some of the UK’s biggest business bodies tomorrow as it looks to shore up confidence following the ousting of its chair by ministers last week. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has faced anger from both the government and private sector over what has been [...]
City grandees call in small firm specialists to ease London AIM exodus January 27, 2025 The group of City grandees lobbying for reform of the UK’s capital markets has bolstered its team with two small-company-focused executives today, signalling a push from the body to address the crisis gripping the UK’s junior stock market AIM. The Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT), led by London Stock Exchange boss Julia Hoggett, said that [...]
CMA begins redundancy programme after overshooting budget January 23, 2025 The competition watchdog is planning to slash its head count by around ten per cent after overshooting its budget last year, piling fresh pressure on the body following the sudden exit of its chair this week. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has faced public anger from the Prime minister and Chancellor over its [...]
‘It’s a clear message’: Reeves’ CMA scalp fires warning to regulators January 23, 2025 The government has sent a “clear message” to UK regulators by ousting the chair of competition watchdog, in what lawyers described as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years. Marcus Bokkerink, who joined the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022, was forced out of his role due to a “different approach” on [...]
Frasers Group set to accuse Boohoo of undisclosed payments to founder’s son January 22, 2025 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group is set to open a new front in its war of words with Boohoo this evening, accusing the fast fashion firm of allegedly paying its founder’s son £2m-a-year but failing to tell shareholders, City AM has learned. In the latest attack of a long-running spat between the two companies, Frasers is [...]
‘Pension death tax’ raid attacked by Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell January 22, 2025 Britain’s biggest wealth management firms have mounted a coordinated attack on Rachel Reeves’ plans to slap inheritance tax on undrawn pension pots today, describing the proposals as “flawed and potentially damaging” to grieving families. In a letter to the Chancellor, the bosses of Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor and Quilter, which collectively manage some [...]
PRA under pressure to cut red tape as growth plans fail to excite the City January 22, 2025 The banking regulator is under pressure to go further and faster in its efforts to cut red tape from the City after it outlined plans to boost the growth of firms within its remit last week. In a letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, the PRA, which sits within the Bank of England and [...]
Reeves wades in to motor finance scandal in bid to soften £30bn payout January 21, 2025 Shares in some of Britain’s biggest motor finance lenders have surged today after the Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed plans to intervene in a mis-selling scandal which could cost the industry billions of pounds. A court judgement handed down in October sent shockwaves through the motor finance sector and has opened the door to what analysts [...]
Bank of London appoints former Credit Suisse boss as chief executive January 20, 2025 Embattled fintech ‘unicorn’ the Bank of London has appointed the former UK boss of Credit Suisse as chief executive today, as it looks to recover from a string of setbacks and the sudden exit of its founder last year. In a statement, the digital clearing bank said Christopher Horne, who previously headed the failed Swiss [...]
FCA chair: Our growth push will test UK’s risk appetite January 20, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) push to slash red tape and unleash growth in the City will test the UK’s appetite for risk, its chair has warned, accepting that two of its new proposals could open the door to more fraud and mortgage defaults. Writing in City AM today, Ashley Alder said the FCA will [...]
