Challengers lambast competition watchdog’s report for focussing on technology and ignoring red tape issues August 10, 2016 Challenger banks have lambasted the competition watchdog for squandering a rare opportunity for change in a sector dominated by larger players. Many of the UK’s up-and-coming lenders were disappointed that yesterday’s final report from the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) retail banking investigation focused more on using technology to disrupt the sector than on tearing down some of the [...]
How the big high street banks responded to the CMA report August 9, 2016 There's been a lot of noise in the banking sector this morning, as people try to digest the recommendations laid out in the Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) final report from its retail banking investigation. Among the most eye-catching announcements was that of the Open Banking programme, which will enable personal and small business customers to share [...]
Why Legal & General’s share price is down when its profits are up August 9, 2016 Pensions and insurance giant Legal & General's shares are today the biggest fallers of the FTSE 100, despite the company revealing a boost to its pre-tax profits. Legal & General announced a profit before tax attributable to shareholders of £826m, an increase of 23 per cent. Despite this, shares are currently down 4.9 per cent at 207.5p. [charts-share-price [...]
Legal & General share price falls as company reveals wobbles with insurance despite growing profits overall August 9, 2016 Legal & General slumped to the bottom of the FTSE 100 this morning, despite reporting an increase in profits. The figures The financial services giant revealed a profit before tax attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2016 of £826m, up 23 per cent on 2015's £672m. However, hidden within that positive profit figure, insurance [...]
How nine challenger banks reacted to the CMA’s report on current accounts August 9, 2016 Nine challenger banks including TSB and Metro Bank have slammed the findings of the UK's competition watchdog in its investigation into the retail banking sector, arguing the review has missed “a golden opportunity”. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report, published this morning, called on banks to implement an “open banking” standard by 2018, allowing customers to monitor and access all [...]
Inzura becomes the lastest company on the insurtech scene August 9, 2016 Inzura – a new digital insurance platform – is set to begin using smartphone data and photo recognition to calculate policies. It’s thought insurance companies will be able to take on less risk by fine-tuning policies. "We believe the smartphone will play a central role in the much-needed digitisation of insurance," said Richard Jelbert, chief executive of [...]
Government won’t shale out on fracking payments for a while August 8, 2016 Government won't have to fork out cash to those living near a shale gas exploration site for some time to come, a consultation document into the matter has revealed. The Shale Wealth Fund consultation, which was launched today by the Treasury, revealed, because the Fund would be financed using tax revenues from sites developed for gas production, [...]
Barclays to fork out another $100m in the US over Libor-rigging scandal August 8, 2016 Banking giant Barclays is pay out a further $100m (£76.7m) for its role in the Libor-rigging scandal. The settlement covers 44 US states for Barclays Bank PLC and Barclays Capital Inc, it was revealed in a statement from the New York Attorney General's office. Other states included in the settlement include California, Florida and Washington. "There has to [...]
